Luiphobia (fear of contracting syphilis): symptoms, causes and treatment.

A specific phobia related to the disease syphilis.

The fear of contracting certain diseases can be considered "normal" and common in people. These types of fear are adaptive, as they protect us from danger or harm. In this article we will learn about one of them, luiphobia: phobia of contracting syphilis.

Syphilis is a very common sexually transmitted disease (STD), so it is logical to fear it; however, when this fear becomes pathological, the phobia appears. We are going to know the characteristics of this phobia, how it appears and how it can be treated.

Luiphobia: a specific phobia

Luiphobia consists of a persistent, abnormal and unjustified fear of contracting syphilis. Syphilis is a very common sexually transmitted disease (STD).which is spread through vaginal, anal and oral sex. Syphilis causes sores in the genital area (called chancres).

Since the feared stimulus or situation can be identified and specified (in this case, syphilis), luiphobia is considered a specific phobia (in addition to its symptomatology, which is typical of a specific phobia, as we will see below).

People with luiphobia will fear the disease even when they are not at risk of becoming infected; this can affect their lives.This can affect their emotional and sexual life (and their life in general), as well as diminish their quality of life.

Syphilis

Lyphophobia can lead the sufferer to believe that he/she has actually contracted the disease he/she fears.

In this case, the fear is of syphilis, a chronic sexually transmitted disease (STD) that in its first stage produces chancres (open sores) on the skin, and if left untreated can eventually affect the nervous system, cause mental illness and lead to death.

There are now penicillin-based treatments for syphilis, and a person with syphilis can recover when the disease is treated. can recover when the disease is treated in its early stages..

On the other hand, it is recommended to adopt preventive behaviors to avoid contracting syphilis; in this case, taking precautions during sexual intercourse to avoid contracting syphilis and other STDs (use of condoms during genital, oral and anal intercourse, as it significantly decreases the risks).

Other phobias of getting sick

Luiphobia is one of the many phobias related to contracting a certain disease. Other cases of disease phobias include leprophobia (leprosy phobia), carcinophobia (cancer phobia), and dermatophobia (skin disease phobia).

Symptoms

The symptoms of luiphobia correspond to the symptoms of a specific phobia (as defined in the DSM-5). These are the following.

1. Strong and persistent fear

Such fear is excessive or irrationaland is triggered by the presence or anticipation of a specific object or situation (in this case, irrational fear of contracting syphilis).

2. Anxiety

Exposure to the phobic stimulus (to situations conducive to initiating or engaging in sexual intercourse, for example, or to unprotected sex) almost invariably elicits an immediate response. almost invariably provokes an immediate anxiety response.The anxiety may take the form of a situational or more or less situation-related anxiety crisis.

In the case of children, the anxiety may take the form of crying, tantrums, inhibition or cuddling. In this case, luiphobia is understood to be very rare in the child population.

3. Avoidance

The phobic situation(s) are avoided or endured at the cost of intense anxiety or discomfort.

4. Interference with normal routine

The avoidance behaviors, anxious anticipation, or discomfort elicited by the feared situation(s) interfere sharply with the person's normal routineThe avoidance behaviors, anxious anticipation, or discomfort provoked by the feared situations interfere markedly with the person's normal routine, work (or academic) or social relationships, or cause clinically significant discomfort.

5. Duration

The symptoms of luiphobia last at least 6 months to be diagnosed.

6. Not explained by other disorders

Anxiety, panic attacks, or phobic avoidance behaviors associated with specific objects or situations cannot be better explained by the presence of another mental disorder..

Causes

The causes of luiphobia are the same as the causes for specific phobias, although depending on the type of phobia, these may vary.

In the case of luiphobia, it may have appeared by classical conditioning (by associating a risk behavior with the appearance of syphilis), or it may have appeared by traumatic experiences. may have arisen from traumatic experiences (direct conditioning), if the (direct conditioning), if the person has previously suffered from syphilis.

On the other hand, luiphobia may also have been "inherited", that is, it may have been acquired by observation (vicarious conditioning) (for example, that the person knows someone in the environment with syphilis), or by information conditioning processes (that the person in question has heard news of syphilis epidemics, or has been told about new cases of syphilis, with the suffering and discomfort that this disease entails).

Treatment

The psychological treatment of luiphobia would be the same as for a specific phobia; thus, the live exposure is used as the treatment par excellence (behavioral treatment). In this case, the exposure would be made to situations that can trigger the contraction of syphilis, or the maintenance of sexual relations, approaches, etc, without the appearance of escape behaviors (with exceptions).

Variants of exposure therapy can also be applied: exposure in imagination or exposure through virtual reality.

On the other hand, cognitive-behavioralon the other hand, cognitive-behavioral therapy can be usedcan be used to eliminate the cognitive distortions associated with the phobia, as well as the dysfunctional beliefs and the meaning attributed to syphilis and other behaviors by the person.

At the pharmacological level, anxiolytics can be used (to reduce anxiety), although it is not advisable to use them in exposures in the case of behavioral treatment, since the therapeutic effect is reduced (the person does not face the situation in a "natural" way). However, they can be used as a complement to other psychological therapies (as well as some antidepressants).

Bibliographical references:

• Caballo, V. (2002). Manual for the cognitive-behavioral treatment of psychological disorders. Vol. 1 and 2. Siglo XXI (Chapters 1-8, 16-18).
• Belloch, A.; Sandín, B. And Ramos, F. (2010). Manual de Psicopatología. Volume I and II. Madrid: McGraw-Hill.
• American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders. Fifth edition. DSM-5. Masson, Barcelona.