Misophobia: causes and treatment

One of the most common phobias in the world is the fear of dirt, which can contain a large number of pathogenic microorganisms. Many famous and successful people suffer from this ailment. Any touch of objects makes them feel exaggerated danger and an obsessive desire to immediately wash their hands.

The term "misophobia" (lat. Mysophobia - fear of pollution) has been known since the end of the XIX century. It means a mental disorder characterized by a pathological fear of bacteria and dirty hands. Panic fear of mud is also called ripophobia. A similar destructive phobia in which people are terrified of the possibility of contracting microbes is called hermophobia. Similar disorders of fear of catching viruses or pathogens include bacteriophobia and bacillophobia.

The overwhelming fear of only one kind of dust or dirt and the thought of the presence of pathogenic microbes in them lead to a loss of control over consciousness and willpower. An afflicted person is afraid to get dirty. He exaggerates the danger: any minor pollution promises him the entry of pathogenic bacteria into the body. Only water and soap can save you from infection. An endless thorough washing of hands gradually turns into a kind of ritual.

Mania of purity completely captures a person. As a result, he does not think about bacteria at all, but that his hands should be washed. This action is described in the scientific literature as an obsession syndrome, manifested in an irresistible desire to constantly wash your hands.Unjustified constant treatment of hands with antiseptic agents does not benefit the body. Together with harmful bacteria, beneficial microbes are destroyed. As a result, the body's self-defense is reduced. Due to regular thorough hand washing, natural immunity weakens, and a vulnerable organism is exposed to infectious diseases. Irreparable harm can be caused to human health.

Inadequate response to dirt, dust turns the life of the suffering and those around him into a real hell. At the first symptoms of an obsessive state of regular hand washing in order to reduce the likelihood of infection, you should immediately seek help from a psychotherapist.

Misophobia contributes to following factors:

• psychological trauma caused by abuse of parents for soiled clothes, as well as punishment for non-compliance with cleanliness;
• features of improper upbringing associated with the prohibition of stroking animals, playing in the sandbox, picking up other people's things, and communicating with sick children;
• intimidation of the child with terrible consequences if personal hygiene is not observed lead to excessive cleanliness and pedantry;
• negative experience can be gained as a result of a transferred infectious disease by the suffering phobia itself or its close relative;
• Enhanced media coverage of pathogens, ticks present in dust and dirt;
• imposed advertising of antibacterial agents with the suggestion to people of the use of antiseptics to protect the body from the environment, teeming with dangerous viruses and bacteria;
• heredity: mental disorders of parents or immediate relatives increase the likelihood of phobia;
• excessive sensitivity in recognizing the shocking facts of the number of deaths from various infectious diseases on the globe, including AIDS;
• suggestibility, credulity and suspiciousness of personality;
• the desire for absolute perfection of a perfectionist or a person with increased self-esteem.

Some psychological, physiological and behavioral symptoms may indicate a pathological fear caused by a possible risk of pathogenic microorganisms entering the body through dirty hands. People suffering from this phobia experience constant discomfort and nervous tension due to the dust surrounding them, various kinds of pollution. A condition can be observed from mild anxiety to panic attacks.

The psychological manifestations of misophobia can be:

• depressive thoughts about possible death;
• insomnia;
• inability to concentrate, distracted;
• stress;
• bouts of severe anxiety.

Physiological symptoms:

• heart palpitations and breathing;
• trembling hands and feet;
• increased sweating;
• violation of the gastrointestinal tract;
• severe nausea up to vomiting;
• muscle spasms;
• dry mouth
• frequent swallowing;
• suffocation, shortness of breath, pain in the chest area.

It can highlight a number of behavioral symptoms.

• Because of the fear of catching an infection, hand washing with disinfectants happens too often and too long. Some people prefer to wear gloves in the hope that they will protect them from the ubiquitous germs.
• Increased squeamishness and fear of infection lead to individualization: family members are forbidden to use the dishes, books, stationery and other personal belongings of the patient.
• The desire for absolute cleanliness turns the apartment of misophobes into a sterile box. Preserving order sometimes transcends all boundaries: all who come into the house must wear shoe covers, they are forbidden to touch furniture.
• Antiseptic treatment of the workplace and surrounding objects gives them confidence in additional protection against harmful bacteria. Such people always carry antibacterial wipes with which they periodically wipe their hands and objects surrounding them.
• Suffering from a phobia, in order to avoid contact with dirt, they try to refuse trips in public transport, visits to food outlets, a market, a shared toilet, and collective events.
• Misophobes seek to isolate themselves from society. They avoid public places. Concentration of people bypass. Meetings with friends are annoying, because friends can be carriers of infection. Phobia sufferers try to stay away from relatives. When people approach, they are removed from them. Communication with any children is reduced to zero, since they tend to be sick often. They are afraid of tactile contact with animals.
• Individuals remaining in society and subjected to this phobia usually become outcasts. The people around them are not aware of the horror that misophobes are experiencing. In his behavior they see hostility, bitterness, hostility and arrogance.

The quality of life of sufferers is markedly reduced. Avoiding contact and interaction with people negatively affects their professional activities. Phobia can be an obstacle to creating a family. Fear of touching an object with a bare hand, irritation, rejection of other people's touching personal things, fear of handshakes complicate communication with representatives of the opposite sex and serve as an obstacle to personal happiness.

Misophobia is a serious mental disorder. It is very difficult to recover on your own. The disease requires a serious psychotherapeutic correction. Seek help from a qualified professional. Fighting fears of pollution containing a host of microbes is possible only with complex therapy.

For effective treatment, the therapist prescribes medications that help lower anxiety, normalize sleep, and improve mood. Antidepressants and sedatives relieve symptoms for a while, but complete relief from phobia does not occur.

Drug treatment should be combined with psychotherapy. Group classes, psychotherapeutic conversations, consultations are required. There are effective methods for treating this phobia. A qualified specialist will certainly help get rid of the disease.

There is Schwartz’s Four Steps technique, which works in stages.

• The right accents. The realization that it is panic fear that makes you sick makes you wash your hands endlessly, not life-threatening bacteria. Endless hand washing harms the body more than the surrounding microbes.
• Search for the cause of the ailment.
• Learning to focus on positive thoughts and distract from fear of dirt.
• Reassessment of the view on the fear of microbes, consideration of their actions from the outside and awareness of the absurdity of the situation.

The cognitive-behavioral therapeutic model allows the client to reconsider their attitude to their fear, and teaches them to control their own emotions. Breathing exercises include deep breaths and exhalations. When you inhale, you need to imagine the sensation of the aroma of a flower. When exhaling, you need to imagine blowing out a lit candle.In order to develop attention management, there is training in conscious choice of what to think about. It is proposed to name:

• a few odors that are currently being felt;
• sounds emanating around;
• green, blue, or yellow indoor items;
• models of smartphones, computers, washing machines, etc.

The cognitive-behavioral technique makes it possible for a patient with a phobia to get rid of the panic that covers him. Exposure therapy helps the patient gradually approach the object that causes him horror. The psychotherapist brings the misophobe a closed glass jar of earth, but does not give it in his hands. When severe anxiety occurs, breathing techniques and distraction techniques are used. When anxiety subsides, a little earth is poured from a jar onto a leaf. As you are ready for a new approximation, further actions are carried out using the land. Sometimes it takes several months to fully recover.

The disease recedes when using the paradoxical intention method. The technique was developed by the Austrian psychotherapist Victor Frankl. A person is invited to overpower himself and meet his fear: make contact with a sick person, deliberately touch a contaminated object and then do not wash his hands.

Autogenous meditations, carried out independently at home, increase self-esteem and give confidence. But if the causes of the disease are not eliminated, then the symptoms may appear again after a while. Along with auto-training, it is advisable to attend psychological consultations by a qualified specialist.

If the client is unable to cope with the disease on his own, an effective method of contrasting is effective. The patient is taught to react differently to the stimulus. First, the patient undergoes complete relaxation. Then calmness is propagated. In a relaxed state, a person reacts differently to stimuli. Reconstruction takes place at a subconscious level: the old way of perceiving pollution is replaced by a new model. A calm reaction to dirt, dust, bacteria is gradually replaced by panic horror that has become familiar. Sometimes the patient is offered hypnotic sessions. The client is put into a trance state for a short time. The most effective technique in the treatment of this phobia is a complete shutdown of consciousness and activation of the subconscious. The technique is suitable only for people who are easily amenable to hypnosis.

At the moment of turning off consciousness, a setting is given that replaces negative thoughts with a positive attitude. There is a perception by the person of the recognition of the groundlessness of all fears. The hypnologist directs the psyche in the right direction. At the end of the full course, the negative symptoms of phobia disappear:

• an adequate reaction to the occurrence of an irritant appears;
• an assessment of the real degree of threat;
• the world of microorganisms is perceived as a normal phenomenon;
• contact with others is gradually restored;
• the fear of catching an infection disappears for no apparent reason.

Treatment persists for a long time. Thus, with the help of hypnosis, it is possible to solve the problem, and not just to temporarily remove some manifestations of the disease. Each patient needs an individual approach.