Omphalophobia (fear Of Navels): Causes And Symptoms
Have you ever heard of omphalophobia? It is the irrational and disproportionate fear of touching or seeing navels It is a very rare and uncommon specific phobia.
This fear can be extrapolated to one’s own navel or that of others. In this article we will learn about the symptoms of omphalophobia, its causes and possible treatments.
Thus, omphalophobia is a specific phobia, which is diagnosed as such when there is a real deterioration in the patient’s life (or significant discomfort). As we mentioned, there is always an intense fear of seeing or touching navels (our own or those of others).
Specific phobias are anxiety disorders, considered as such in the different diagnostic manuals (DSM-5). So omphalophobia is an anxiety disorder.
The navels
Navel is a word that comes from the Latin “umbiculus” and the Greek “omphalos”. The navel consists of a scar that remains on our belly after the umbilical cord breaks when we are born. This scar implies a depression in the skin, like a kind of rounded “hole.”
There are many types of navel, in terms of shape, size, etc. The vast majority of people have a navel.
Symptoms
The symptoms of omphalophobia are the symptoms of any other simple phobia Let us remember that these are mainly the following.
1. Disproportionate and irrational fear
The main symptom of omphalophobia is an intense, disproportionate and irrational fear of navels This extends to the possibility of touching, seeing, etc., either your own navel or someone else’s navel.
This fear is intense because it is high, disproportionate because its intensity is too high taking into account the stimulus that elicits this response (the navels, which are harmless and cannot cause any harm), and irrational because it does not respond to a logical reaction to the fear. this stimulus.
2. Avoidance
The second symptom of omphalophobia is avoidance; That is, the person with said phobia avoids seeing or touching navels at all costs. In the event that you must necessarily see or touch one, you resist such a situation with high anxiety.
So, These people may resist going to places where people go shirtless (for example beaches, swimming pools, etc.)
3. Interference
The third symptom of omphalophobia, and any specific phobia, is interference with daily life. That is, the above symptoms interfere with the patient’s daily life, causing significant discomfort or a deterioration in their functioning.
This translates into: difficulties in going to places where people go without shirts, or places where the individual must go without it, etc. In other words, the functioning of the patient’s life is altered.
4. Lasts at least 6 months
The symptoms of omphalophobia last at least 6 months. This criterion, like the previous ones, corresponds to the DSM-5 (Diagnostic Manual of Mental Disorders).
Causes
The causes of specific phobias can be of different types In the specific case of omphalophobia, we can find causes such as the following.
1. Traumatic situations
Having experienced a traumatic situation related to a navel It can cause the appearance of omphalophobia. An example of this may be having suffered a navel infection (omphalitis), having suffered intense navel pain for some other reason, having injured the navel, etc.
Vicarious conditioning is another possible cause of specific phobias; It refers to a type of learning where the person observes what consequences a specific behavior has for another person (generally these consequences being negative).
In the case of omphalophobia, It may happen that the person who suffers from it has observed how other people suffered from a condition related to the navel For example, an infection, an injury, belly button pain. Also included is having seen damaged or deformed navels, etc.
Vicarious conditioning can occur “live” (by watching other people) or “symbolically” (through movies, for example).
3. Predisposition to anxiety
Another possible cause of omphalophobia is predisposition or vulnerability (genetic and biological) to suffer from anxiety disorders This vulnerability has been observed in some people, and has been verified in different studies.
4. Family pattern
We can also talk about family patterns in the case of omphalophobia; It is a reality that the risk of suffering from a specific phobia increases if there are members of our family who also suffer from it.
That is, in a way, Phobias can also be “inherited,” either due to genetics or having heard negative ideas regarding navels by family members.
Treatment
There are different treatments for specific phobias, as well as for omphalophobia specifically. The main ones are the following.
1. Exposure therapy
Exposure therapy involves progressively exposing the patient to the situation of seeing and touching navels. This is done through a hierarchy, that is, the first items on the list will be stimuli that cause less intensity of anxiety, and as you progress along the list the items will cause greater anxiety.
The patient will be exposed to these items, which will be situations related to seeing or touching a navel. For example, the first item on the list may be to spend “X” minutes watching shirtless people from afar. The second, seeing those same people a little closer. The third, getting close to a navel, etc., and at the end of the list, situations that involve touching a navel.
2. Cognitive therapy
Cognitive therapy is a type of psychological therapy that includes cognitive restructuring as its main technique. This will be based, in the case of omphalophobia, on teaching the patient to identify his dysfunctional and irrational thoughts related to her phobia (that is, with navels).
After the identification of these thoughts (also called cognitive distortions), the patient will be taught to look for alternative thoughts to them, these being more realistic and adjusted to reality and the “non-dangerousness” of the navels.
The goal is for these thoughts related to navels to disappear and be replaced by more positive, realistic and adaptive thoughts.
3. Pharmacology
Drugs have also been used in cases of specific phobias (mainly, anxiolytics and antidepressants), although it is true that pharmacological treatment should always be punctual and/or temporary, and as an adjuvant or complementary to psychological treatment.
That is, psychotropic drugs can be used to “calm” the patient’s anxiety and so that they can begin to work with them through psychotherapy.
The reality is that if the underlying problem is not treated (the irrational thoughts associated with the phobia, the intense fear of exposure, etc.), the drugs will have a very limited action on this disorder (or any other specific phobia). .
