Last Updated on April 13, 2023 by Mike Robinson
Hydrophobia, or “water phobia,” is a psychological disorder characterized by an irrational, excessive, and unjustified fear of water. This phobia is usually related to the fear of beaches or pools due to the large amount of water in those places.
However, hydrophobia is not limited to being afraid to insert oneself into the water, swim, or bathe. A person with this alteration may fear any situation causing contact with water, including tap water and the shower.
Water is one of the most indispensable elements for living beings. So being afraid to touch or be around it is challenging to handle. For this reason, hydrophobia can seriously affect a person’s life since they can react with intense fear regularly throughout the day.
The objective of this article is to review the current literature about this disorder. Discuss the characteristics of hydrophobia and explain its causes and treatments.
What Does the DSM-V Say About Hydrophobia?
According to the statistical and diagnostic manual (DSM-V), hydrophobia is an anxiety disorder within the specific phobia category. Specific phobias are alterations that cause irrational and excessive fear (a phobic fear) towards one particular element or trigger.
In the case of hydrophobia, the feared element is water. So the person with this disorder will experience intense fear when exposed to water. Hydrophobia is considered an anxiety disorder because of the response it causes the person when exposed to their feared stimulus.
People with hydrophobia show extreme avoidance and escape behaviors. They attempt to avoid contact with water constantly by any means. For example, a person with hydrophobia will never go to the beach on a hot summer day or go to a river when hiking on a mountain.
Do You Have Hydrophobia?
Like many other animals, human beings have a good history with water.
This element does not usually present harmful and dangerous threats to people directly. Water is considered a vital substance for the life of the planet and the beings that inhabit it. However, not all people feel this way about water. Some can enjoy spaces such as beaches, rivers, lakes, pools, or showers. But some may have a particular dislike for those places.
For example, a person who cannot swim may slightly fear areas where water is abundant. You can even get somewhat nervous when you enter a beach or a swimming pool. This fact in itself does not dictate the presence of hydrophobia. Hydrophobia is not just displeasure towards the water; it goes much further.
Therefore, to determine whether hydrophobia is present, it is essential to analyze the type of fear the person shows toward the water. In general, the phobic anxiety of hydrophobia is confirmed by the following:
Also read: How to Control Anxiety Naturally in 10 Steps
1- Excessive
The fear of water related to hydrophobia is highly excessive in response to the demands of the situation. For example, an individual with this disorder may show an extremely high fear in apparently safe situations, such as being in a Jacuzzi or taking a shower.
In another example, a person who does not know how to swim can present a fear of water that is certainly adaptive (and not phobic). In this case, hydrophobia is not the problem for these people.
2- Irrational
A high irrational component accompanies the exaggerated intensity of the fear of water related to hydrophobia. In other words, the person suffering from hydrophobia is not able to justify in a reasoned way why he fears water. Nor does he manage to expose which elements make him experience such high feelings of fear.
Individuals with hydrophobia fear extreme water and are unable to reason or explain the reasons for their anxiety.
3- Uncontrollable
On the other hand, subjects with hydrophobia cannot control their anxiety. When these feelings appear, they completely take over their thinking and behavior.
4- Lead to avoidance
The fear of water related to hydrophobia is so high that it causes a noticeable avoidance behavior in the person. The individual with this condition will try to avoid exposure to water by all means, even if this behavior reduces the person’s quality of life.
For those with hydrophobia, the most important thing is to avoid the anxiety sensations they experience when they come into contact with water.
5- The condition is constant
Hydrophobia is a persistent disorder. The fear of water does not occur only occasionally, at certain times or places. People with this disorder experience a fear of water whenever they come into contact with it. Likewise, if left untreated, this disorder will be present for life.
Symptoms of Hydrophobia
Hydrophobia is an anxiety disorder, so the main symptoms of psychopathology are episodes of anxiety. The type of anxiety this phobic fear of water causes is severe. It affects the individual physically and mentally. However, it rarely ends up producing an anxiety attack.
1: Physical Symptoms
When a person with hydrophobia comes in contact with their feared element, it presents a series of physical symptoms. These changes occur in the major systems of our bodies. Specifically, the activity of the central nervous system speeds up in response to the fear of water.
The physical symptoms that hydrophobia can cause can vary considerably in each case. Specifically, a person with hydrophobia will present some combination of the following physical symptoms:
- Increase in the cardiac rate.
- An increase in the respiratory rate.
- Hyperventilation or feelings of choking.
- Generalized muscle tension.
- Excessive sweating throughout the body and/or cold sweats
- Stomach and/or head pains
- Feelings of being in a dream state.
- Pupillary dilation
- Dizziness, nausea, and vomiting.
2: Cognitive Symptoms
Physical symptoms are not the only symptoms that appear when a hydrophobic person comes into contact with water. A series of cognitive alterations accompany the physical changes. In this sense, the mental symptoms refer to all the thoughts the person develops about water.
The thoughts of fear of water can vary. But they all have the common theme of visualizing some catastrophe occurring. Additionally, thoughts about the personal inability to face the water appear.
These thoughts are in a cycle with physical sensations. Physical symptoms increase negative thoughts toward the water, increasing anxiety.
3-Behavioral Changes
Finally, as specified in the definition of phobic fear of water, hydrophobia significantly affects behavior. The two main behaviors that cause fear of water are avoidance and escape from the feared stimulus.
Avoidance refers to all the daily behaviors that the person develops to avoid contact with water. These behaviors can be severe and significantly affect the individual’s ability to function.
The escape on their part is the behavior that always appears when a person with hydrophobia cannot avoid their feared situation. On these occasions, the individual will try to escape as soon as possible from contact with water.
These elements have a direct relationship with the intensity of the fear. The high feelings of discomfort caused by exposure to water make the individual try to avoid it whenever possible.
On the other hand, the fact that people avoid contact with water contributes to their increased fear of it, which results in a behavior that prevents them from overcoming their fear and disorder.
Causes of Hydrophobia
The causes of specific phobias are well-studied and documented today. Thus, there is a high degree of scientific consensus in affirming that no single factor can cause hydrophobia. Specifically, the element that gives rise to this alteration is the combination and feedback of different factors.
In each case, one of them can play a more relevant role. Likewise, not all of them appear or are easily identifiable in all subjects with hydrophobia. The factors primarily related to the disorder are:
1: Classic conditioning
Classical conditioning is the primary method by which people develop their feelings of fear. Having experienced traumatic, dangerous, or unpleasant situations with water can play a significant role in developing hydrophobia.
2: Vicarious conditioning
Not only through direct experience can fears develop. People can also learn these fears by viewing specific images and situations.
In other words, seeing negative events related to water, such as the death of someone by drowning, images of a tsunami, or other traumatic events in which water causes significant damage, can contribute to the acquisition of the disorder.
3: Verbal conditioning
The final method of developing hydrophobia is through verbal processes. Having received educational instructions emphasizing the dangers of water can cause hydrophobia to develop on a subconscious level.
Treatments Options
The good thing about this psychological disorder is that it currently has effective interventions and treatments available. A person with hydrophobia can have a challenging and limited life because of their fear of water. However, they can overcome it with the help of a professional.
The most effective intervention is psychotherapy. Cognitive behavioral treatment has high recovery rates and is considered the best intervention to treat hydrophobia.
This treatment exposes the patient to water to reduce their fear. The person with hydrophobia is gradually exposed to water—the time and amount of exposure increase in small increments. The goal is to get them used to water and realize there is nothing to fear.
