Helminthophobia, The Intense Fear Of Mark

Helminthophobia is the intense or irrational hatred or fear of land. It is a phobic disorder in which the presence of stimuli related to these animals triggers an intense cognitive and physical response.

Mark is usually uncomfortable for most people, but those with helminthophobia can have a panic attack just by thinking about them and expecting them to show up. Similarly , the fear of soil is based on or related to the parasitic nature of some species.

Specifications for the fear of land

As with all phobias, fear of the ground can cause various physical symptoms. These include nausea, dizziness, tachycardia, difficulty breathing or hyperventilation, sweating and muscle tension. In addition, there are often behavioral symptoms, such as avoiding situations where a person may encounter a field, for example. Thus, a person with helminthophobia will avoid planting a potted plant or even go to the countryside.

It is also easy to identify perceptual changes, the person may come to believe that they are infected by these animals. This is because the fear of soil is due to disgust and fear of hosting a potentially harmful parasite. This feeling of being a food source for these animals makes people who fear land really fear them.

In addition, it may be related to the fear of death. This is because soil causes decay of corpses. In this connection, it is probably associated with the fear of death itself.

It is also often associated with fear or rejection of unhygienic conditions, which in turn are related to the spread of diseases or bacteria. Thus, those with helminthophobia are almost germophobic and avoid coming into contact with spoiled food as much as they can.

The causes of helminthophobia

Several common hypotheses may explain the origin of animal phobias. In fact, this fear is evolutionary, meaning that avoiding certain animals was crucial to human survival throughout history. In the case of land and the like, it has probably helped to avoid diseases by eating spoiled food seems disgusting. Perhaps it also prevents death due to poisoning, as some fields are deadly.

On the other hand, regarding phobias, it is inevitable to talk about learning fear through negative experiences. Animal phobia usually develops in childhood and is maintained over time. Thus, people who have encountered an animal that is eaten by land may have developed helminthophobia. Many people with this type of phobia report having had childbirth at some point in childhood.

In addition to these reasons, it may be that the fear of land runs in the family. In other words, children learn from the reactions of others, especially their parents. The probability of learning and adopting that fear is quite high if one of the parents is equally afraid of the mark.

Treatments for the fear of land

Phobias with a disgusting component are somewhat more difficult to eradicate and can be significantly reduced with the right intervention. Consult a psychologist if your fears significantly hinder your daily life so that they can lead the process.

The techniques commonly used for this are framed in cognitive behavioral therapy, including systematic desensitization, relaxation techniques , and cognitive restructuring. The first is an exposure technique that consists of meeting different stimuli selected by the patient. The hierarchy on the list depends on the intensity of the anxiety these animals provoke. Thus, they must gradually reveal themselves.

As a supplement , the patient will practice relaxation techniques, with the goal of reducing the anxious symptoms at each degree of exposure. On the other hand, cognitive restructuring focuses on dismantling irrational ideas about land and replacing them with other more adaptive thoughts.

In short, the fear of land causes a lot of discomfort to the person experiencing it. In fact, it can limit their daily lives. However, one can reduce it significantly with appropriate interventions, by analyzing the origin and perhaps even eradicating it. In addition, it will provide the patient with resources to cope with the anxiety they experience in other areas or regarding other animals.