Fear of water - aquafobia, hydrophobia. How to deal with it?

One of the most common types of phobia is a fear of water. People can suffer from it all their life, and not knowing the pleasure of swimming. Fortunately, the situation can be remedied if we take the problem seriously and tackle ourselves.

What is the name of fear of water?

Phobia is a common pathology that, in certain life situations, causes discomfort and prevents living a full life. A vivid example is the fear of water: a person with such a disease can not cool in a pond on a hot summer day or enjoy swimming. It can manifest in early childhood and accompany a person all his life.

There are two main terms to denote the fear of water. What is the name of this phenomenon - aquafobia or hydrophobia? Both names are correct and are used to refer to the same problem. Just earlier, the term "hydrophobia" was used to refer to a symptom in rabies. This deadly disease is manifested by a hydrophobic force such that the patient can not even swallow and drink water. Now these two names are used on a par with phobia.

Varieties of aquafobia

To denote particular cases of rabies in psychology, there are special terms. They were introduced for convenience, as to combat the disease you need to determine the specific fear of water. What is the name of each of them and what does it mean? Let's understand. So:

• Aviolofobiya - fear of any contact with water;
• Batofobiya - fear of watery surface with a deep bottom;
• Patamophobia - fear of turbulent flows;
• Lymphophobia - a person is frightened by a large volume of water, water space;
• Thalassophobia - fear of the sea;
• Antlobobia - fear of a flood or flood;
• Omnofobia - fear of falling into the rain;
• Hionophobia - fear of snow.

Thus, hydrophobia - this is only a general name, which includes a lot of shades of this ailment.

The reasons for its appearance

Most often, the fear of water arises in the mind of a person even in early childhood. There are several reasons for this:

• Pathologies during the development of the fetus (eg, hypoxia) - fear is born before the birth of the child.
• Puncture of amniotic bladder.
• Negative experience. The child during a bath could slip, fall, draw water in the ears and nose. This caused strong unpleasant emotions, entrenched in the mind and in the future causing pathological fear. Water is now associated with painful sensations and discomfort.
• Films or stories about water disasters can give rise to the fear of an overly impressionable child, as a result, aquafobia is formed, the fear of water becomes pathological.
• Too sharp reactions of parents. If the child slips during bathing, and the mother reacts to it with a loud cry, the baby is frightened, negative emotions are remembered and generate a phobia.

How to help a child cope with fear?

When a child refuses to take a bath, it is important to distinguish between a phobia and ordinary childish whims. If the child really suffers aquafobia, you need to find out the reason, understand what exactly he is afraid of, and try to help the kid overcome this fear. This may come in handy toys for swimming, bright and interesting for crumbs, bath foam with a pleasant aroma that lifts the mood. Allow the child to choose a washcloth or bathing toy, he should understand that he is able to control the process himself. Use during the procedure little tricks: sing a song or think up a funny tale of water. Help active games: when a child is fun, he forgets about his fear. The baby is easier to cope with aquafobia, in the process of growing up, she can pass, the main thing is to help him in this.

What should I avoid?

It is not necessary to resort to rudeness and force to force the child to climb into the water - this further traumatizes the tender psyche of the baby and reinforces his fear. Do not call it dirty, slovenly - the child will believe your words and will match them.

To deprive him of anything in punishment, too, is not worth it, nor is it necessary to put before the choice: "Or you bathe, or do not watch cartoons" - for this method of education further traumatizes the child, but does not eradicate the fear of water. To act must be friendly and affectionate: in an atmosphere of understanding and support, it will be easier for the child to cope with fear and not to carry it into adulthood. Of course, it is better to closely monitor the reactions of the child, not to allow the formation of fear of water. And then the theme: "What are phobias and how to deal with them?" Will not be relevant for you.

Aquafobia in adults

Adult hydrophobia is the result of an uncontrollable fear in childhood or a psychological trauma that has already been experienced in adulthood. Such fears no longer pass by themselves, as it happens in children. They become a real problem and interfere with a full life. How do these phobias manifest themselves and how to deal with them? In adults aquafobia is associated primarily with death, with fear of drowning. Children are afraid of water as such. In psychology, there are methods to combat the disease.

For example, on a sheet of paper to make a list of situations that cause fear. They need to be assessed on a ten-point scale, where 1 is a less frightening situation, 10 is the worst, causing panic. It is necessary to live these situations mentally, starting with the assessment 1. The purpose of the training is to normalize breathing, pulse, experiencing danger, learn to evaluate a particular case not as dangerous as it seemed before. So go ahead on the list to increasingly frightening items. For each step taken, do not forget to make yourself a reward. After passing the procedure, you can fix the result by going to the water park or to the beach.

When the cause is the sense organs

Sometimes the fear of water arises from unpleasant sensations when it hits the nose, ears, eyes. In this case, psychologists recommend a gradual addiction. First you can just wipe your face with a damp towel, then bury in the eyes of clean or slightly salty water. Gradual training will help reduce discomfort, and eventually fear will go away.

For hearing, water is not dangerous, unpleasant sensations pass by themselves when removing moisture from the ear. Hit it in the nose in the first place causes fear to choke. To solve this problem, you need to breathe properly and keep your head above water. With a phobia of this nature, only gradual addiction can be a way out.

The main enemy is panic

When a person is afraid of open water, getting into this situation, he experiences a feeling of panic. But it is she who causes tragedy when people are drowning. If the person is calm, the water itself raises it to the surface, but does not pull down. Awareness of uncontrollable elements, great depth, difficulty in orientation in space leads to loss of self-control. In this case, you need to learn to trust the water, remember what it holds. Water is not an enemy, and accidents happen only because of misconduct and loss of self-control. For people with this form of phobia, there are special psychological exercises.