Arachnophobia (phobia of men): symptoms, causes and treatment

There are a multitude of phobias, associated with an infinity of stimuli. There are phobias, but less known than others, such as arrhenphobia. This phobia consists of the intense and persistent fear of men.

Arrhenphobia originates especially as a result of traumatic situations experienced with people of the male sex. In this article we will know what it consists of, its symptoms, causes and possible treatments to apply.

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

Arrhenphobia: what is it?

As we said, arrhenphobia is a little-known phobia; It is the phobia of men, and it translates into an intense, persistent and disproportionate fear to the male sex. Both men and women can suffer from it.

This fear is also irrational; Irrationality is one of the characteristics that differentiates a phobia from a fear.

Arrhenphobia can be classified in the "other phobias" section proposed by the DSM-5 (Diagnostic Manual of Mental Disorders), since it does not correspond to none of the other 4 types of phobias proposed in the manual (phobia of animals, blood/injection/injuries, natural situations, and phobias situational).

In this group of phobias (“other phobias”), along with arrhenphobia, other types of phobia appear, such as the intense fear of choking, contracting a disease, etc.

Symptoms

The symptoms of arrhenphobia include the typical symptoms of a specific phobia, which are mainly:

1. intense fear

Appears an intense fear of men, as well as of situations that may involve meeting a man, being alone with him, making conversation, etc. Instead of fear it can also be anxiety (in high doses).

2. physiological symptoms

Associated with previous anxiety, physiological symptoms may appear in arrhenphobia, such as: increased heart rate, increased blood pressure, dizziness, nausea, vomiting, hyperreactivity to stimuli, insomnia, nightmares, etc.

3. Panic attacks

In extreme cases of arrhenphobia, panic attacks may even appear in the presence of a man (or at the possibility of seeing him, being alone with him, etc.).

These episodes are characterized by the above symptoms together with one or more of the following symptoms: shortness of breath, shortness of breath, fear of “going crazy”, fear of “losing control”, etc.

4. Avoidance or resistance

Another characteristic symptom of arrhenphobia is that men are avoided at all costs; Situations that can lead to getting to know one, to interacting with him are also avoided., etc. It can also happen that, instead of avoiding men, they face situations of interaction with them, but with great anxiety (that is, they "resist" the situation).

5. pronounced discomfort

In addition to the intense fear and physiological symptoms, an intense discomfort appears in the patient that affects his daily life. This discomfort is physical and psychological, and can reduce the quality of life of the person with arrhenphobia.

6. altered functioning

The above symptoms end up interfering in the overall functioning of the person. This includes all (or some) of his spheres: work, social, personal, etc. This symptom is very characteristic of mental disorders in general., and not only anxiety disorders or, as in this case, phobias.

Causes

The causes of arrhenphobia are mainly related to traumatic experiences lived with men. If that traumatic experience has not been dealt with psychologically (that is, if it has not been processed and accepted), the problems that it triggers can be aggravated.

The origin of arrhenphobia too is related to a certain genetic vulnerability to suffering from an anxiety disorder, as well as with a fragile, insecure and/or dependent temperament or personality.

traumatic experiences

Returning to the traumatic situation experienced, this can be related to abuse by a man (whether physical, sexual, or verbal assaults…), with a situation of sexual abuse and even rape.

If it has not been experienced in the first person, it may also have been witnessed by close people (for example, watching the father hit the mother, for example). vicarious conditioning) or you may even have heard stories of other people's suffering and negative consequences related to men.

It seems logical that the fact of having experienced such a traumatic situation ends up causing a phobia (or other mental disorder), since the person, consciously or unconsciously, does not want to suffer that again, and that is why she “protects” herself by avoiding the stimulus or object in question (in this case, men).

• You may be interested in: "What is trauma and how does it influence our lives?"

dysfunctional mechanisms

However, phobias come from responses that pretend to be adaptive but in reality end up being dysfunctional and pathological, since avoiding something distances us from facing life situations and prevents us from being able to develop coping mechanisms suitable.

Besides, we enter a vicious circle, because if we do not face what we fear, we cannot understand or manage it, and the discomfort is still there, perpetuating itself over time.

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

Treatment

The psychological treatment of arrhenphobia will aim to deal with the phobic stimulus, in this case men. Without adequate coping, the stimulus cannot be processed correctly (feeding avoidance behaviors) and this will only perpetuate and make arrhenphobia chronic.

So, the treatments that are usually used in arrhenphobia, as in many other specific phobias, are the following:

1. exposure techniques

Exposure therapy involves the patient exposing himself to the object that he fears so much. It is carried out through a hierarchy of gradual items; in this case, the scale of items can include situations of increasingly close interaction with men. This type of therapy is the most effective for treating specific phobias, where the phobic object is well defined.

2. cognitive techniques

Cognitive therapy mainly includes cognitive restructuring. Through it, it is intended to inform the patient about his phobia, so that he understands why it has appeared, why it is maintained, and learn to identify the catastrophic thoughts you have in relation to men. In addition, it will be sought that these thoughts can be replaced by other more realistic and functional thoughts.

The decision on the type of treatment will always be made taking into account the degree of intensity of the arrhenphobia and the characteristics of each person.

Bibliographic references:

• American Psychiatric Association –APA- (2014). DSM-5. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. Madrid: Pan American.
• Belloch, A.; Sandin, b. and Ramos, F. (2010). Manual of Psychopathology. Volume I and II. Madrid: McGraw-Hill.
• Horse (2002). Manual for the cognitive-behavioral treatment of psychological disorders. Vol. 1 and 2. Madrid. XXI century.