Index
It is the extreme fear of bathing, washing or cleaning. It can sometimes be attributed to a fear of cold water.
Commonly, it is observed that children are afraid of bathing or washing, but when this phobia is transmitted to adolescence and even adulthood, it is known as ablutophobia.
The word ablutophobia comes from the Latin ablutere “to wash” and from the Greek “phobos”, which means fear.
Ablutophobia is the persistent, abnormal and unjustified fear of bathing, washing or cleaning. This phobia is a specific phobia situation.
Ablutophobia tends to be more common in children and women than in men.
However, fear usually dissipates in children when they discover that the bathroom is not something to be feared. Refusal to wash can cause problems in daily life.
This can lead to isolation and develop social phobia . In some cases, agoraphobia . The person is more prone to develop body image disorders.
Personal hygiene is a first step in avoiding illness, as bacteria that remain on the skin and in the hair can increase the risk of illness.
This type of phobia is almost impossible to overcome on your own.
Causes of ablutophobia
The phobia is usually caused by a negative experience that involved bathing.
Like many other phobias of this type, the causes of ablutophobia can also be traced to some types of childhood trauma that involved water, especially hot water.
In more than half of the cases, these circumstances involved abusive or neglectful parents using water-based punishments or using the bathroom as punishment. Sometimes it can be caused by genetics and is more likely to happen if you have a parent who had it.
Symptoms
The symptoms of ablutophobia, as well as many specific phobias are as follows:
- Feelings of panic, horror, or terror.
- Recognition that fear goes beyond normal limits and the real threat of danger.
- Reactions that are automatic and uncontrollable, practically taking control of the person’s thoughts.
- Rapid heartbeat, shortness of breath, tremors, and an overwhelming desire to flee the situation. All physical reactions associated with extreme fear.
- Extreme measures taken to avoid the feared object or situation.
- Feelings of shame are also not uncommon. Cleanliness is highly valued by many cultures, and refusing to bathe can make someone an object of ridicule, which can increase the severity of the phobia. It can also cause the patient not to seek treatment.
Treatment of ablutophobia
There are also many options for the treatment of ablutophobia.
In general, seeking the professional help of a person with experience in psychology is the best option.
A patient suffering from ablutophobia can also undergo exposure-based cognitive behavioral therapy in which the person can confront the feared object, in this case, water, in controlled situations.
There are anxiety medications that medical professionals can also prescribe, however these medications are used as the last option in treating specific phobias, such as ablutophobia.
The use of d-cycloserine in conjunction with exposure therapy is the only drug that shows progress in alleviating phobia-related symptoms even after a period of 3 months.
Anti-anxiety medications such as benzodiapines or antidepressants may be prescribed. If treatment is not completely successful, the therapist may recommend cognitive behavioral therapy.
This is a type of step-by-step intensive therapy where the patient tries to get to the root of the problem. In this type of treatment for ablutophobia, the patient faces his phobia head-on rather than shunning it. Doing so helps them determine the root cause themselves, which is why treatment is widely effective.
Ablutophobia, like other lesser known phobias, is gaining more recognition around the world. It is being considered as a serious problem.
Therefore, while research is mostly in the early stages, more research is being done every day.
This also means that there are many group therapy groups available for the treatment of ablutophobia.
When you are a patient with ablutophobia, you may first be interested in the self-help aspect of treatment.
However, it is found that in such a phobia, self-help does little for further treatment if done without the help of a therapist.
Therefore, when you think you are suffering from this phobia; the help that can easily be found is to go to a psychiatric care center, where they understand the needs and are willing to help the patient understand and get rid of all the physical or psychological aspects that involve this condition.
