Generality
Ablutophobia is the fear of washing, bathing or coming into contact with personal hygiene products.
This psychological disorder - relatively rare but serious - appears to be more prevalent in women and children.
The ablutophobia causes great discomfort to the person who suffers from it and can develop into an anxiety disorder . As with other phobias, if left untreated, the fear of washing can worsen and cause somatic symptoms, including profuse sweating, accelerated heartbeats, nausea and a lack of oxygen.
In the long term, ablutophobia causes serious consequences related to lack of personal hygiene (gastrointestinal disorders, infections, skin diseases, etc.), as well as having negative repercussions in social, scholastic and working life.
The fear of washing can be faced and overcome with a course of psychotherapy, in combination or not with drugs, subject to medical prescription.
What's this
Ablutophobia: definition
Ablutophobia is a phobic disorder commonly known as fear of washing or taking a bath .
In those who suffer from it, a simple, automatic and daily activity, such as showering or cleaning hands before meals, can trigger a sense of serious and persistent discomfort. In an attempt to reduce the negative symptoms related to personal hygiene, the ablutophobic subject adopts strategies to avoid the phobic stimulus. This results in various consequences: ablutophobia can influence social and work life due to poor hygiene, neglect and the emission of bad smells, as well as to predispose to infectious or other diseases.
Ablutophobia: terminology
- The ablutophobia is the pathological and irrational fear of washing, showering, bathing or engaging in other activities that concern personal hygiene.
- The word " ablutophobia " comes from the Latin " ablutio " which means "washing" and " phóbos ", meaning "fear" in Greek.
Causes and Risk Factors
Ablutophobia is an anxiety disorder and, clinically, falls into the category of specific phobias, that is, excessive or unreasonable fears of a given object or situation.
The condition can manifest itself in many ways: from the fear of taking a shower to the phobia to being exposed to any form of hygienic measurement (eg contact with water, cleansing of hands, etc.).
Why do you suffer from Ablutophobia?
The causes of ablutophobia are not always easily identifiable, but it seems that at the onset of the problem there are several contributing factors, including environmental and character traits.
- As with most specific phobias, a traumatic event, experienced personally or witnessed, is often involved in the origin of the disorder, although ablutophobic may sometimes not consciously remember it. For example, some horror film fans say they are afraid to shower after seeing "Psycho" by Alfred Hitchcock. Some people may develop abutophobia after a frightening or dramatic experience with bath or water, such as a drowning or a tragic accident of a family member in the bath or shower.
- Abrutophobia can also develop as a result of the fears of others : if a parent or close relative manifests the same phobia, the patient may have internalized the reactions of that family member during childhood.
- Many children try to avoid bathing because of fear or a simple aversion to water or cleansing operations . Therefore, it is possible that the discomfort felt in childhood turns into ablutophobia in adult life.
Ablutophobia: who is most affected?
The disorder appears to be more common in children and adolescents . However, abutophobia is not to be confused with the aversion to taking a bath or shower, which can occur during childhood; in fact, this problem is not generally considered a phobia, unless it lasts more than six months or continues to manifest itself in adolescence and adulthood .
In other words, ablutophobia is a real pathology: at the mere thought of washing or coming into contact with water and hygiene products, people who suffer from it experience anxiety and discomfort, so much so as to put in place a series of obsessive rituals, as well as adopting " particular behaviors " to keep away situations that can make them feel bad ( avoidance strategies ).
The ablutophobia seems to be more frequent in women than in men and manifests itself above all in subjects with fragile personalities.
Symptoms and Complications
Ablutophobia: how does it manifest itself?
The ablutophobia is mainly expressed with discomfort and a sense of repulsion towards the phobic stimulus, represented mainly by the idea of bathing or showering or exposure to water and personal hygiene products. It should be noted that the phobic situation can vary from person to person: usually, those suffering from ablutophobia fear some situations more than others.
In the most severe cases, ablutophobia results in severe anxiety, which can lead to anxiety and / or panic attacks in full force, with cold sweat, increased heart rate (tachycardia), nausea, shortness of breath and sense of suffocation.
If it lasts over time and is not addressed from a therapeutic point of view, ablutophobia puts the sufferer in a state of hygienic deficiency : allowing dirt and bacteria to remain on the skin and hair for long periods of time could increase the risk of skin damage. own "physical" pathologies, such as infections, gastrointestinal disorders and dermatological diseases . Just think of what could cause abutophobia if it leads to avoid washing hands after using the bathroom or during food preparation .
Not taking a shower regularly can also have other negative consequences, such as:
- Problems at work or school and in personal relationships : in the modern world, cleanliness and hygiene are among the fundamental priorities of everyday life; not being able to take a bath regularly can make abutophobic look "dirty", exposing it to problems of social acceptance. Abutophobia can also result in rejection by other people.
- Isolation, a condition that could lead to social phobia or even agoraphobia ;
- Higher risk for the development of body image disorders .
Over time, anxiety symptoms are also activated just thinking about situations that typically trigger ablutophobia and, in extreme cases, can lead to depression or schizophrenia .
Ablutophobia: somatic symptoms
For those suffering from ablutophobia, any stressful or distressing situation related to personal hygiene triggers a fear that leads to a definite " fight or flight " behavior. In practice, the body reacts to the phobic stimulus with an extreme expression of the survival instinct, which automatically prepares the body to move away from the potential danger (ie the idea of washing, considered as a threat) and results in an abnormal response on an emotional level, evident due to the appearance of somatic symptoms, such as:
- Cry;
- Tremors;
- Accelerated beats;
- Chills and goose bumps;
- Cold sweat or, on the contrary, hot flushes;
- Tingling and itching;
- Nausea and / or vomiting;
- Headache;
- breathlessness;
- Sense of fainting or dizziness;
- Confusion and feeling of "empty head";
- Sense of oppression or chest pain;
- Increased muscle tension;
- Dry mouth;
- Constant anxiety.
Diagnosis
If the symptoms of abutophobia significantly limit normal daily life and persist for more than six months, it is advisable to consult a doctor, psychiatrist or psychologist to identify the problem.
The initial evaluation of ablutophobia is fundamental to understand the reasons behind the discomfort, identifying its meaning and quantifying its extent, then establishing the correct therapeutic procedure.
Therapy and Remedies
How can Ablutophobia be overcome?
The treatment of ablutophobia provides a path aimed at the management of anxiety-inducing stimuli and the manifestations that derive from it. The choice between the different interventions or the combination of these depends on the person and the severity of the clinical picture, but, usually, the treatment plan includes the techniques of cognitive-behavioral therapy, in combination or not with medicines able to help keep fear in check.
- Psychotherapy - One of the most effective strategies to deal with and overcome ablutophobia is cognitive-behavioral psychotherapy . This intervention aims to induce the patient to rationalize his fear and helps the patient to focus on the possibility of reacting to anxious thoughts and modifying the vicious circle, addressing the negative beliefs associated with the phobia of washing, resizing them.
- Drugs - In combination with psychological treatment, the psychiatrist can prescribe, for short periods, a drug therapy to control the anxiety symptoms associated with ablutophobia. The medicines that are usually indicated are benzodiazepines, beta-blockers, tricyclic antidepressants, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) and monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs). It should be emphasized that the use of drugs can temporarily calm the problem, but it does not resolve it definitively.
