Nelophobia (fear of glass): symptoms, causes and treatment

This anxiety disorder is a phobia that greatly impairs people's quality of life.

Nelophobia is the persistent and intense fear of glass. It can be described as a specific type of phobia, and as such, there are many elements that can provoke it. There are also different ways to reduce the person's anxiety responses.

In this article we will see what is the nelophobiaIn this article we will see what is the nelophobia, of what another way is denominated, which are its main causes as well as some strategies for its evaluation and treatment.

• Article related: "Types of phobias: exploring the disorders of the fear".

Nelophobia: fear of glass

The nelophobia is the persistent and intense fear to the glass. Being a phobia, this fear is presented in an irrational way, that is to say, it is not justified by the cultural codes of the person. Other terms used to refer to glass phobia are "hielophobia" or "hialophobia" and "cristalophobia".

The term "hyalophobia" is one of the most commonly used synonyms for nelophobia. It is composed of the Greek "ýalos" meaning "crystal", and "phobos" meaning "fear" or "dread". Insofar as it is a fear that is not generalized, but manifests itself in response to a specific stimulus. manifests itself in response to a specific stimulus (glass), this (glass), this could be considered a phobia of a specific type.

As such, this fear is considered a specific phobia when the anticipation, avoidance or discomfort related to the stimulus significantly interferes with the person's daily routine (academic, work, personal responsibilities, etc.), and this cannot be explained by other diagnoses such as Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder or social phobia.

Finally, the person may be aware that his or her fear is excessive, but not necessarily so.

Symptoms

In general, the main symptoms of specific phobias are those related to an intense anxiety response. They are caused by the activation of the autonomic nervous system once the person has been exposed to the stimulus and include manifestations such as sweating, hyperventilation, increased heart rate, decreased Gastrointestinal activity, and in some cases it can trigger a panic attack.and in some cases a panic attack may be triggered. This is more common when the stimulus causing the phobia does not present significant opportunities to be avoided.

In the same sense, specific phobias cause some secondary manifestations, which are those that are not easily observed, but can have a negative impact on the person's functionality. These are, for example constant avoidance and defensive behaviors.

Likewise, the fear is caused by the perceived possibility of harm, which in the case of nelophobia could be suffering an injury caused by glass. However, other types of specific phobias may be caused by a different concern, related to making a fool of oneself, losing control, experiencing unpleasant physical sensations or suffering a panic attack.

Probable causes

One of the most accepted explanatory theories on the development of phobias is the priming theory, which states that it is enough to have had a direct or indirect aversive experience with the stimulus to increase the probability that a fear becomes a phobia. In other words, one of the causes of specific phobias is to have had a direct negative experience with the stimulus. a direct negative experience with the stimulusor have witnessed this experience.

In the case of nelophobia, it would be, for example, having had an injury or accident involving glass, or having seen someone else suffer from it.

Along the same lines, another element that can increase the probability of developing a phobic fear is the severity and frequency of the negative experiences, i.e., how much actual harm the exposure to the stimulus caused and how many times this has occurred. Thus, it is more likely to to develop fear of stimuli that represent a major threat to physical integrity and biological to physical integrity and biological stability.

However, some studies have reported that this criterion is not always met. There are fears that do not correspond to the history of direct and indirect negative experiences, so it is important to have a thorough assessment of how the threatening information has been transmitted, acquired and consolidated.

Assessment

The clinical assessment should begin by exploring what are the feared and avoided situations, as well as the behaviors that are generating problems in terms of functionality. For example, the expectations of danger (the cognitive level), the avoidant or defensive behaviors (the motor dimension), the degree of anxiety response (physiological dimension), and the experience of fear (the emotional level).

Subsequently, it is important to detect which elements of the problem are being aggravated or reduced, especially with respect to the stimulus. This refers, for example, to assessing the frequency of exposure to the stimulus and the degree of danger it represents, as well as the related escape alternatives. In the case of this phobia, the aim would be to determine the level of exposure of the person to glass environments, how risky they may be and what risk reduction alternatives exist.

It is also important to know the person's life history and the associations made with respect to the stimulus perceived as noxious. From there, detect the resources and coping strategies to determine which factors need to be reinforced, reduced or accompanied.

Treatment

Regarding treatment, the theory of non-associative explanation, which states that phobias can be generated without the need for associative learning, has postulated that the fear response can diminish when the person is exposed in a non-negative and repeated way to the feared stimuli..

In the same vein, some of the most commonly used techniques are relaxation techniques, systematic desensitization, imagery techniques, virtual reality exposure, the vicarious exposure model, among many others.

The efficacy of each depends to a large extent on the intensity of the anxiety response, as well as on the personal as well as the personal history and the degree of risk posed by the phobic stimulus.

Bibliographical references:

• Bados, A. (2005). Specific phobias. Factultat de Psicologia. Departament de Personalitat, Avaluació i Tractament Psicològics. Universitat de Barcelona. Retrieved September 24, 2018. Available at http://diposit.ub.edu/dspace/bitstream/2445/360/1/113.pdf.
• Hyelophobia (2017). Common-phobias.com. Retrieved September 24, 2018. Available at http://common-phobias.com/Hyelo/phobia.htm.
• Nelophobia (S/A). Phobia wiki. Retrieved September 24, 2018. Available at http://phobia.wikia.com/wiki/Nelophobia.