Kissing Phobia (filemaphobia): Causes, Symptoms And Treatment
Filemaphobia, also known as filematophobia , is the phobia of kisses. Phobias are anxiety disorders in which those who suffer from them feel great fear when coming into contact with the phobic stimulus, which causes great anxiety and, as a consequence, the attempt to avoid said stimulus.
Kisses are a great sign of love, but people with this type of phobia feel a rejection of these acts full of love. In this article we will talk about filemaphobia and review its causes, symptoms and consequences.
Filemaphobia or extreme fear of kissing can develop in those people who think that they do not kiss well (for example, due to a bad experience) and are afraid to do so because of what others may think of them. This causes anxiety and discomfort and that is why they avoid these types of situations.
Kissing phobia can cause serious problems in interpersonal relationships, as it can make the person not want to have intimate or romantic relationships with other people and makes their social interaction difficult. This phobic disorder can be part of erotophobia or sex phobia.
Other related phobias
Now, filemaphobia can also be related to other phobias, which would make the person who suffers from this disorder Refuse to kiss others to avoid some phobic stimuli such as bad breath or physical contact.
Sometimes, filemaphobia can be related to the fear of germs, which makes the person think that by kissing they can catch a disease. Logically, this refers to “kisses on the mouth”, since the individual thinks that there may be germs or bacteria in the saliva that are harmful to their body.
2. Halitophobia
The fear of kisses can also be related to halitophobia, that is, the smell that the person gives off from their mouth. Not only the smell and bad breath of other individuals, but your own as well. This condition may be related to bromidrosiphobia that is, the fear of body odors.
3. Haphephobia
Haphephobia is the fear of touching or the fear of touch and it negatively affects the person who suffers from it. These individuals can feel great anxiety about any kiss, even those on the cheek. This makes interpersonal relationships extremely difficult.
4. Fear of intimacy and vulnerability
Kissing is an intimate act in which love is shown towards a person. But some individuals may feel great fear in these situations. Fear of intimacy can be associated with low self-esteem and a negative self-image.
On the other hand, the fear of vulnerability often has to do with the fear of abandonment or the fear of not being liked by others.
Causes of philemaphobia
Since it is a specific phobia Its development usually has its origin in associative learning since there are many studies that have proven that the vast majority of phobias are learned through classical conditioning.
This is because a traumatic experience from the past that causes a strong emotional reaction and that is not originally related to the phobic stimulus, that is, kisses (or intimacy, physical contact, etc.), causes a connection between the two.
If originally that stimulus was neutral, after the strong emotional reaction, It becomes a stimulus conditioned by fear and causes great anxiety and a strong desire to avoid when the person thinks or experiences this phobic situation.
But in addition to this learning as a cause, Other authors affirm that there are also biological origins and that human beings, due to genetics and the need for the evolution of the species, are prone to suffer this conditioning in the face of certain stimuli, since fear helps us to be alert and survive (or at least it helped us in the past).
Symptoms of kissing phobia
The phobia of kisses presents the same symptoms as other phobias , the only thing that changes is the stimulus that causes the reaction. That is, what causes discomfort and anxiety are kisses.
Anxiety, therefore, is the characteristic symptom, and that is why it belongs to the group of anxiety disorders. However, the symptoms also include:
How to overcome the fear of kisses
Philemaphobia negatively affects the life of the person who suffers from it, especially their interpersonal relationships. Fortunately, It is possible to overcome this disorder thanks to psychological therapy.
Like any phobia, the form of psychotherapy that has proven to be most effective for this pathology is cognitive behavioral therapy, which aims to intervene focused on changes in mental processes (thoughts, beliefs, emotions…) and behaviors and behaviors. that the person performs and that can be maladaptive and dysfunctional.
Cognitive behavioral therapy includes techniques from cognitive therapy and behavioral therapies, and may include, among many others, cognitive restructuring techniques, social skills , problem-solving training, relaxation techniques and exposure techniques. These last two are very frequently used for the treatment of phobias.
Regarding exposure techniques , systematic desensitization has proven to be very effective, and consists of gradually exposing the patient to the phobic stimulus. This technique also promotes more useful coping skills for the patient when they are in the situation that causes anxiety or discomfort.
But cognitive behavioral therapy is not the only form of treatment, Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) also seems to work very well for this type of disorder and other anxiety disorders.
In extreme cases, administration of anti-anxiety drugs It is also a therapeutic option; However, it should always be combined with psychotherapy.
