Tacophobia (phobia Of Speed): Symptoms, Causes And Treatment
Phobias describe very intense and irrational fears, sometimes disabling, that arise when exposed to specific stimuli or situations. They constitute a prevalent group of anxiety disorders, and usually present comorbidly with other problems of the same category (generalized anxiety, for example).
Despite what has been mentioned, this fear does not usually motivate consultation with specialists, since those who suffer from it develop strategies to avoid the scenario in which it usually occurs (so its interference is minimized).
In some cases, however, it is difficult to avoid such encounters, so the person’s life deteriorates rapidly in many different areas (which would include academic or work). In this article we will address tachophobia, a specific phobia relatively common in children and adults Its symptoms, causes and treatment will be detailed; according to current evidence on the issue.
The term tachophobia comes from Greek, and more specifically from the words “tachýtita” and “phobos”. The first of them refers to speed (a physical measure that describes the variation in the position of a body according to a specific temporal unit) and the second is translated as “fear” or “aversion”. When the two come together they form a word designed to describe the experience of phobic fear that occurs when someone is exposed to situations in which they experience excessive speed
One of the core characteristics of all phobias, which serves as a distinctive feature compared to normal fear, is its irrational basis (recognition of its excessive intensity in contrast to the threat represented by the feared stimulus at an objective level).
Nevertheless, speed can pose a real risk so only that fear that prevents essential activities for the development of daily life (getting on a train, traveling by car, etc.) or that is clearly disproportionate (it is triggered even at very low speeds) will be considered phobic.
Symptoms
The symptoms of tachophobia emerge when the subject participates in activities that involve exposure to high speeds. These can be very varied, and include both those in which one has an active role (driving, for example) and those that imply a more passive attitude (riding a roller coaster, occupying the position of co-pilot, traveling by train or plane, etc.). Thus, it is a fear that goes beyond the insecurity of losing control and consequently suffering an accident, as happens in amaxophobia.
In severe cases, the fear of speed extends to the most ordinary spaces For example, an individual might feel intense discomfort the moment he decides to run, or even when he is exposed to situations in which he notices that “things are happening too fast.” Episodes of tachophobia have also been described during the observation of an object that moves quickly and/or erratically, even though there is no risk of collision with the person who fears it (in a movie, for example).
In conclusion, tachophobia involves intense fear responses in which speed is the protagonist, especially when the body is exposed to a process of increasing acceleration
Next we will explore some of its central symptoms. For this purpose, a distinction will be made between the three basic dimensions of anxiety, namely: cognitive, behavioral and motor.
1. Cognitive expression
People with tachophobia may be worried about the expectation of being exposed to a speed situation. This anxious anticipation prevents trips from taking place in which it is necessary to use some means of transportation, since they would not be able to predict their mobility. When such a “journey” is inevitable, the feeling of threat can last for weeks or even months, growing as the day of departure approaches.
When the moment arrives, in the middle of the journey, excessive attention to visceral sensations associated with body movement emerges (kinesthetic sensitivity): adjustments in the axis of gravity if traveling standing, for example. This hypervigilance can also occur externally, so special attentional emphasis would be placed on the external markers used to “calculate” the relative speed at which we are moving: broken lines on the road, static objects on the side of the road, etc Thus, the subject would remain expectant of everything that happened in his body (or outside of it) and that could suggest movement.
This sharpening of visual and kinesthetic sensations It forms a complex stimulus that is interpreted in a catastrophic way, and excessive with respect to the “real” danger. It is common in this context for thoughts to arise such as “we are going to kill ourselves” or “I am going to faint if he doesn’t stop now”, which contribute to the appraisal of threat and the exacerbation of physiological reactions of fear.
On the other hand, the person usually harbors irrational beliefs regarding speed, overestimating the risk of an accident even though favorable conditions are not met and perceiving themselves incapable of tolerating what they fear. These beliefs act as the basis on which the specific, catastrophic thoughts described above are built.
The bodily sensations that the person experiences are similar to those of an anxiety attack (panic), and are the result of sympathetic hyperactivation (the branch of the autonomic nervous system that triggers fight or flight responses when perceiving a risky situation). It is a very disturbing experience for those who experience it. In the case of this phobia, the reaction of dizziness or vertigo exacerbates the fear, since it is experienced as a subjective movement.
The most common response is an acceleration of breathing (tachypnea) and the heart rate itself (tachycardia), technical terms that use the same Hellenic root as the disorder in question (tachy in this case would mean “fast”). In addition, an increase in pupil diameter (mydriasis) is evident, which clouds visual acuity and increases light sensitivity (photophobia). It is also often observed trembling, sweating and tingling in the distal region of the extremities (especially on the fingers).
In some cases, acute dissociative symptoms occur, which surprise the person by emerging as experiences that are judged strange or deeply unreal. Depersonalization (feeling of distance from mental and bodily processes) and derealization (perception that the environment has changed in some way or that it has lost its distinctive quality) stand out.
3. Motor expression
The cognitive and physiological experiences that have been described up to this point are so aversive that the person makes a deliberate effort to avoid them on successive occasions when they might appear.
Thus, will make decisions to avoid a situation related to the speed at which the experience is reproduced, which will result in deep emotional relief in the short term. Such a coping mechanism, however, is what maintains the problem in the medium/long term (through a system of negative reinforcement).
Causes
The most common cause of tachophobia is usually, according to the different research that has been carried out on the matter, having experienced a traffic accident in which speed was particularly involved. When the origin lies in childhood, very aversive experiences related to sudden movements (fairground or theme park attractions, for example) are identified, which precipitate a fear that subsequently extends to vehicles that move more or less quickly (already adulthood itself).
These fears They are more common in people who have a biological disposition to anxiety It seems that the disorder is more prevalent in subjects who show a basic vulnerability, and who have also experienced a difficult situation related to movement. The union of genetics and environment is the axis on which this mental health problem gravitates, despite the fact that the relative contribution of each of them is still unknown.
Finally, there is the possibility that this fear is acquired through observational learning (witnessing someone suffering an accident while driving at high speed) or social learning (assimilating such fear through living with a family member who suffers from it). In any case, those who suffer from tacophobia have something in common: the perception that the different moving elements are subject to chaos and erratism so they are dangerous and unpredictable.
What is the treatment of tachophobia?
There are effective psychological approaches to tachophobia, generally coming from cognitive and behavioral models. The one that has shown the greatest effectiveness is undoubtedly exposure, which consists of a programmed (and sometimes gradual) presentation of stimuli related to speed, in order to stimulate changes in expectations about them and in the reactions they provoke (for example). a process of habituation and extinction).
Exposure can be carried out in many ways: from the use of videos related to speed scenes to guided imagery combined with some activation control technique (such as diaphragmatic breathing or Jacobson’s progressive muscle relaxation). These last procedures They are designed to stimulate the action of the parasympathetic nervous system which opposes that of the sympathetic and promotes a state of relaxation.
It may also be useful to design a hierarchy of situations related to speed, ordered according to the anxiogenic potential attributed to them by the subject (a procedure known as systematic desensitization), so that they can be presented in imagination in a structured and ordered way. So, the exhibition would advance from innocuous scenes (like entering a garage) to others that are much more sensitive and relevant (like driving on the highway).
Finally, it may be very important to carry out cognitive restructuring strategies aimed at detecting irrational thoughts related to the emotion of fear, and thus be able to replace them with others more adjusted to objective reality (rational debate). The process involves an exploration of the inner life and some conceptions that have been forged over the years; so it may require time and the use of tools to record the situation, thought and emotion.
