Aquaphobia

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Not to be confused with Hydrophobia or Thalassophobia.
Aquaphobia
Rabies Virus.jpg
Aquaphobia is a symptom of Rabies.
SpecialtyPsychology
SymptomsAversion to drinking water
ComplicationsDehydration

Aquaphobia (from Latin aqua 'water', and Ancient Greek φόβος (phóbos) 'fear') is an irrational fear of water.[1]

Aquaphobia is considered a Specific Phobia of natural environment type in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. A specific phobia is an intense fear of something that poses little or no actual danger.[2]

Etymology[]

The correct Greek-derived term for "water-fear" is hydrophobia, from ὕδωρ (hudōr), "water"[3] and φόβος (phobos), "fear".[4] However, this word has long been used in English to refer specifically to a symptom of later-stage rabies, which manifests itself in humans as difficulty in swallowing, fear when presented with liquids to drink, and an inability to quench one's thirst.

Prevalence[]

A study of epidemiological data from 22 low, lower-middle, upper-middle and high-income countries revealed "fear of still water or weather events" had a prevalence of 2.3%, across all countries; in the US the prevalence was 4.3%.[5] In an article on anxiety disorders, Lindal and Stefansson suggest that aquaphobia may affect as many as 1.8% of the general Icelandic population, or almost one in fifty people.[6] In America, 46% of American adults are afraid of deep water in pools and 64% are afraid of deep open waters.[7]

Manifestation for aquaphobia[]

Specific phobias are a type of anxiety disorder in which a person may feel extremely anxious or has a panic attack when exposed to the object of fear. Specific phobias are a common mental disorder.[8]

Psychologists indicate that aquaphobia manifests itself in people through a combination of experiential and genetic factors.[9] Five common causes of aquaphobia: instinctive fear of drowning, experienced an incident of personal horror, has an overprotective parent/parent with aquaphobia, psychological difficulty adjusting to water and lack of trust in water. [10]

In the case of a 37 year old media professor, he noted that his fear initially presented itself as a, "severe pain, accompanied by a tightness of his forehead," and a choking sensation, discrete panic attacks and a reduction in his intake of fluids.[11]

Signs and Symptoms[]

Physical responses include nausea, dizziness, numbness, shortness of breath, increased heart rate, sweating and shivering.[12]

In addition the signs and symptoms above, some general signs and symptoms one may display in reaction to a specific phobia may include:

  • Physical Symptoms: trembling, hot flushes or chills, pain or tightness in chest, butterflies in stomach, feeling faint, dry mouth, ringing in ears, confusion
  • Psychological Symptoms: feeling fear of losing control, fainting, dread and dying. [13]

Treatment and Case Studies[]

A few treatment options include:

  • Hypnosis and Systematic Desensitization - 28 year old female, aquaphobia from childhood, hypnosis and systematic desensitization in an 8-week 5-session program, 2-month and 1-year follow up.[14] 37 year old male, 10 years of extreme aquaphobia (could not even drink water), 6 sessions of hypnotherapy, therapy was successful, no relapse and 6 month follow up. [15]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ Dorland's Illustrated Medical Dictionary. Elsevier. 2011. p. 122.
  2. ^ "Anxiety disorders". Office on Women's Health. US Department of Health and Human Services. Retrieved 20 November 2019. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  3. ^ ὕδωρ, Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon, on Perseus
  4. ^ φόβος, Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon, on Perseus
  5. ^ Wardenaar, K. J.; Lim, C. C. W.; Al-Hamzawi, A. O.; Alonso, J.; Andrade, L. H.; Benjet, C.; Bunting, B.; de Girolamo, G.; Demyttenaere, K.; Florescu, S. E.; Gureje, O. (2017). "The cross-national epidemiology of specific phobia in the World Mental Health Surveys". Psychological Medicine. 47 (10): 1744–1760. doi:10.1017/S0033291717000174. ISSN 1469-8978. PMC 5674525. PMID 28222820.
  6. ^ Líndal, E.; Stefánsson, J. G. (1993). "The lifetime prevalence of anxiety disorders in Iceland as estimated by the US National Institute of Mental Health Diagnostic Interview Schedule". Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica. 88 (1): 29–34. doi:10.1111/j.1600-0447.1993.tb03410.x. ISSN 0001-690X. PMID 8372693. S2CID 42323599.
  7. ^ Aboo Bakar, Rofiza. "Aquaphobia: Causes, Symptoms and Ways of Overcoming It for Future Well-being" (PDF).
  8. ^ "Phobia - simple/specific". MedlinePlus. Retrieved 20 November 2019. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  9. ^ Lynne L. Hall, Fighting Phobias, the Things That Go Bump in the Mind, FDA Consumer Magazine, Volume 31 No. 2, March 1997
  10. ^ Aboo Bakar, Rofiza. "Aquaphobia: Causes, Symptoms and Ways of Overcoming It for Future Well-being" (PDF).
  11. ^ Ajinkya. "Cognitive Hypnotherapy for Panic disorder with Aquaphobia". Sleep and Hypnosis. 17.
  12. ^ Aboo Bakar, Rofiza. "Aquaphobia: Causes, Symptoms and Ways of Overcoming It for Future Well-being" (PDF).
  13. ^ National Health Service. "Symptoms - Phobias".
  14. ^ PhD, Frank DePiano (1985-02-28). "Hypnosis in the Treatment of Aquaphobia". Psychotherapy in Private Practice. 3 (1): 93–97. doi:10.1300/J294v03n01_11. ISSN 0731-7158.
  15. ^ Ajinkya, Shaunak. "CASE REPORT: Cognitive Hypnotherapy for Panic Disorder with Aquaphobia" (PDF).
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