Last Updated on April 13, 2023 by Mike Robinson
An unusual phobia, astrophobia involves an irrational and excessive fear of stars and other celestial objects. Astrophobia is a well-defined and studied disorder, despite its low prevalence in the general population. When confronted with their phobic stimuli, people with these psychiatric disorders experience intense anxiety and distress. When they imagine a star, for example.
Avoiding visualization with stars can be relatively simple in general. This is why many people with this disorder refuse to seek treatment to overcome their phobic fear. However, just because stargazing can be avoided at various times throughout the day does not mean that astrophobia does not have an impact on the subject’s well-being.
On the contrary, this mental illness can alter and limit an individual’s behavior, lowering their quality of life. The goal of this article is to present current data on astrophobia and explain what interventions should be implemented to properly treat it.
Definition
Astrophobia is a form of anxiety. It specifically refers to a type of phobia. These changes are distinguished by the presence of an irrational, excessive, and uncontrollable fear (a phobic fear) of a particular element or situation.
In this sense, astrophobia is a type of specific phobia in which the subject fears the stars or celestial bodies. Despite the fact that it is a very rare disorder, certain studies have revealed that its characteristics are similar to those of other types of specific phobias.
Thus, given the abundance of information available today about phobias, providing a clear and detailed explanation of astrophobia is relatively simple.
To fully comprehend this psychopathology, two major factors must be considered: fear of the stimulus and the anxiety response that it elicits in the subject. The fear of the stimulus consists of describing the person’s fear of the stars, which includes a number of characteristics and peculiarities necessary for the diagnosis of astrophobia.
The response that is triggered by the stimulus refers to the disorder’s symptomatology, which is primarily characterized by anxiety manifestations.
The fear of the Stars
The fear that is experienced in phobias has a series of defining characteristics. In this way, not all sensations of fear or distress qualify as anxiety disorders. More specifically, for a fear to be a phobia, it must have certain characteristics. The main aspects of the phobic fear of stars are:
It is excessive.
The intensity of the fear is the first factor to consider when determining the presence of astrophobia. That is to say, it must be much more intense than what is typical. In other words, the fear the stars incite is unresponsive to the actual threat of the circumstance. In other words, the person experiences intense levels of fear, even though there isn’t any justification for it.
It is irrational.
The fear regarding astrophobia is so excessive and disproportionate because it is also irrational.
In other words, a person’s fear of the stars cannot be explained by logic or consistency. As a result, the person feels intense levels of fear for no apparent reason. It’s crucial to remember that the astrophobic person is able to recognize the absurdity of his fear of the stars. He cannot rationalize or coherently explain the basis for his fears.
It is uncontrollable.
Due to the irrationality of the fear, astrophobics are unable to control their feelings of dread toward the stars. The person does not intentionally choose to experience this fear; it just happens. Contrarily, those who suffer from astrophobia wish they could stop being afraid of the stars but are unable to do so. Therefore, when fearful feelings arise, the person is powerless to manage or exert control over them.
Leads to avoidance
The three aforementioned traits cause significant behavioral changes. In other words, they make the astrophobic person avoid the stars on a regular basis. The intensity and extreme discomfort that astrophobia causes are related to this behavioral aspect of the fear. The individual avoids contact with the phobic stimulus whenever he can because he cannot withstand the anxiety-inducing sensations it causes.
It is permanent.
Fears that are normal or are not phobic are relatively dynamic. As an illustration, someone might initially have a fear of roller coasters but, over time, lose that fear. As opposed to other fears, astrophobia is a persistent and long-lasting phobia that does not go away over time. A child is more likely than an adult to feel some fear of the stars. This is because stars come out when it is dark. However, astrophobia is not exclusive to a particular developmental stage. When a child has astrophobia, he or she will fear the stars both as a young child and as an adult.
The Anxiety Response
A person with astrophobia feels anxious because they are afraid of the stars. Because of the fear described in the last section, the person has a number of anxiety symptoms. This set of symptoms only shows up when the person is exposed to the thing, they are afraid of. So, it is unlikely to show signs of anxiety when it is out in the sun.
But the anxiety response can be set off by anything that has to do with the stars. Even stories, photos, or videos can be enough to bring on the symptoms. When someone has astrophobia, their anxiety symptoms are usually very strong and make them feel a lot of pain. In the same way, they have an effect on three different areas.
Physical Symptoms
The physical symptoms include everything that has to do with how the body works physically. These are the first symptoms to show up when activity in the central nervous system increases. This change is part of our fight or flight response. When a person notices a dangerous situation or object, their body goes through a series of changes that get it ready to deal with the threat. In this way, the physical signs of astrophobia can be different for each person. These are the most common signs:
- increase in the cardiac rate
- increase in the respiratory rate.
- Palpitations or tachycardia
- a sensation of breathlessness or breathing difficulties.
- generalized muscle tension.
- excessive increase in sweating
- Pupillary dilation
- feeling of unreality
- Nausea, dizziness, and vomiting
- Dry mouth.
- Headaches and/or stomach
Cognitive Symptoms
The symptoms of astrophobia are not limited to a series of physical manifestations. These are highly distressing and unpleasant for the person, but they are accompanied by more symptoms.
Specifically, the fear caused by the phobic stimulus immediately leads to a series of negative thoughts.
These thoughts are focused on the stars themselves and the great damage they can cause. The cognitions of astrophobia are irrational and cause high levels of discomfort in the individual.
In addition, these thoughts are fed back with physical sensations to increase the state of anxiety. First, physical symptoms increase negative thoughts about stars. Subsequently, these cause a remarkable increase in unpleasant bodily sensations.
Behavioral Changes
Finally, the anxiety manifestations of astrophobia are also reflected in the behaviors of the individual. In this plane of functioning, the main symptoms are avoidance and escape.
Both behaviors are motivated by the fear of stars and focus on rejecting contact with them.
The first of these, avoidance, is the preferred behavior of anyone suffering from astrophobia. They will always try to avoid exposure to the stars to prevent the fear and anxiety symptoms that they produce.
On the other hand, “escape behavior” refers to the behavior they use when unable to avoid a situation. That is, when he can not avoid coming into contact with the stars.
In moments when the individual visualizes, listens to, or perceives through any sense the presence of a star, it will set in motion a series of behaviors that drive him to escape from that situation and avoid contact with the phobic stimulus.
Causes of Astrophobia
Research shows that the things that cause astrophobia are the same as those that cause other specific phobias. Therefore, it can be said that behavior disorders can’t be caused by just one thing. The development of astrophobia is caused by a combination of different things. These are the most important:
Direct learning
Having a bad or traumatic experience directly related to the stars could play a part in developing a phobic fear.
Vicarious and verbal learning
Also, having visualized shocking images or heard negative information about the stars could contribute to the development of this disorder.
Genetic factors
Although no specific genes have been detected, certain investigations support the genetic component of the pathology. In this sense, having a family history of anxiety could increase the risk of suffering from astrophobia.
Cognitive factors
Finally, certain factors related to thinking have been associated with the maintenance of phobic fear. The main one would be low self-esteem. Also exaggerating the damage that stars can cause.
Treatment of Astrophobia
Although psychopharmaceuticals are highly used therapeutic tools in anxiety disorders, their use is usually discouraged in the case of astrophobia.
Instead, psychotherapy is much more effective. Specifically, cognitive behavioral treatment has been shown to be the most appropriate intervention for this type of disorder.
This type of treatment intervenes mainly in the behavioral component by exposing the subject to its feared elements. As in the case of astrophobia, exposure to the stars can be complicated, so most people opt for exposure through imagined practice.
Related article: Agliophobia (Fear of pain): Symptoms, Causes and Treatments.
