Ichthyophobia (fish phobia): symptoms, causes and treatment

Extreme fear of fish can cause many people to avoid rivers and beaches.

Fear of certain animals is an adaptive and relatively normal fear, as long as it is proportionate and in harmony with the real danger of the animal in question. However, when this fear dominates us and conditions our behavior, we can speak of phobias.

One of these phobias related to marine fauna is ichthyophobia.. In this article we will see what this disorder is about, as well as its causes, symptoms and possible treatments.

What is ichthyophobia?

Ichthyophobia belongs to the group of specific anxiety disorders or specific phobia, in which the person experiences an exacerbated, irrational and uncontrolled fear of fish. This phobia is included in the zoophobias or specific phobias to animals.. However, it should not be confused with selachophobia, in which the object of fear is based solely on sharks.

In ichthyophobia, the person experiences an exaggerated fear of any fish, regardless of its danger or size. Those who suffer from this condition usually manifest a strong a great repulsion towards everything related to fish, including fish as food.including fish as food.

As with most phobias, ichthyophobia may be slightly different in each person who experiences it, due to individual variability in the thought patterns associated with fish.

Unlike the animosity that each person may feel when encountering some kind of fish in natural circumstances, such as swimming at the beach, in ichthyophobia the person is able to recognize that the animal does not necessarily represent a threat. However, in spite of this, the patient is completely unable to resist the great fear it provokes.

In either case, when the phobic stimulus appears, the person with ichthyophobia will experience a series of emotions and physical manifestations characteristic of an extremely high state of anxiety..

Symptoms of this phobia

Since ichthiophobia is a specific anxiety disorder, it shares a large number of symptoms with other specific phobias. This symptomatology includes three major sets of symptoms: physical, cognitive and behavioral.

It is necessary to specify that, although most people experience the same symptoms, both the intensity of the symptoms of ichthyophobia and their incidence may vary, the intensity of the symptoms of ichthyophobia and their incidence may vary from person to person. from one person to another.

Physical symptoms

The appearance or coincidence of the person with the phobic stimulus, in this case fish, triggers a hyperactivity of the autonomic nervous system, which generates an immense amount of changes and alterations in the organism. Among these changes we find:

• Increased Heart rate.
• Dizziness and tremors..
• Sensation of shortness of breath.
• Increased sweating..
• Sensation of pressure in the chest.
• Nausea.
• Gastro-intestinal disturbances.
• Confusion.
• Fainting.

2. Cognitive symptoms

Reactive fear and anxiety reactions to the appearance of the feared stimulus are due to a previous association of this stimulus with irrational ideas and beliefs. These altered ideas of reality stimulate the development of the phobia, and are characterized by the person holding a series of unsubstantiated or unfounded thoughts about the fish, as well as its attributes and qualities.

These thoughts may be reflected as follows:

• Intrusive, involuntary totally uncontrollable thoughts about fish.
• Obsessive speculations about these animals.
• Mental images of a catastrophic nature..
• Feeling of unreality.
• Fear of losing control and not being able to manage the situation satisfactorily.

3. Behavioral symptoms

As with any phobia or specific anxiety disorder, ichthyophobia is accompanied by a series of behavioral symptoms or manifestations that originate from as a response to the occurrence of the aversive stimulus..

The aim of these behaviors is either to directly avoid the feared situation or to escape after the occurrence of the stimulus or situation. These behaviors are known as escape or avoidance behaviors.

Avoidance behaviors are performed with the intention of avoiding the encounter with any type of fish. In these behaviors, the person performs all kinds of behaviors to avoid the possibility of encountering the stimulus that is the object of the phobia. In this way, the aim is to avoid experiencing the feelings of anguish and anxiety generated by these animals.

Some behaviors that serve as an example are those of avoidance of bathing in rivers, lakes or beachesas well as in any context or environment where any type of fish could appear.

On the other hand, escape behaviors appear when the person has not been able to avoid encountering the phobic stimulus, so he/she will carry out all kinds of behaviors that allow him/her to escape from the current situation as soon and as fast as possible.

What causes it?

Like many other phobias, it is practically impossible to determine with total accuracy the origin or cause of this irrational fear. Nevertheless, in the same way that ichthyophobia shares symptoms with other anxiety disordersalso share the same basis or foundation.

A person with a genetic predisposition, which conditions him/her in a neurobiological way to suffer to a greater extent the ravages or psychological effects of stress, and who has also faced at some point in his/her life a highly traumatic experience or with a very high emotional charge, in which the aversive stimulus has played an important role, will be much more prone to develop any type of phobia.

Ichthyophobia, like any anxiety disorder, is usually acquired after the person has had an unpleasant experience with the phobic stimulus or the thought of it. In most cases these phobias are developed during childhood, since children are much more susceptible to any stressful event.

Some events that can trigger this excessive fear of fish are These may be attacks, stings or bites while bathing; or after reading certain information about certain fish or watching certain movies, documentaries or television programs.

Is there a treatment?

Although in many cases ichthyophobia is not disabling, i.e. it does not usually interfere with the patient's life except on rare occasions, a proper diagnosis and treatment can reduce, and even eliminate, the stress response associated with the stimulus.

Due to its high effectiveness in these cases, cognitive-behavioral psychotherapy is the most widely used intervention in the treatment of phobia. when treating a phobia. However, there are a large number of other interventions and therapies that, when carried out correctly and always by an expert, can also offer satisfactory results.

This type of treatment combines live exposure or systematic desensitization techniques with training in relaxation techniques and cognitive restructuring, so that the person can master their phobic fear and perform all kinds of activities without fearing the appearance of these animals.