Batofobiya - fear of depth. Fear of depth: possible causes and characteristics of treatment

Fear of depth is one of the most common human phobias. The state manifests itself in fear of the water chasm, an unknown space hidden from the eyes. When you are in the water, it may seem to the person that the inhabitants of the depths are trying to drag him to the bottom. What are the causes of phobia, against which can fear of depth arise? We will try to understand these issues.

Causes

What is the phobia of fear of depth? Such a psychic phenomenon is known under the definition of "batophobia" and is considered one of the most dangerous obsessions that can develop in humans. Being in the water, fearful depths people panic, quickly lose touch with reality and can start to sink. At the same time, the fear of depth does not apply to people who do not swim well. Since in this case the fear of depth has a concrete basis.

Fear of depth is a phobia that develops for the following reasons:

1. Genetics - the preconditions for the development of bacterophobia can exist in a person according to heredity.
2. Unsuccessful experience in learning to swim: often a child unfamiliar with water, immediately thrown to the depth, trying to activate the instinct of self-preservation. In such a situation, a child may experience a psychological trauma that will make him avoid visiting the reservoirs in adulthood.
3. Dangerous cases during bathing: if a person felt the risk of drowning, he was afraid of cramps, in the future this can serve as a basis for the development of bacterophobia.
4. Negative associations: the fear of depth often results from the loss of friends or relatives on the water.
5. Fear of the unexplored: manifested in the perception of the abyss, the infinity of the water column.
6. Fear of inhabitants of depths: in creation of the person so-called emotional anchors are formed. The prerequisite for their education is most often the viewing of horror films. When activating certain areas of the brain, monsters may appear to the person who allegedly inhabit the pond.

Types

There are several varieties of batophobia:

1. Objective - the individual feels fear because of the real potential danger to health and life. For example, a person subject to manifestations of bacterophobia may not be able to dive and independently rise to the surface.
2. Destructive - fear of the ocean, depth, at the root of which lie negative irrational thoughts and expectations about the future presence in the water.

Behavioral Behavior in Batophobia

Now we have found out what is called fear of depth. Next, consider what behavior is demonstrated by individuals who are exposed to this emotional disorder.

Most often, the phobia is manifested in the fact that a person prefers to find excuses from swimming during a rest on a pond or to swim near the shore. If the comrades decide to joke to drag the exposed batofobia to the depth, the consequence of such actions can be panic, hysteria, a state of shock until the loss of consciousness. Such cases often lead to the fact that a person completely refuses to contact with water.

Children who suffer from batofobia actively protest against going to the beach and bathing in the tub. Most often, parents perceive such behavior as ordinary whims, without giving it much importance. If adults show excessive persistence, then the feeling of threat can not leave the child for many years.

Physical manifestations of the disorder

In the presence of fear of water depths, a person manifests a specific symptomatology at the physiological level:

• Increased heart rate;
• Occurrence of dryness in the oral cavity;
• Development of nausea, vomiting;
• Knock in the temples, dizziness, loss of balance and orientation in space, headaches;
• Muscle numbness, tingling in the body;
• Fever, chills;
• Sensation of increasing suffocation, intermittent breathing.

Psychological manifestations

As for the emotional state that is characteristic of the bacterophobia, it is worth mentioning here first of all the fear of losing control over one's own actions in the environment of strangers when there is a need for contact with water. People who suffer from this disorder, start to be afraid to go insane, when they realize that in the near future they will have to dive or swim with a pond.

Other psychological manifestations of batophobia concern one's own self. A person with a disturbed psyche may not feel the reality of what happens when they are in the water, subconsciously transfer themselves to another place and time. Such states often lead to the most inadequate reactions to seemingly simple, absolutely safe situations.

How to avoid the development of bacterophobia?

There are a number of recommendations, the following of which allows to avoid the formation of a negative state:

1. When you are in the water, physical and emotional self-control is extremely important. It is necessary to thoroughly analyze: what thoughts arise during bathing and diving to the depth, are there real risks to life and harm to health.
2. You can overcome the fear of depth by auto-suggestion. If a person tries to do everything possible to develop self-confidence, then the need for learning to swim will not become an insurmountable obstacle for him.
3. It is necessary to decide in advance how important it is to learn how to swim, what advantages can be gained by mastering a skill.

How to deal with bacterophobia?

Eliminate the fear of depth potentially allows the reception of water procedures in safe, maximally transparent and shallow or artificial water bodies. To reduce the intensity of panic conditions, it is enough to sit on the shore, wet your feet, wander in shallow water.

Over time, you can enter the water to the waist, relaxing the body or immersing in her relaxed hands. It is extremely important to catch the feeling that the limbs have support. On the whole, the determining meaning here is the steady formation of the realization that water will not allow us to drown.

In the fight against panic states in batophobia, the creation of a positive image of depths in our own minds helps. This is facilitated by watching a video about the wildlife and beauty of the oceans, pictures of wonderful beaches. Regular concentration of attention on similar points in time will allow to form a positive attitude to water.

If the above methods of fighting the phobia do not bring the expected results, it is worth thinking about how to seek help from a psychotherapist or make an appointment for a consultation with a psychologist. An objective view of a specialist on the problem from the outside will help to identify the root causes of the disorder, to develop an effective strategy for eliminating negative physiological and emotional manifestations of the pathological condition.

Finally

So we figured out what is the fear of depth, water, what is the name of this emotional state. Finally I would like to note that in order to eliminate fear, first of all, constant work on oneself is required. A good start here is the use of special psychological techniques, for the selection of which it is worth turning to the services of a specialist.