Enoclophobia (fear of crowds): causes and symptoms

What is enoclophobia? What type of phobia is it?

It is a specific phobia, suffered by those people who feel a great fear of crowds. However, we must differentiate it from agoraphobia (in which fear appears at the possibility of not being able to escape in an emergency situation or when suffering a panic attack).

In this article we will explain some of the characteristics of this phobia, and we will also analyze what causes can originate it, what are its characteristic symptoms and its treatments.

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Enoclophobia: characteristics

Enoclophobia (also called demophobia) is the fear of crowds. That is, it is a specific phobia (an anxiety disorder); its main symptom is fear, as well as intense fear or high anxiety in crowded situations.

Regarding its characteristics, enoclophobia is more common in women than men; on the other hand, it normally develops in early adulthood.

It may happen that people with enochlophobia hide this discomfort associated with being around people (that is, that is to say, that they endure such situations with high anxiety), or it may be that they simply avoid this type of situations.

The main symptoms of enoclophobia are: restlessness, nervousness, sweating, dizziness, anxiety, etc. People who suffer from it may even feel that they will soon have a panic attack.

Is it normal to fear crowds?

Is it normal to fear crowds? The poet and writer Walter Savage Landor used to say "I know you can call me proud, but I hate crowds". Although, is hating the same as fear? Logically not, and as we know in phobias the main symptom is an inordinate fear of something.

So, although generally in phobias the fears are irrational and / or disproportionate, it is also true that they always hide something of truth or reality. That is, the feared stimuli, on some occasion, can also hurt, what happens is that in the phobia the fear that appears is excessive, rigid and too intense (it cannot be modulated).

In this way, trying to answer the question of whether it is normal to fear crowds ("normal" being understood as "habitual" or as “Normative), we will say that in part it is normal to fear crowds, since in cases of human avalanche, for example, we can be in danger.

Although this type of situation does not have to happen, when we are in a closed place, not very big, etc., we can feel that anxiety, and it is logical. We can get overwhelmed. What happens is that, in the case of enoclophobia, the fear is exaggerated, and produces an interference in the life of the individual.

Symptoms

Like all specific phobia, enoclophobia has a series of characteristic symptoms. These are at the cognitive level (for example thinking "I'm going to die"), physiological (for example tachycardia) and behavioral (for example avoidance). We are going to see them in a little more detail throughout this section.

Thus, added to the irrational, intense and disproportionate fear of crowds (which can be awakened by the simple idea of ​​being with many people, or seeing crowds on television, etc.), other types of symptom. At the cognitive level, for example, attention and / or concentration difficulties, a feeling of light-headedness, confusion, narrowing of attention, etc. may appear.

On the other hand, on a physical / psychophysiological level, symptoms such as headaches, chest tightness, sweating, etc. appear in enoclophobia. At the behavioral level, we speak of the characteristic avoidance of phobias; In the case of enoclophobia, the person would avoid situations where there are large crowds of people (for example, demonstrations, discos, shopping centers, etc.

It should be clear that we are referring here by crowds to many, many people together, and "a piñón" (that is, not simply "many people", but people close to each other).

In summary, some of the most important symptoms of enochlophobia are:

• Tremors
• Hyperarousal
• Sweats
• Dizziness
• Thoughts of death
• Irrational thoughts
• Elevated anxiety
• Intense fear
• Tachycardia
• Discomfort
• Sickness
• Vomiting
• Hyperventilation
• Headache
• Chest pain
• Confusion
• Etc.

Causes

Specific phobias are anxiety disorders that are acquired for one reason or another; that is, it is not that we are “born” with one of them, but rather that we “learn” it. Generally, phobias are acquired through traumatic experiences related to the stimulus or phobic situation.

In the case of enoclophobia, it is likely that the person has experienced a traumatic situation related to crowds, such as; that you have felt that you were short of breath at one point with many people nearby, that you have been "crushed" in a kind of human current, who has been hurt by a crowd, who has suffered a panic attack in similar situations, etc.

Let us remember the tragedy of the "Madrid Arena", in 2012, in which 5 girls died due to a human avalanche in an enclosed space (a pavilion), where there were more people than legally allowed. Experiences like this, for survivors, can cause enoclophobia.

Treatment

The main treatments, at a psychological level, to combat specific phobias are: cognitive therapy (or cognitive-behavioral therapy) and exposure therapy.

In the case of cognitive therapy, the patient will be worked with to eliminate the irrational thoughts associated with crowds, as well as the erroneous beliefs that has in relation to them (for example, thinking that one will die imminently [typical symptom of a panic attack], thinking that one will die crushed or drowned by people, etc.).

That is, these beliefs will be analyzed to assess, together with the patient, the degree of realism or plausibility of it, and an attempt will be made to change for other more realistic, adaptive and positive beliefs. The objective will also be to eliminate that great fear of being among so many people, although it is not bad to avoid large crowds of people (in fact many people avoid them), yes it is not being able to lead a “normal” life for this reason (at least, it is not adaptive, and it can harm one).

Regarding exposure therapy, different versions of exposure techniques are used. These consist of exposing the patient to the feared situation; in the case of enoclophobia, the patient would be progressively exposed to being among many people.

All of this is done through a hierarchy of items; One could start by seeing places full of people from afar, to gradually increase "the difficulty" (increase the proximity, the number of people, the contact, etc.).

We must not forget that for these treatments to be effective, the patient must really want to overcome his enoclophobia. This decision must be yours, since only in this way is the motivation necessary for change.

Bibliographic references

• American Psychiatric Association -APA- (2014). DSM-5. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. Madrid: Panamericana.

• Belloch, A., Sandín, B. and Ramos, F. (2010). Manual of Psychopathology. Volume I and II. Madrid: McGraw-Hill.

• Pérez, M., Fernández, J.R., Fernández, C. and Friend, I. (2010). Guide to effective psychological treatments I and II:. Madrid: Pyramid.