Last Updated on January 16, 2023 by Mike Robinson
Rupophobia is a psychological disorder that is characterized by an irrational, excessive, and unjustified fear of dirt.
It belongs to the diagnostic category of specific phobias and is a form of anxiety disorder.
When exposed to dirt, those with this psychopathology react with extreme anxiety.
Rupophobia has an impact on a person’s life because of the need to constantly clean their surroundings.
Since you can’t count on everything being clean when you leave your house, people with this phobia experience anxiety quite often.
Consequently, rupophobia is a disorder that causes those who have it difficulty carrying out daily activities.
This article reviews the latest research available on rupophobia. The disorder’s causes and treatments are discussed, along with its symptoms and diagnostic standards.
Characteristics of rupophobia
Dirty places, surfaces, or objects are what trigger rupophobia symptoms. Therefore, this disorder’s anxiety is caused by the fear of dirt.
Dirt is not an element that generates anxiety responses in people. In fact, few individuals experience sensations of fear when exposed to dirty spaces.
People have different tolerance levels for dirt. Some are bothered by a little dirt, and others are not. However, feeling uncomfortable in dirty spaces does not imply the presence of rupophobia.
For someone to qualify for this disorder, it is necessary that the person experiences a phobic fear of dirt.
The seven elements necessary to classify a fear of dirt as rupophobia are:
1. Irrational fear
Considering that dirt is everywhere, most people think that any fear of dirt makes no sense. But to explain why fear is irrational in more detail, you should look into what the fear is like.
An individual may fear spaces with high amounts of dirt for fear of becoming infected or catching a disease. In cases where this possibility is real, you must evaluate whether the presence or absence of rupophobia is appropriate.
In rupophobia, the fear one experiences is irrational for others and the individual who suffers from it. The person with rupophobia is unable to explain his fears.
2: Uncontrollable fear
In rupophobia, the person experiences an intense fear of dirt that can not be rationalized or controlled.
The person can’t control his or her fear; therefore, high levels of anxiety come next when they’re around anything they think is dirty.
3: Excessive fear
The intensity of fear is another key aspect of rupophobia.
Normally, dirty spaces that people encounter pose no risk. However, the person with rupophobia interprets them as highly threatening.
This results in very high anxiety responses and significantly impacts a person’s ability to function.
4: Fear leads to avoidance.
The high intensity of fear that a person with rupophobia experiences causes a clear behavior of avoidance and/or escape from the situation causing this fear.
This means that the person with this disorder will avoid dirt at all costs.
Dirt makes the person with rupophobia feel very uncomfortable, which is why they try to stay away from it. So, the subject avoids going into situations they suspect will be unclean.
5: Fear persists over time.
Rupophobia is a fear that doesn’t go away quickly. Fear stays with the person and always comes up when they come into contact with dirt. The fear and anxiety this causes are long-lasting if they are not addressed.
6: Fear is not related to your age
People may be more likely to feel afraid at certain times in their lives. Fears are more likely to develop during times of high stress, personal dissatisfaction, or low self-esteem. But a person’s fear of rupophobia doesn’t change as they go through different stages or life events. When a person develops rupophobia, that fear stays with them forever if it is not addressed.
7—Lose the ability to adapt to different situations.
When a person is exposed to dirt, they feel such high levels of anxiety that it seriously affects their life, changes how their mind works and changes how they act and live. The symptoms that rupophobia causes make it difficult for those with it to adapt to their surroundings.
Symptoms of rupophobia
When a person feels afraid, their tension and anxiety levels go up automatically.
When the fear meets the requirements we talked about above, the anxious symptoms get worse and stronger.
In this way, the fear of dirt causes an increase in anxiety, which is one of the typical signs of rupophobia.
The fear that people with the disorder feel is real, which is why they also show signs of anxiety. In particular, it affects the person physically and mentally.
Physical symptoms
The physical symptoms are the most studied and visible expressions of anxiety. These occur in any anxiety disorder and cause major changes in a person’s body.
In fact, physical symptoms are the main vehicle of distress caused by anxiety and generate the most intense symptoms.
In the case of rupophobia, the physical signs can vary significantly in each case. The anxious response depends on the individual.
However, in most cases, one of the following physical symptoms is present:
- Elevated heart rate.
- Increased respiratory rate.
- Heart palpitations
- Increased sweating
- Stomach aches.
- Headaches.
- Muscle tension.
- Drowning sensation
- Pupillary dilation
- sensation of dizziness.
- Nausea and vomiting.
- Dry mouth.
- Shaking and chills
Cognitive symptoms
The cognitive symptoms of rupophobia encompass all those thoughts about the person’s fears about dirt.
These thoughts fundamentally influence the development and upkeep of the disorder. Additionally, they may worsen physical symptoms.
In actuality, there is a two-way relationship between physical and cognitive symptoms. In other words, phobic cognitions increase physical symptoms, which in turn increase thoughts about the fear of dirt.
The thoughts that a person with rupophobia can vary across a wide range. Generally, thoughts about the negative properties of dirt and the person’s fear of dirt are the main components of the disorder.
Behavioral symptoms
Finally, as was already mentioned, a person may experience severe physical and mental effects as a result of their fear of dirt. Their behavior, which is controlled by the fear of dirt, is significantly affected.
The predominant behavioral symptoms of rupophobia are avoidance and escape. That is to say, the individual takes extreme measures to avoid areas they feel are dirty and escape from them if they can’t.
Diagnosis of rupophobia
A mental health professional must diagnose rupophobia just like they would any other psychopathology. Although there are many different tools for evaluating it, interviews and psychometric tests are the most frequently used.
These methods are employed to investigate the kind of fear felt, the effects it has, and the symptomatology it produces. A diagnosis of rupophobia is confirmed if the following conditions exist:
- Fear or intense anxiety due to dirty or unclean places
- The presence of dirt almost always causes fear or immediate anxiety.
- Situations with dirt are actively avoided or resisted with fear or intense anxiety.
- Fear or anxiety is disproportionate to the real danger of the specific situation.
- Fear, anxiety, or avoidance is persistent and typically lasts six or more months.
- Fear, anxiety, or avoidance causes clinically significant discomfort or deterioration in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning.
- The disturbance is not better explained by the symptoms of another mental disorder.
Causes of rupophobia
Rupophobia is a type of specific phobia that is not very prevalent in society, which is why there is little research on its origins.
However, the study of specific phobias shows that all of them share important characteristics and likely have similar causes.
Professionals agree that there is no single cause for specific phobias but rather that different factors contribute to their development.
The main causes of rupophobia seem to be:
Classical conditioning
Having previous exposures to situations with dirt that resulted in personal trauma can cause rupophobia to develop.
Early education or verbal conditioning
Education about the harmful aspects of dirt, especially as a child, may also significantly impact the disorder’s emergence.
Cognitive factors
Rupophobia may develop and persist due to certain aspects of an individual’s personality and thought patterns. The three main ones are:
- irrational beliefs about the potential harm
- attentional bias toward threats
- low self-efficacy perceptions
Treatment options for rupophobia
Psychotherapy is the primary method of treatment for all specific phobias. The intervention with the highest efficacy rates for the disorder is cognitive-behavioral treatment.
In this treatment, a psychotherapist will try to expose the individual to their feared stimuli. The patient is exposed to the stimuli in small increments that are gradually increased. This allows the person to feel less severe symptoms, thereby overcoming their fears.
Also read Gerascophobia: Symptoms, Causes, and Treatments.
Other techniques that usually accompany the treatment are relaxation (to reduce the symptoms of anxiety) and cognitive techniques (to correct dysfunctional thoughts about dirt).
