People who suffer from phobias experience great suffering due to an intense and irrational fear of a certain thing or situation. They thus condition their lives to avoid their phobic stimulus. This is what happens with a specific phobia pluviophobia which is the phobia of everything related to rain, such as storms and thunder.

First, what are phobias?

First of all, know that phobias are, in short, oversized, irrational, paralyzing fears that impair various aspects of the phobic's life We all have fear, because it is inherent in human nature, as a means of defense against dangers projected by the brain, such as, for example, fear of heights or fear of death.

However, these are fears we can live with, not interfering in our daily lives, passing worries, which only arise when, in fact, we see ourselves in a moment of imminent danger.

We are in a pathological situation, a phobia, when this fear becomes so intense that it conditions us. We begin to alter our route, change our routine, in short, peek over our shoulder in order to avoid any sign of confrontation with a certain thing or situation.

In general, phobias seem unreasonable to an outsider, but to the phobic they are terrifying, causing him/her great suffering. After all, the phobia goes beyond rationality, and many times the sufferer knows the disproportion of his/her fear, but cannot control it, acting in an involuntary way.

What is multiphobia?

As for the meaning and origin of the word, pluviophobia comes from the word pluvial, which is related to rain, from the Latin "pluvialis". With the addition of the word phobia, from the Greek "phobos", which means fear. Thus, is the intense fear of rainfall and related elements.

In other words, as said before, pluvioophobia is a specific phobia, in which the person has an intense and irrational fear of everything related to rain, such as fear of lightning, thunder, storms, and even fear of getting wet.

In this sense, those who suffer from pluvioophobia, as in other phobias, start conditioning their lives to avoid any contact with their phobic stimulus. In this case, they even start not leaving the house at any sign of rain, to avoid exposure, because their minds understand that they are in a dangerous situation, generating avoidance.

Thus, those who suffer from pluvioophobia generate constant expectations of dangerous things related to rain, in a conscious and unconscious way. That is, they respond with extreme anxiety to its stimulus, even if it is manifesting itself in an indirect way.

Causes of fear of rain

Like other specific phobias, for pluvioophobia there are no specific causes why a person suffers from this pathology of the mind. However, for fear of rain, there are some more common causes as, for example:

• Traumatic experiences related to severe storms or extreme natural phenomena, which have caused physical, mental, and material harm to the person;
• genetic predisposition to develop phobias;
• conditioning due to cultural and environmental factors, mainly about irrational beliefs related to the danger of rain.

Therefore, specific phobias can be caused by a number of factors and experiences, such as biological, social, cultural, and psychological conditions. In addition, the condition may have been triggered by an intense fear associated with a danger suffered by the phobic.

Main symptoms of rain phobia

The person suffering from a specific phobia, to any phobic stimulus, his nervous system responds as if he were in imminent danger, causing his brain to react defensively.

Thus, there is an increase in anxiety levels, which can lead to panic attacks, generating involuntary and irrational behavior. main symptoms of specific phobia pluviophobia :

• hyperventilation;
• increased heart rate;
• pressure in the chest;
• dizziness;
• nausea;
• increased blood pressure;
• gastrointestinal changes;
• headaches, etc.

It is important to note that the level of manifestation of the reactions depends greatly on the level of exposure to the stimulus that is considered harmful. In other words, the greater the exposure to the stimulus, the greater the intensity of the response.

For example, a person watching the rain from inside his home will not react the same way as a person who is directly exposed to a storm.

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Treatments for fear of rain

First of all, it is fundamental that we understand our fears so that we can use our potential for courage In this way, to free oneself from fears, it is necessary to question and challenge oneself, in order to see that life is something greater than one imagines.

So facing fears is a way of getting to know yourself better; they don't go away on their own unless we understand why we maintain certain behaviors and make changes in our attitudes.

That said, for the treatment of specific phobias, as is the case of pluvioophobia, it is important to seek help from a specialized mental health professional, for example, therapeutic treatment. For he will analyze the symptoms and find the causes that triggered the phobia, so that he can intervene with techniques to eliminate the phobia or help the person to cope with it.

Thus, in general, therapy for this fear begins by assessing the intensity of anxiety that the stimulus generates, as well as related bad experiences and individual frailty.

In general, what are the causes of phobias?

By identifying circumstances that disconcert us, the brain connects them to a state of danger and reacts instinctively. This means that our body immediately responds to such a stimulus by trying to cope with it. So it is exactly in this context that phobias exert an influence on our thoughts and actions.

In that sense, as we speak, phobias can be triggered by numerous factors, among the main ones we can highlight:

• traumatic experiences;
• beliefs and superstitions;
• misinformation and ignorance;
• subjective experiences of intrauterine life;
• anxious thoughts;
• lack of self-confidence;
• archetypes.

How can psychoanalysis help in the treatment of phobias?

Above all, psychoanalysis is an effective way to treat phobias, because it offers a new perspective to understand the mechanisms underlying phobias This allows the emotional and psychological roots of the condition to be identified.

In short, the goal is to determine what is causing the exaggerated fear and to understand how defense mechanisms have developed to cope with the situation. By understanding what motivates the phobia, the therapist can help the patient face his fears and better cope with the situations that frighten him.

In addition, psychoanalysis can also help patients develop personal skills to cope with stress, reassess their negative beliefs and thoughts, and seek emotional support. Through psychoanalysis, patients can learn to recognize and accept their fears and anxieties while developing strategies to cope with them more effectively.

So, if you have come this far to learn about pluviophobia is a person who likes to understand how the human mind works. Therefore, we invite you to know our Psychoanalysis Training Course, offered by IBPC, 100% distance learning. With this study, besides learning everything about phobias, under the psychoanalytic view, you will have benefits such as improving self-knowledge, improving interpersonal relationships, and helping to solve corporate problems.

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