Hoplophobia (fear of weapons): symptoms and causes

Experiencing some fear in the presence of a firearm is a natural reaction from the point of view of reason. In addition, the number of accidents, misfortunes or catastrophes related to them do not help to change this.

However, putting aside their reputation or the personal opinion that each one has of them, there have been a number of cases in which people manifest an irrational and extreme fear of these gadgets, this fear is known as hoplophobia.

What is hoplophobia?

Hoplophobia is a specific phobia in which the person experiences an unusual, exacerbated and unfounded fear of weapons in general or firearms specifically.

If we take into account the origin of the term, it derives from the Greek expression "hoplon" which means weapon and "phobos" which can be translated as fear. So it is logical to think that this phobia includes any type of weapon such as pistols, rifles, rifles or any other type of firearm.

Sometimes this phobia also manifests itself through an irrational and excessive fear of people who carry or use weapons, or even

may present a great rejection or aversion to toy weapons.

Like the rest of existing phobias, a person with hoplophobia will experience a series of emotions and physical manifestations related to a very high state of anxiety.

History of the term hoplophobia

In 1962 Colonel Jeff Cooper, an instructor and specialist in firearms, created this term to refer to a phenomenon that he had witnessed on a recurring basis. This phenomenon consisted of a kind of mental alteration that was distinguished by the irrational aversion or terror of weapons.

Another characteristic that distinguished Cooper was that People who suffer from hoplophobia have a series of recurring thoughts about how weapons can have their own will..

Currently, hoplophobia is studied from a psychological perspective, which tries to understand the internal devices that intervene in the development of a phobic fear. Despite the fact that there is not a large volume of research on hoplophobia, it perfectly fits the requirements that a phobic fear must meet. This must be:

• Excessive
• Irrational
• Being outside of the person's domain or control
• Persistent

As a consequence of all these characteristics, it is common for the person suffering from hoplophobia to avoid contact with any type of firearm by all means. Likewise, it will carry out all kinds of escape behaviors whenever it discovers the presence of a firearm.

Symptoms

Since hoplophobia fits into the classification of specific phobias, its symptoms are similar to those of any other anxiety disorder of this type.

These manifestations of anxious character appear every time the person is in front of a firearm, even when it is not clearly in sight.. That is, a person with hoplophobia can begin to experience symptoms only by seeing a police officer with a gun on his belt.

Like the rest of the phobias, this symptomatology can be divided into physical, cognitive and behavioral symptoms.

1. physical symptoms

Sensations of fear in the presence or sighting of a firearm generate hyperactivity of the brain's autonomic nervous system. This intensification of the functioning of the nervous system generates all kinds of changes and transformations in the organism.

During the anxiety episode the person may experience a host of physical symptoms. These include:

• Increased heart rate
• tachycardia
• Increased rate of breathing
• choking sensation
• Increased muscle tension
• headache
• Stomachache
• hyperhidrosis
• dizziness
• nausea and vomiting
• dry mouth

2. cognitive symptoms

Hoplophobia is associated with a series of beliefs and speculations regarding fear of firearms.

These distorted thoughts drive the development of this phobia and are distinguished because the person integrates a series of illogical beliefs about firearms and their attributes or qualities.

3. behavioral symptoms

Unsurprisingly given the nature of this fear, hoplophobia carries with it a host of behavioral symptoms. This behavioral symptomatology is manifested through avoidance and escape behaviors.

Avoidance behaviors refer to all those acts or behaviors that the person carries out with the intention of avoiding encountering the phobic stimulus.. In this way they manage to avoid the anguish and anxiety that the situation generates.

Regarding escape behaviors or acts, if the person cannot avoid meeting the object of his phobia, in this case weapons, will do whatever is necessary to escape the situation in which it finds itself wrapped.

Causes

As mentioned above, there is not a large volume of study of hoplophobia, so its causes are still fully established. However, it is speculated that its etiology would have the same bases as the rest of the specific phobias.

Taking into account the theories about the development of phobias, those people with traumatic experiences in relation to weapons or in whose education an intense rejection of them was proclaimed would be much more susceptible to developing this type of phobia.

Treatment

In most cases hoplophobia does not become highly disabling since the number of situations in which a person has to witness or deal with a weapon is not usually high.

Therefore, since hoplophobia does not usually interfere with a person's daily life, very few seek professional help to treat this anxiety disorder.

However, there are a number of situations or specific contexts in which it is possible that this phobia could obstruct the person's daily routine. These exceptions include people who live in countries where gun ownership is legal, or people who work in contexts where gun use is common; such as in security forces or police forces.

In these cases, interventions through psychotherapy that includes a cognitive behavioral treatment they are highly effective. This treatment can get the person to overcome their phobic fear through gradual exposure to the stimulus accompanied by training in relaxation techniques.