Necrophobia (fear of Dead Bodies): Symptoms, Causes and Treatment

Although the fact that the end of life exists makes every minute of our time valuable, the truth is that almost no one wants to die and a large part of people have a certain respect and fear of death.

However, for some people the fear of death and corpses and everything that has to do with them amounts to a true phobia, which causes great suffering and prevents them from living life to the fullest. We are talking about necrophobia, which this article is about

What is necrophobia?

The phobia of death, and especially of corpses, is known as necrophobia, which It is a disabling condition that generates a high level of anxiety and discomfort As a phobia, it implies the existence of an irrational and disproportionate fear (something generally recognized by those who suffer from it) with respect to the risk posed by a stimulus or a situation, in this case death and everything related to it.

Exposure to what is feared or even the possibility of encountering something related to it generates intense levels of anxiety, which can lead to the appearance of somatic symptoms such as tachycardia, hyperventilation, tremors or excessive sweating. It can lead to panic attacks, in which, in addition to the above, there may be fear of having a heart attack, losing one’s mind or losing control of one’s own body. For all these reasons, the subject tends to avoid all those situations that remind him or are associated with the phobic stimulus.

Necrophobia is a specific phobia that can be related to the fear of harm, blood, and injections. It is also often called thanatophobia, although there may be nuances that make them not completely synonymous: although both fears are of death and include the fear of dying, thanatophobia is usually more general and focused on the fear of dying oneself while necrophobia is usually more linked to the fear of corpses, burials and coffins.

Symptoms

Although the fear of death is common, necrophobia as such is not excessively common. It is a condition that can significantly affect the person who suffers from it. And even if we are not constantly surrounded by stimuli that remind us of death or corpses, the subject will tend to avoid situations and places that are related to him.

In this way, some stimuli that can trigger anxiety and that those affected by this phobia will avoid include cemeteries, celebrations such as Halloween or even museums where mummies or skeletons have been exhibited. Movies, novels and works of art related to death or lifeless bodies will also be avoided, such as horror or the noir genre. Even more relevant than this could be the avoidance of hospitals, something that can greatly harm the health of the subject if they needed medical assistance. In severe cases it could lead the person to avoid even leaving their home, for fear of the possibility of dying or finding some type of corpse.

Likewise, for people with this phobia The fact or thought of growing old is a great source of anguish, as age is linked to a greater possibility of dying This can contribute to extreme attitudes toward staying young or even avoiding older people.

Causes and origin of fear of the dead

The causes of necrophobia are not fully known and are not unique, with multiple factors and variables influencing its appearance. Before considering them, it is worth noting that, as we have already mentioned, the fear of death is natural, since even at a biological level we are programmed to try to survive.

Beyond this, it is common that behind the origin of necrophobia is the experience of some aversive event that has conditioned the reaction regarding death or corpses Among them we can find encountering a corpse (whether human or animal) in childhood, or experiencing the loss of a loved one in a traumatic way. Another cause may derive from the knowledge that we are all going to die sooner or later: the corpse is a reminder of one’s own mortality, so one empathizes with it and panics about ending up like the body one sees. The presence of parental or environmental models that are highly fearful of the idea of ​​dying may also have an influence, acquiring reactions or ways of understanding death that are magnified or extreme.

Likewise, as occurs with phobias of animals such as spiders and snakes, the fear of death and corpses can be influenced by phylogenetic inheritance: corpses rot, smell, and over time bacteria and bacteria begin to grow on them. organisms that can cause diseases, so people who are not in regular contact with bodies without any type of treatment could survive more easily.

Treatment of this phobia

As with the rest of the phobias, necrophobia is a condition that can be treated and successfully overcome through psychological therapy Firstly, it will be necessary to analyze with the patient the vision and meaning given to death, the possible existence of traumatic events, the consequences that necrophobia is having on their life or why they consider that the phobia has arisen.

Among the most effective therapies we can find exposure and systematic desensitization In both cases, the subject must be progressively exposed to a hierarchy of different anxiety-generating situations, ordered from lowest to highest.

While in simple exposure the subject must remain in the situation until the anxiety subsides on its own, in the case of desensitization the person must carry out a complementary activity that is incompatible with the anxiety (such as relaxation techniques). The objective is to make anxiety controllable, so that when encountering the feared stimulus the subject does not need to flee or avoid daily activities. Some examples of stimuli or situations to be exposed to could include watching horror movies, reading narratives or descriptions about sensations in people with near-death experiences, trying on zombie or skeleton costumes, going to a cemetery or going to a wake.

Cognitive behavioral therapy is also a recommended resource, in order to analyze and subsequently try to modify the beliefs, biases and dysfunctional thoughts that cause the problem to have originated and/or remain. Another technique that enjoys some popularity in this type of phobia is hypnotherapy. It is also possible to use anxiolytic drugs in specific situations that generate anxiety (for example when attending a funeral), although this would not solve the problem.