Ichthyophobia (phobia of fish): symptoms and treatment

The 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 talk about 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.

• Related article: "Types of Phobias: Exploring Fear Disorders"

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 It is included within zoophobias or specific phobias of 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 often manifest

a great revulsion towards everything related to fish, including fish as food.

Like most phobias, ichthyophobia can be slightly different for each person. who experience it, due to individual variability in thought patterns associated with fish.

Unlike the animosity that each person may feel when encountering some type of fish in natural circumstances, such as example bathing on the beach, in ichthyophobia the person is able to come to recognize that the animal does not have to represent a threat. However, despite this, the patient is completely unable to resist the great fear that it causes him.

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

• You may be interested in: "Types of Anxiety Disorders and their characteristics"

Symptoms of this phobia

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

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

1. physical symptoms

The appearance or coincidence of the person with the phobic stimulus, in this case the 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.
• Feeling of lack of air.
• increased sweating.
• Sensation of pressure in the chest.
• Nausea.
• Gastro-intestinal disorders.
• Confusion.
• Fainting.

2. cognitive symptoms

Reactive fear and anxiety reactions to the appearance of the feared stimulus are due to a prior association of this stimulus with irrational ideas and beliefs. These altered ideas of reality stimulate the development of the phobia, and are characterized because the person holds a series of little or nothing founded thoughts about fish, as well as their attributes and qualities.

These thoughts can be reflected in the following way:

• Intrusive, involuntary thoughts and totally uncontrollable about the fish.
• Obsessive speculations with 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

Like any phobia or specific anxiety disorder, ichthyophobia is accompanied by a series of symptoms or behavioral manifestations that originate in response to the appearance of the aversive stimulus.

The objective of these behaviors is either to directly avoid the feared situation, or to escape after the appearance of said stimulus or situation. These behaviors are known as escape or avoidance behaviors.

Avoidance behaviors are executed with the intention of avoiding the encounter with any type of fish. In them, the person carries out 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 the experimentation of feelings of anguish and anxiety that these animals generate.

Some behaviors that serve as an example are those of avoid bathing in rivers, lakes or beaches; as well as in any context or medium in which any type of fish could appear.

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

What causes does it have?

Like many other phobias, it is practically impossible to determine exactly what is the origin or cause of this irrational fear. However, in the same way that ichthyophobia shares symptoms with other anxiety disorders, also share the same base or foundation.

A person with a genetic predisposition, which neurobiologically conditions them to suffer to a greater extent the ravages or psychological effects of stress, and who also have faced at some point in their life a highly traumatic experience or one with a very high emotional charge, in which the aversive stimulus has played a role important; you will be much more likely to develop any type of phobia.

Both ichthyophobia and any anxiety disorder are 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 they can be attacks, stings or bites while the person was bathing; or after reading certain information about certain fish or watching certain movies, documentaries or television programs.

Is there a treatment?

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

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

This type of treatment combines live exposure techniques or systematic desensitization with training in relaxation techniques and cognitive restructuringIn this way, the person can master their phobic fear and carry out all kinds of activities without fearing the appearance of these animals.