Aquaphobia

Template:Short description Template:Distinguish Template:Infobox medical condition Aquaphobia (Template:Ety) is an irrational fear of water.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Aquaphobia is considered a specific phobia of natural environment type in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> A specific phobia is an intense fear of something that poses little or no actual danger.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }} Template:PD-notice</ref>

Etymology

Template:See also The correct Greek-derived term for "water-fear" is hydrophobia, from ὕδωρ (hudōr), "water"<ref>ὕδωρ Template:Webarchive, Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon, on Perseus</ref> and φόβος (phobos), "fear".<ref>φόβος Template:Webarchive, Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon, on Perseus</ref> However, this word has long been used in many languages, including 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. Therefore, fear or aversion to water in general is referred to as aquaphobia.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

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%.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> In America, 46% of American adults are afraid of deep water in pools and 64% are afraid of deep open waters.<ref name=":0">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Manifestation for aquaphobia

Specific phobias are a type of anxiety disorder in which a person may feel extremely anxious or have a panic attack when exposed to the object of fear. Specific phobias are a common mental disorder.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }} Template:PD-notice</ref>

Psychologists indicate that aquaphobia manifests itself in people through a combination of experiential and genetic factors.<ref name="hall">Lynne L. Hall, Fighting Phobias, the Things That Go Bump in the Mind, FDA Consumer Magazine, Volume 31 No. 2, March 1997</ref> Five common causes of aquaphobia are:<ref name=":0"/>

• Instinctive fear of drowning
• Past experience of an incident of personal horror
• Overprotective parent, or parent with aquaphobia
• Psychological difficulty adjusting to water
• Lack of trust in water

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.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

Signs and symptoms

Physical responses include nausea, dizziness, numbness, shortness of breath, increased heart rate, sweating, and shivering.<ref name=":0"/>

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

• Physical symptoms: trembling, hot flushes or chills, pain or tightness in chest, butterflies in stomach, feeling faint, dry mouth, ringing in ears, and confusion<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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• Psychological symptoms: feeling fear of losing control, fainting, dread and dying<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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Treatment and case studies

Treatment options include:

• Hypnosis and systematic desensitization. 28-year-old female, aquaphobic from childhood, hypnosis and systematic desensitization in an 8-week 5-session program, 2-month and 1-year follow-up.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> 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.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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• Cognitive behavioral therapy
• Exposure therapy
• Medication

See also

• List of phobias
• Thalassophobia – fear of the sea