Algophobia (fear of pain): what is it, causes, symptoms and treatment

Pain can have a multiplicity of forms that will depend on the context in which it arises and the person who experiences it. Many times we can have fears that arise from various real situations or imagined by ourselves. In this sense, pain is part of life, however, there are people who have an intense and lasting fear of suffering pain.

This can have unfavorable consequences in the activities that can be developed in the course of daily life. If you find yourself reading these lines, surely you have feelings of this style or know someone with these qualities. Do you want to know more about this? In this Psychology-Online article, we will talk about the Algophobia (fear of pain): what is it, causes, symptoms and treatment.

Index

1. What is algophobia
2. Causes of algophobia
3. Symptoms of algophobia
4. Treatment of algophobia

Algophobia is an anxiety disorder characterized by the presence of a intense, irrational and exacerbated fear of the idea of ​​suffering pain

In order to adequately encompass algophobia, it is necessary to place the diagnostic criteria of this problem:

• Fear and intense anxiety to suffer pain.
• The reaction to the sensation of pain is usually immediate fear or anxiety.
• Avoidance of any aspect or situation that can cause pain.
• Fear and/or anxiety disproportionate to the real danger of experiencing pain.
• Duration of six months or more continuously.
• The alterations cannot be explained by the presence of another mental disorder or due to the intake of any medication or substance.

Why are we afraid of pain? Knowing the origin of this pathology offers the possibility of developing strategies to treat it in the best possible way. Next, we will talk about the main causes of algophobia:

Environmental factors

The environment in which a person lives influences the formation of her personality. Therefore, the experiences lived directly influence the conditions that manifest in the present. In this sense, the origin of the fear of pain may be a unpleasant experience in which a very intense pain was felteither your own or someone close to you.

Furthermore, the observation of behavior patterns of significant people in the environment also produces the imitation of behaviors. In other words, it is possible that you suffer from algophobia if a member of the family environment has this diagnosis.

Genetic factors

Genetic inheritance plays a fundamental role in the diagnosis of certain conditions. In fact, it should be noted that some sectors of the cerebral cortex they are linked to the emotional processing of external stimuli. Thus, it is possible that people who are afraid of pain have a increased neural sensitivity that affects the responses of fear or anxiety in the face of certain painful situations.

Algophobia presents a series of physical and psychological manifestations. Knowing what they are allows us to identify this pathology and act in time. In the following items, we will show you the main symptoms of algophobia:

• Fear of any situation that involves feeling physical or emotional pain.
• Thoughts linked to death in relation to pain.
• dizziness
• Nausea.
• Palpitations.
• Elevation of blood presure.
• Excessive sweating.
• Variable mood.
• Sadness.
• Irritation.
• Distress.
• feeling of loneliness.

The presence of any of these symptoms does not imply that we are facing a picture of algophobia. The diagnosis must be made by a mental health professional who takes into account the particularities of each person when determining the best treatment.

Beyond the complexities that algophobia implies, the truth is that there are approaches that allow improving the quality of life of the person who suffers from it. Next, we show you the main treatments indicated for algophobia.

psychological therapy

The help of a mental health professional allows conflicts that affect daily life to be resolved. Let’s see which ones are the most effective in these cases:

• short-term therapies: they focus on the thoughts, emotions and behaviors that generate the symptoms of algophobia. In this way, objectives and tools are established to deal with situations that cause fear or anxiety. The most effective brief therapy is cognitive behavioral therapy.
• long-term therapies: they look for the origin of the conflicts by investigating the traumatic experiences that trigger the symptoms of algophobia. This allows finding new methods to face the fear of pain.

psychiatric medication

When the intervention with psychological therapy is not enough to achieve improvements, the provision of psychiatric medications may be indicated to decrease the intensity of symptoms. However, it must be borne in mind that their intake should only be done under the supervision of a mental health professional.

This article is merely informative, in Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.

If you want to read more articles similar to Algophobia (fear of pain): what is it, causes, symptoms and treatment, we recommend that you enter our category of Clinical psychology.

1. American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (5th ed.). Arlington: Pan American Medical Publisher.

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