Coimetrophobia (fear of cemeteries): causes, symptoms and treatment

Death is part of life and therefore is inevitable. Although it may be difficult for us to accept, we will all end up dying one day.

Some people have serious problems coming to terms with this fact, as well as feeling real dread at the thought of it. anything that is related to death and the unknown, especially where we are going: the cemeteries.

Coimetrophobia is the phobia of these places and everything that is related to them. In this article we are going to address in more depth what this specific phobia is about, in addition to detailing its symptoms, some causes, interference in the life of the affected person, and treatments.

• Recommended article: "Fear of dying: 3 strategies to manage it"

What is coimetrophobia?

Coimetrophobia is the irrational fear of cemeteries and related aspects such as corpses, tombstones, thanatopraxia, zombies, among others. Although it might seem that this specific phobia should be common, the truth is that feeling a high degree of fear towards cemeteries is not as common as might be expected.

Cemeteries, by themselves, are places that generate some discomfort and, in most cultures, the afterlife is something seen as disturbing. However, coimetrophobic people not only express fear of cemeteries, but also they actually manifest highly exaggerated emotional and physiological responses to this type of places.

This phobia can turn out to be very harmful to the life of the person who suffers from it, since the mere fact of thinking about a burial, seeing the obituaries or having to pass near a cemetery are situations that generate a lot of anxiety. In addition, physical problems such as a sudden increase in heart rate and hyperventilation may manifest, along with panic attacks.

It is common for people who have coimetrophobia to also manifest other phobias related to death and the unknown., such as acluphobia (fear of the dark) and phasmophobia (fear of ghosts).

Symptoms

As in most phobias, the main symptom in coimetrophobia is anxiety.. Depending on the degree of severity, those who suffer from this type of phobia can change their daily habits, such as go to the supermarket or meet friends, to avoid at all costs having to walk past a cemetery. These examples are cases of avoidance behaviors.

The anxiety It can occur just thinking about or being near a graveyard, accompanied by muscle stiffness, dizziness, tremors, tachycardia, hyperventilation, nausea, dry mouth and sweating, as well as reaching the point of having a seizure panic. It can also be the case of being mute and having disorganized language.

Affectation in daily life

Although going to the cemetery is not an everyday task nor does it turn out to be the main place of leisure on the agenda of the majority, the truth is that not being able to get close to one can be something very problematic.

Although with the expansion of the cities the cemeteries have been moved to the outskirts, there are still some that are in the center. It is common for coimetrophobic people to avoid going down the same street where there is a cemetery, a tombstone shop or a cremation site.

This can be detrimental to the well-being of the person with coimetrophobia, since, for example, if their environment of friends decides stay near the area where there is a cemetery, the person simply will not want to stay, something that can harm the sociability of her to the long.

One of the situations in which this phobia can manifest itself most clearly is at a funeral.. These types of events are very important socially, since they are a show of affection and respect for the deceased. Not going to this type of celebration is not seen socially well, in addition to the fact that the person coimetrophobic who has been absent may feel bad for not having gone to say goodbye to a being darling.

Possible causes of this phobia

There is no clear cause in the development of this phobia. Genetics and the environment, as in most phobias, can be factors that influence the appearance of coimetrophobia.

Because death is treated as a taboo and negative subject in Western cultures, cemeteries are perceived as extremely negative places, this being an important cultural cause in the development of phobia.

Fear of the unknown, myths about cemeteries and associated urban legends can contribute to developing coimetrophobia. This phobia also seems to be closely related to the fear of being buried alive.

Traumatic events can also be a condition for developing the phobia. For example, having seen a horror movie as a child or having suffered an unpleasant experience when attending a funeral.

Treatment

As it is a rare and very specific phobia, there are no specialized manuals for its treatment.However, general treatment for anxiety disorders can be used.

Among the most common treatments for phobias, is exposure. The objective of this type of therapy is to get the person to become desensitized to what they are afraid of, in this case, cemeteries.

A good way to work this is to get the person little by little to get closer to a cemetery, being able to watch movies where there are scenes that take place in such a place or talk about the death. Through cognitive behavioral therapy Techniques can be taught and skills perfected to work anxiety in front of cemeteries.

If necessary, the most useful pharmacology to work on phobias are the anxiolytics and the antidepressants. These drugs help reduce the person's anxiety, in addition to preventing panic attacks from occurring. It's also a good idea to cut back on caffeinated substances, such as coffee and tea, given their physiologically activating effects.

Mindfulness, guided meditation, yoga, and exercise have been shown to be useful for working on phobias, such as the fear of cemeteries. Mindfulness allows you to work on full consciousness, and teach the person that indeed we are all going to die one day, that it is normal and that we should not be afraid of it. Meditation and yoga allow the body to relax when there is a stressful situation associated with thinking about cemeteries.

Exercise, especially that which activates the circulatory system, such as anaerobic exercise, helps to de-stress, in addition to secreting endorphins in the brain that induce a feeling of well-being and calm.

Bibliographic references:

• American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders: DSM-5. Washington, D.C: American Psychiatric Association.
• LeBeau RT, Glenn D, Liao B, Wittchen HU, Beesdo-Baum K, Ollendick T, Craske MG (2010). "Specific phobia: a review of DSM-IV specific phobia and preliminary recommendations for DSM-V". Depress Anxiety.
• Rachman, S.J. (1978). Fear and Courage. San Francisco: W. H. Freeman & Co.