Pluviophobia (fear of rain): symptoms, causes and treatment

Many people enjoy the rain, but others irrationally fear it.

Pluviophobia, also known as ombrophobiais the persistent and intense fear of rain and related events (thunder, lightning, etc.). It is a specific phobia to an environmental stimulus, which can be caused by several factors.

In this article we will see what is the pluviophobia, which are some of its main characteristics and which strategies can serve to treat it.

Pluviophobia: persistent fear of rain.

The word pluviophobia is composed of the adjective "pluvial", which means "related to rain" (it comes from the Latin "pluvialis"), and the word "phobia", which comes from the Greek "fobos" and means fear.

Thus, pluviophobia is the persistent and intense fear of rain and those elements related to it. It is a fear that can occur during childhood, although it can also occur in adolescence and adulthood....It is a fear that can occur during childhood, although it can also occur in adolescence and adulthood.

But this is not the only term used to describe the persistent fear of rain. One of the synonyms of "pluviophobia" is the term "ombrophobia", which mixes the Greek "ombro" (meaning "rain"), and the word "fobos".

This last term has had other derivations. For example, there is a species of plants that cannot withstand much exposure to rain, so they have been called "ombrophobic". On the other hand, there is a great variety of vegetation that is called "ombrophilous", due to its high resistance to rain.

General characteristics of this disorder

While the characteristic fear of pluviophobia is provoked by an environmental element (rain), it can be considered a type of phobia specific to the natural environment. can be considered a type of phobia specific to the natural environment.. The estimated age for the development of this type of phobia is around 23 years old, and the one that occurs most frequently is the fear of heights.

The stimulus that is perceived as noxious, in this case rain, can generate expectations of conscious or unconscious dangers. That is to say, people may respond with anxiety to the stimulus even when it manifests itself only indirectly. Likewise, when it occurs in adults, they may recognize that the stimulus does not in itself represent an imminent danger; on the contrary, when it occurs in children this awareness is generally absent.

Rain, on the other hand, is an atmospheric phenomenon resulting from the condensation of water vapor located in clouds. But is rain really a harmful event? Why can it represent a danger for some people and not for others? What degree of discomfort can it cause? We will see some answers later.

Symptoms

In general, the fear associated with phobias is triggered by exposure to a stimulus that is perceived as noxious. Such fear elicits an immediate anxiety responseThis involves signs and symptoms such as tachycardia, hyperventilation, decreased gastrointestinal activity, increased Blood pressure, palpitations, among others.

All of the above occurs as a consequence of the activation of the autonomic nervous system, which is stimulated by risk situations. On the other hand, the anxiety response may be manifested by disgust or revulsion, cardiovascular deceleration, dry mouth, nausea, dizziness, and decreased body temperature. and decreased body temperature. The latter occurs when the specific part of the autonomic nervous system, known as the "parasympathetic nervous system", is activated.

It should be clarified that the intensity with which these manifestations occur depends largely on the degree of exposure to the stimulus that is perceived as noxious. That is to say, the intensity of the response varies according to whether the person is watching the rain from home, or whether he/she is exposed directly to a storm.

Likewise, the intensity of the response may vary according to the particular characteristics of the noxious stimulus and the related associations, and of the possibilities of escape that it may present (e.g., it may vary whether it is a light rain or a thunderstorm).

In addition, a specific phobia can provoke secondary behaviors that significantly impact the person's quality of life, but usually provide momentary relief. For example, avoidance of any situation related to the noxious stimulus. It can also provoke hypervigilance towards such situations or the appearance of defensive behaviors.

Possible causes

According to Bados (2005) specific phobias may develop in people who do not have a predisposing condition, but who have some previous negative experience (direct or indirect) (direct or indirect), which generate intense alert reactions. In the specific case of pluviophobia, fear can be justified by previous experiences related to storms, architectural collapses, floods and other natural disasters.

Therefore, specific phobias are produced by an interaction of these experiences with other conditions such as the biological, psychological and social vulnerability of the person. That is to say, involves both neurobiological susceptibility and the person's coping skills and social support. of the person.

In addition, depending on the particular characteristics of the aforementioned interaction, the person may learn to respond with disproportionate fear to stimuli that he or she has associated with danger or risk.

Treatment

Given all of the above, the treatment of this phobia can begin by evaluating both the degree of anxiety provoked by the stimulus, as well as the associated negative experiences and the types of vulnerability of each person.

The treatments that have been most widely researched and used to eradicate phobias are live exposure to feared situations, participant modeling, imaginal exposure, systematic desensitization and eye movement reprocessing.systematic desensitization and reprocessing by means of eye movements. Each of these interventions can have effective results depending on the particular characteristics of the phobia being treated.

Bibliographic references:

• Olesen, J. (2018). Fear of Rain Phobia - Ombrophobia. Fearof.net. Retrieved September 07, 2018. Available at https://docs.google.com/document/d/1GSzxHXnMzgala01LCZLVey9oGuAqDPB9Wx_NtzR6RiI/edit#.
• Ombrophobia: the strange malady that makes people afraid of rain (2011) Publimetro. Retrieved 07 September 2018. Available at https://www.publimetro.cl/cl/ciencia/2011/12/10/ombrofobia-extrano-mal-que-que-personas-tengan-miedo-lluvia.html.
• Bados, A. (2006). Fobias específicas. Facultat de Psicologia. Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Retrieved September 07, 2018. Available at http://diposit.ub.edu/dspace/bitstream/2445/360/1/113.pdf.