Menophobia (phobia Of Menstruation): Symptoms, Causes And Treatment
Have you ever heard the word menophobia? It is a type of phobia, in this case, the phobia (intense and irrational fear) of menstruation.
In this article we will see the characteristics of this very peculiar phobia, what exactly is feared with it and, finally, what are its symptoms, causes and possible treatments.
Menophobia is the phobia of menstruation (period) This fear can be extrapolated to the fact of bleeding, but also to the associated symptoms of periods (pain, mood changes, hormonal changes…). Thus, it is a type of phobia related to other types of fear, such as the fear of pain and/or the fear of blood (hemophobia or hematophobia).
Another curious fact about menophobia is that, in the case of men, the fact of suffering from it is related, in some cases, to the fear of women.
Characteristics of menstruation
Also called menorrha, period or period, as most of us will know, it is a bleeding that occurs once a month in women (from the moment they get their first period, between the ages of 8 and 15, approximately). , until they have menopause, between 45 and 55 years old).
During this period, which lasts between 2 and 7 days, women bleed from the vagina. The amount of blood varies greatly from one woman to another, and the bleeding is not the same on the first day as on the second, third, etc. Menstruation occurs because the egg that the woman has produced is expelled from the ovary to be fertilized and is not fertilized (that is, pregnancy does not occur).
Thus, in menophobia there is an intense, irrational and disproportionate fear of menstruation; It can happen to both men and women. However, it should be noted that This is a rare phobia (It is true that there can be many fears associated with it, especially among women, and that this is quite common, but they are cases that could hardly be classified as phobias).
That is to say, cases of menophobia, diagnosable as such (with all the symptoms it entails and compliance with the diagnostic criteria), are rather few.
Symptoms of menstruation phobia
What are the main symptoms of menophobia? As a specific phobia that it is and, being an anxiety disorder (according to the DSM-5), there are a series of specific diagnostic criteria (symptoms) for it, and they are mainly four:
Let’s look at them in a little more detail.
1. Disproportionate/irrational fear
In menophobia, excessive fear can appear when faced with different stimuli: the bleeding itself (which is related to the phobia of blood (hemophobia or hematophobia)), the painful symptoms associated with the period and/or the hormonal and mood changes that occur as a consequence of it.
That is, it is a complex phobia, because you can fear all of these situations, or only one of them.
1.1. Fear of bleeding / blood
The fear of blood, or bleeding, called hemophobia or hematophobia, can appear in menophobia. This could also be related to a sensitivity to disgust or a fear/disgust of staining clothes, for example.
1.2. Fear of pain
The fear of pain is quite common, although we must insist that being afraid of something is not the same as suffering from a phobia. Phobias are anxiety disorders that cause real interference in daily functioning, as well as intense discomfort. That is, they are mental disorders that disable the person.
Thus, the fear of pain is common, not only in menophobia, but in other types of phobia. In these cases, in the end, What the person fears is not so much the stimulus itself (in this case, menstruation), but the consequences (symptoms) of this, which would imply pain.
Since always (also evolutionarily), pain (both physical and mental) has been something quite avoided by human beings, since it is a state that generates different emotions/feelings in us, such as rejection, fear… Thus, it is natural to think that people do not want to suffer, and we do not want to feel pain.
1.3. Fear of mood and/or hormonal changes
Another possible fear associated with menophobia is the intense fear of mood and/or hormonal changes generated by menstruation itself
If, as women, we know that before the arrival of menstruation (or during it), our hormonal cycle changes and, as a consequence, our mood and mood also change, this can cause us some discomfort and/or anxiety. In extreme cases (when this discomfort really interferes with our lives), menophobia appears.
2. Avoidance
In menophobia, as in any other phobia, the phobic stimulus/situation is avoided. Although in this case this symptom is particular, since menstruation cannot be avoided (unless artificial methods are used, such as non-stop birth control pills).
So the person with menophobia could use one of these methods to avoid periods.
3. Interference in life
The above symptoms cause interference in the person’s daily life, as well as in their normal functioning In addition, many times there is also significant discomfort in the person.
4. Duration of 6 months
Finally, the duration of the symptoms of any specific phobia must be at least 6 months (always according to the DSM-5).
The causes of menophobia can be several: related to another specific phobia, this commonly being hemophobia or hematophobia (phobia of blood), related to some traumatic or highly embarrassing event for the person (for example, having soiled oneself in public and fearing returning). to live it, having experienced intense pain, excessively intense mood swings, etc.), etc.
On the other hand, in the case of women, The fact of having had very strong and painful periods can also end up causing the appearance of menophobia (because of that intense fear of suffering pain).
Treatment
Regarding the psychological therapy of menophobia, let us remember that the treatment usually used in specific phobias is of two types: exposure therapy and cognitive behavioral therapy These two options are highly effective, although exposure therapy is a little more effective.
In exposure therapy, the person with menophobia will be exposed to the stimuli they fear so much. In the case of blood it may be simple, although in the case of pain and mood changes, the hierarchy of items will be more difficult to carry out (because they are more “abstract” stimuli or difficult to specify).
As for cognitive behavioral therapy, its objective is to modify the erroneous beliefs and dysfunctional/irrational thoughts associated with the phobic stimulus, in this case menstruation, the pain it causes, one’s own blood, getting dirty in public or mood changes it causes. This objective is worked mainly through cognitive restructuring techniques.
