Last Updated on March 22, 2023 by Mike Robinson
Dermatophobia is an extreme, irrational fear of skin conditions and any kind of injury that affects the skin. This is an unusual phobia that can cause high levels of anxiety in those who suffer from it.
Likewise, it is common that the fear caused by the possibility of suffering from a skin disease causes the individual to constantly inspect and investigate every new skin blemish noticed anywhere on their body.
For this reason, dermatophobia is not a minor pathology. Its presence can greatly disable the person’s functioning, so it is essential to treat it correctly. This article will explain the characteristics of this type of phobia. It will review the causes, symptoms, and most effective treatment options.
Characteristics of Dermatophobia
Dermatophobia is one of many different types of specific phobias. In this way, it resembles many well-known alterations, such as spider phobia, a fear of heights, or a dislike of blood. Specific phobia is a mental disorder characterized by clinically significant anxiety in response to specific objects or situations.
As a result, the primary feature of dermatophobia is the appearance of anxiety prior to the exposure to a stimulus that indicates the potential presence of a disease in the skin.
The detection of the feared stimuli in this disorder is more complex than that of others. In the phobia of spiders, the element feared is spiders, and in the phobia of blood, the stimulus that causes anxiety is the blood itself.
However, defining what stimuli provide the idea of having a disease on the skin is more complex. In fact, the interpretation of the stimulus is totally subjective, so these tend to vary with each subject.
A person with dermatophobia can interpret having very dry skin as an element that indicates the presence of skin disease. Conversely, another subject may think that using gel damages their skin. Someone else may believe that itching on the back is the symptom that indicates the presence of disease.
Each person typically exhibits a sizable array of feared stimuli that are connected to the likelihood of developing a skin condition. Furthermore, numerous studies have shown that these components are dynamic, meaning that an individual can develop an increasing number of feared stimuli.
Fear of Skin Disease
The main characteristic of dermatophobia is the presence of a severe fear of skin conditions. The term “phobic” is used to describe this fear and lists several characteristics that define it.
Therefore, not all concerns about skin conditions are dermatophobia. The following are the main types of fear that dermatophobia sufferers experience:
Disproportionate Fear
Dermatophobia patients experience fear that is completely out of proportion to the facts of the situation. Thus, completely neutral stimuli frequently result in extremely high anxiety responses. In dermatophobia, their beliefs are perceived as real dangers, even though they are not. The factors that trigger dermatophobia are not real or justified. Therefore, the probabilities of having a skin disease or specific symptoms that point to any problems are very low.
Irrational Fear
The fact that people fear harmless, neutral stimuli is irrational. However, the irrationality of dermatophobia goes further. Fear is not only irrational for others; it is also irrational for the individual who suffers from the disorder.
Thus, dermatophobia does not imply the presence of delirium, in which the person begins to interpret things in an unreal manner. The individual with this type of specific phobia is fully capable of rationalizing his fear and realizing it is irrational.
Uncontrollable Fear
Despite being aware that his fear is unfounded and has no justification, the person still experiences it. This uncontrollable aspect of the fear adds to the intensity of the anxiety. Despite how much a person might wish to avoid it, fear is something that they cannot voluntarily control.
Leads to Avoidance Behavior
The characteristic that best describes the fear of dermatophobia is its intensity, which is also disproportionate, irrational, and uncontrollable. The fear of various stimuli linked to the potential for developing a skin disease is felt with extreme intensity and discomfort.
Consequentially, the individual’s behavior is altered by their fear of developing a skin pathology. They will make every effort to avoid any scenario that may even remotely affect the surface of their skin.
For instance, if a subject fears using a particular kind of lotion because they think it will harm their skin, they will stop using it. The same thing applies to sun exposure or any other situation that could cause a skin condition.
Constant Fear
An important characteristic of dermatophobia is that the fear one experiences does not come and go. The symptoms of the disorder persist over time and do not subside.
This fact highlights the need to treat the causes of the disorder. If proper intervention is not administered, a subject will indefinitely suffer the effects of dermatophobia.
Unable to Adapt to Surroundings
The fear of various unknown stimuli can affect a person’s ability to function. Especially unpredictable ones with a connection to skin diseases. Those suffering from dermatophobia have a difficult time adjusting to their surroundings. As a result, these are categorized as maladaptive and pathological fears.
Dermatophobia is not age specific.
Finally, it should be noted that, as with the rest of the specific phobias, dermatophobia is not a disorder specific to a certain age. It does not only appear in adulthood, adolescence, or childhood.
Symptoms
Since the symptoms of this disorder are typically quite diverse, no single set of clearly defined manifestations will occur in every instance.
On the other hand, anxiety is at the root of all dermatophobia symptoms. The manifestations react in this way to an increase in activation caused by the immediate consequences of the experienced fear.
Symptoms can be divided into three categories:
- physical symptoms
- cognitive symptoms
- behavioral symptoms.
As a result, this disorder affects the three major spheres of the human psyche.
Physical symptoms
When a subject with dermatophobia is exposed to one of their feared stimuli, they exhibit a clear anxiety response. The emotional response caused by anxiety provokes a series of physical changes. In the case of dermatophobia, these manifestations may vary slightly in each case. However, all of them experience increased activity in the central nervous system.
The physical symptoms that can originate the dermatophobia are:
- increased heart rate
- increased respiratory rate.
- Tachycardia
- Unusual perspiration
- generalized muscle tension.
- Pupil dilation
- Nausea and/or vomiting
- Headaches and/or upset stomach
- shakes and chills.
- Feeling of euphoria
Cognitive symptoms
The physical symptoms are closely related to the mental changes that occur. In other words, dermatophobia causes the person to become nervous, resulting in excessive talking. Additionally, the individual moves more and becomes fidgety. These actions relate to some of the ten symptoms mentioned above.
The emergence of certain thoughts is related to the appearance of physical manifestations. These thoughts fuel the anxiety in addition to the physical symptoms. This causes nervousness and anxiety to gradually get worse.
Dermatophobia can cause a wide range of cognitive symptoms. The feared scenarios can be numerous, as can the link between these and the fear of contracting a skin disease. Thus, dermatophobia is characterized by a series of distorted thoughts. Some thoughts are related to the fear of developing a skin disease. Other thoughts relate to the feared stimuli that suggest this possibility.
Behavioral symptoms
Last but not least, the severity of the earlier symptoms causes a noticeable change in behavior. A person with dermatophobia will make an effort to avoid the feared objects in order to also avoid the cognitive and physical symptoms.
As a result, this change has an impact on the person’s usual behavior. Their fears will start to take over, which could restrict their ability to function.
Additionally, numerous studies have demonstrated that the primary factor aggravating and maintaining the disorder is the avoidance (or escape when it is impossible to avoid) of situations and/or feared elements.
Causes of Dermatophobia
The pathogenesis of particular phobias demonstrates that numerous factors influence or have the potential to influence the development of these disorders rather than a single cause. Five different causes of dermatophobia are considered potential contributors.
Direct conditioning
One of the main causes of dermatophobia seems to be exposure to circumstances that cause fear of skin diseases. One potential contributing factor to this disorder is receiving educational guidance as a child that strongly emphasizes how dangerous skin diseases can be.
Additionally, having experienced skin problems or traumatic experiences with the skin may have an impact.
Vicar conditioning
It is possible to develop a fear of skin diseases without actually experiencing them, known as “vicarious conditioning.” This occurs after observing unpleasant things occur that have a negative effect on the skin. As a result, someone could develop dermatophobia.
Verbal conditioning
Finally, hearing about the risks associated with skin conditions can also contribute to the development of dermatophobia.
Genetic factors
Some authors postulate the presence of genetic factors in dermatophobia. However, today there is still no clear data linking a hereditary element to this disorder.
Cognitive factors
Cognitive factors that can lead to the development of dermatophobia include unrealistic beliefs about self-harm, a tendency to pay more attention to threats, or a low sense of self-efficacy. But almost everyone agrees that these things are more important for keeping phobias alive than for creating them.
Treatment
The only way to eliminate phobic fear, anxious symptoms, and the disorder itself is to treat dermatophobia. In fact, if it isn’t dealt with properly, the symptoms can have serious long-term effects on the person.
Psychological treatment is the first choice for this kind of disorder. In particular, cognitive-behavioral therapy works very well for people with dermatophobia.
Also read: Ataxophobia: Symptoms, Causes, and Treatments.
Most therapy will include techniques using systemic desensitization. In this method, the person is gradually exposed to what they fear to gradually eliminate that fear.
