Hydrophobia (fear of water): causes and treatment

One of the most common psychological disorders is specific phobia; however, it is not necessarily disabling because people who suffer from it tend to avoid what causes them fear, or it is difficult for them to find it in their usual environment. However, not all phobic stimuli can be easily avoided.

In this article we will analyze the fear of water, also known as hydrophobia or aquaphobia. We will explain what it consists of, what its causes are, and how live exposure, the most effective treatment for specific phobias, is applied in the case of hydrophobia.

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

What is hydrophobia?

Hydrophobia or aquaphobia is a type of specific phobia, that is, an anxiety disorder in which exposure to a specific stimulus causes intense fear and discomfort that lead the person to avoid and escape from the situation. In this case, the object of fear is water.

Within the specific phobias we find the environmental or natural subtype; hydrophobia can be included in this category, along with fear of heights (acrophobia), of the dark (nyctophobia) or of storms (astraphobia).

People with hydrophobia have different symptoms related to avoiding water. Most commonly they have fear of drowning when swimming, but they may also not want to drink liquids or avoid showering and bathing in order not to come into contact with water, especially if the phobia is very irrational.

Thus, the fear of water can interfere in the lives of those who suffer from it in multiple ways. For example, people with hydrophobia who do not shower may have hygienic and social problems, and those who avoid drinking water can suffer from dehydration, which causes tiredness, pain and inadequacy cardiac.

The most common is that the fear of water appears in childhood and subsides spontaneously as the child grows. Nevertheless, if the fear is very intense or persistent (and therefore meets the diagnostic criteria for specific phobia) it is advisable to consult a specialist, since phobias tend to worsen over time.

• Related article: "The 7 most common specific phobias"

Causes of fear of water

From psychology many hypotheses have been offered about the causes of specific phobias. At present, behavioral and cognitive-behavioral models predominate, although the evolutionary perspective has also made relevant contributions in this field.

Seligman's theory of preparation posits that, as our species evolved, humans consolidated through heredity biological predispositions to associate certain stimuli and responses because these favored our survival.

In the case of hydrophobia, fearing water could have prevented drowning deaths, mainly. Currently, many people would maintain this "prepared association" to a greater or lesser extent, which would partly explain the different degrees of hydrophobia.

Whether or not there is a biological preparation, during our lives we can associate through classical conditioning fear with any stimulus through anxiogenic experiences. In addition, if an exposure does not occur, these fears are intensified by negative reinforcement, as proposed by Mowrer's two-factor model.

However, it is also possible to acquire a phobia without a direct negative experience, but rather by observing or transmitting information. For example, a girl or boy might start to fear water after seeing a drowning person in a movie or hearing a similar story.

• You may be interested in: "Classical conditioning and its most important experiments"

Rabies and hydrophobia

It is very common for fear of water to appear in the advanced stages of rabies because the characteristic pharyngeal spasms of this disease cause pain when swallowing. In fact, the word "hydrophobia" is sometimes used as an alternative name for this disease.

Rabies is a viral disease that affects all mammals. It causes an inflammation of the brain (encephalitis) that ends up killing the affected animal or person. At present there are vaccines that prevent and eliminate the rabies virus.

In this case, hydrophobia arises as a natural consequence of physical symptoms of the disease, so it has different characteristics from those of psychogenic hydrophobia. The same applies to the fear of water produced by other organic causes.

Treatment of aquaphobia: in vivo exposure

When hydrophobia is due to medical causes, correcting the condition often makes the symptoms subside. On the other hand, if the fear is explained by psychological factors, the treatments for specific phobia, based mainly on the technique of exposure in vivo.

Live exposure consists of staying close to the phobic stimulus (the object of fear) until the anxiety is reduced. Through this procedure, the person learns to manage anxiety and checks that her fears are not fulfilled.

Generally many exposure sessions are necessary: practice by the patient is one of the best predictors of the success of this treatment. The most common is that hierarchies of phobic situations are made and progress is made from those that cause mild fear to those that caused true panic at the beginning of therapy.

Since most people with hydrophobia they fear falling into the water and drowning, the feared situations to which they will have to expose themselves are usually related to staying near the water and swimming, or learning to do so. In cases where the fear is different, such as drowning, the exposure situations may vary.

People with this phobia are also likely to interpret normal sensations while swimming, such as shortness of breath, as signs that their lives are in danger. In these cases it may be advisable to use interoceptive exposure to physical sensations to facilitate cognitive restructuring.