Haptophobia is the fear of being touched. A person experiences a sharp hostility with the manifestation of vegetative reactions of the body, as with any phobia. When we meet friends, we shake hands and hug each other. A person free from haptophobia can easily engage in physical contact of a social nature without experiencing negative feelings. But there are people who do not tolerate touching - haptophobes. And today the fear of touch is reaching plague proportions.
Causes
The spread of the fear of hugs has been facilitated by the global migration of people from villages to cities. The townspeople lead an isolated lifestyle psychologically. Everyone around the city is strangers. Potentially dangerous. And people are increasingly becoming afraid of being touched.
Haptophobia can be caused by sexual violence. A person becomes asexual, hostility appears, personal space increases. And I don’t want to let others into it.
Often haptophobia is a consequence of another disorder:
- obsessive-compulsive disorder;
- anxiety disorder;
- mysophobia;
- diseases of a physiological nature: mental retardation, dementia, autism;
- catatonic manifestations of schizophrenia;
- Agaraphobia;
- paranoid mental disorder.
Haptophobia occurs in boys during adolescence. This is due to uncontrolled erection. It occurs when accidentally touching, shaking hands, or hugging. This could be an adult woman, a classmate, a sister. Physically this is natural and normal. But it brings a lot of worries. Because of this, teenagers try to avoid physical contact with others so as not to get into an awkward situation. The phobia may go away on its own or persist.
Tactilophobia is considered to be a synonym for haptophobia. It is worth noting that there is a slight difference between these concepts. Tactile phobes experience a fear of the touch of strangers.
What problems can be confused with haptophobia?
In some cases, haptophobia may be hiding other problems. For example, a person is frightened by the touch of obese people because he himself has recently lost weight and is afraid of gaining weight again. And fear of being touched by people with special needs may actually be fear of injury. In addition, fear of people's touch can be part of autism, psychasthenia, and mental retardation.
What else could be hiding behind the mask of haptophobia:
- paranoia,
- schizophrenia,
- avoidant disorder
- agoraphobia,
- psychosis,
- asexuality.
However, fear of touch is not always masked or part of other psychological problems. Sometimes it can be confused with personality traits, for example, when a person has too wide a personal space. Authoritarianism and perfectionism can also look like haptophobia.
It is important! Each case of haptophobia requires a private consideration and analysis of the client’s entire life history.
Symptoms
Haptophobia manifests itself as anxiety during possible contact with others. A person, thinking that he will have to shake hands with strangers, experiences fear and tries to avoid contact at all costs.
Initially, a person who is afraid of touch reacts this way only to strangers. Touching loved ones does not cause a negative reaction. As the disease progresses, the person increasingly strives to isolate himself. He forbids anyone from entering his room and stops contacting others. The result is complete isolation. A person can no longer tolerate living together, even with loved ones. Breaks all social contacts.
In addition to psychological discomfort, haptophobia has physical (vegetative) manifestations:
- trembling in the arms, legs, neck;
- weakness, lightheadedness, faintness;
- dizziness;
- tingling in the limbs;
- dyspnea;
- palpitations, rapid pulse;
- nausea.
In severe cases, vomiting may occur. The autonomic system reacts differently for everyone. It depends on the characteristics of the body and on the cause of haptophobia.
External factors in a phobia
Medical and social workers have a fear of being touched by others. Every day they have contact with drug addicts and unkempt homeless people. Gradually, more and more fears regarding disease and dirt appear. They have an obsession that people carry bacteria and viruses. A mild form of disgust easily turns into a phobia.
In addition, phobia is one of the symptoms of mental retardation and autism. Fear of touch is closely related to a focus on one's own inner world. They perceive aggressively the attempts of others to penetrate their comfort zone.
Fear of other people's touches is diagnosed in people with nervous disorders. For example, these may be obsessive states and psychasthenia. They don't want to come into contact with strangers or even relatives because they think they might pick up bacteria. For such individuals, it is important to monitor their own hygiene and cleanliness. They always have wet wipes and antiseptics with them, so they react quickly and sharply to dirt and stains.
For some people, the smell of the interlocutor acts as an irritating factor. It can be repulsive and cause negative emotions. The aroma often evokes associations with the past. You just need to stop communicating with such a person for a certain period of time. There is no need to be too nice and polite.
How to recognize a haptophobe
For a person with a fear of touch, physical contact is like an electric shock. He subconsciously feels threatened. Therefore, if you extend your hand, the person will not return the handshake. He may turn around and leave if he sees someone coming to say hello.
Such people rarely go out and avoid public transport, cinemas, and shops. They try to keep their distance when talking to someone. Some people wear gloves to avoid touching their body.
A person suffering from haptophobia will immediately wash his hand and wipe it with a napkin if he has touched someone. This is not disgust - this is a mental disorder. He needs to clear the surface from the touch of a stranger. And such a person can be strangers to everyone except his own wife and children, or just everyone.
If there is a haptophobe among your friends, you should not be offended by his actions. The person has no intention of offending anyone, he has a mental disorder, he needs help. Isolation in the case of haptophobia only makes the problem worse. Therefore, he needs communication, support from family and friends.
A typical behavior for a person with a fear of being touched is to wear closed clothing. Even on hot summer days, preference is given to trousers, long skirts, and long-sleeve sweaters. This is a subconscious desire to protect yourself from possible touches. This makes the haptophobe feel more comfortable.
How to get rid of fear?
You need to overcome touch phobia with the help of a specialist. If the fear has a situational origin (it was caused by a certain event, for example, physical violence), it may be enough to work through the problem that caused the phobia. When the reason lies in the stereotypes that have developed in the family (for example, contempt for physical manifestations of tenderness, lack of physical affection), then an adult feels an ambivalent feeling - an urgent need for affection and a fear of being ridiculed or misunderstood.
Impaired social interaction
Haptophobia forces a person to isolate himself from the company of other people. Alone, the “patient” is calmer. Over time, he becomes more and more withdrawn, because we all strive to protect ourselves from danger and find spiritual comfort. Also haptophobes. But their concept of safety and comfort is distorted. For them it is the absence of touching. No potential danger. Lack of people nearby.
This problem often makes it impossible to work and communicate. A person leaves a place of work where he needs to constantly interact with others. He becomes withdrawn, and this negatively affects the psyche. For mental balance, a person needs communication, communication, interaction. This is how we are made.
Phobia concept
The concept of “phobia” is well known to everyone, but not everyone can coherently explain what exactly it is. Translated from Greek, “phobia” means “fear, fear.” In reality, fears and phobias are very close, but there are significant differences between them. Fear is a natural protective function of the body in the face of real danger, physiologically manifested in the release of hormones into the blood, rapid heartbeat, autonomic dysfunction, etc. An interesting fact can help to understand the nature of fear - a person is born absolutely fearless. Little children are not afraid of falling from a height, drowning in the bathtub, or touching fire with their finger. Only later does the feeling of fear come with experience, and, basically, these fears are useful. Basically, the feeling of such fear helps to escape from dangerous situations or prevent them. This feeling of fear is completely conscious and controlled by common sense and logic. Phobias are fears that are characterized by very significant stability, are not based on common sense (irrational) and are constantly present in the human psyche. Moreover, these fears most often are not of a real threat, but fears “within us.” Phobias, unlike fears, are very difficult to control by thinking and common sense.
Diagnostics
If a person notices symptoms of haptophobia, he will have to see a doctor to confirm the diagnosis. It is impossible to diagnose yourself, just as it is impossible to get a haircut, cut out an appendix, or heal a tooth on your own. Entrust your health to a professional - a person who has studied psychology for many years. This could be a psychotherapist, psychiatrist, neurologist.
Fear of touch is diagnosed using special questionnaires and tests for various disorders. Remember: most often, haptophobia is not an independent illness. This is a “component” for another, more serious mental disorder.
One way or another, you shouldn’t be afraid of such symptoms. Psychology is actively developing, and all ailments are treatable.
How to interact with hapnophobes
When examining the question of what haptophobia is, it is worth mentioning the existence of a number of simple rules that greatly simplify interaction with hapnophobes. First of all, you shouldn’t hold a grudge against those people who avoid close contact. The desire to wash your hands after shaking hands or open requests to avoid physical contact are not always a manifestation of a negative attitude. Such behavior may be mistakenly regarded as impoliteness and bad character, but it should be understood that the need for physical contact can cause physical pain in a haptophobe.
It should also be understood that the lack of physical contact is a demonstration of strict boundaries of personal space. An ordinary person can easily hug a stranger, but will not offer to use his toothbrush. In the case of haptophobia, the comfort zone has clearly defined boundaries, which are not recommended to be crossed.
It is important to pay attention to the fact that the degree of manifestation of the disease varies from person to person. This circumstance indicates the need to understand the behavior of a hephephobe.
Treatment
Psychotherapy uses several different treatment models, alternating them for greater effectiveness:
- group therapy;
- cognitive behavioral therapy;
- drug therapy;
- hypnosis;
- psychoanalysis.
Medicines are prescribed to eliminate the physiological manifestations of the disease. The doctor will prescribe them based on the general picture of the disease.
Never prescribe medications for yourself!
Other methods aim to change negative associations associated with touch. Your doctor will help you understand that touching is safe and pleasant. Tactile contacts are necessary for every person for normal psychological health.
Psychologists advise hugging 3 to 8 people a day. This will help you get rid of depression, relieve stress, and improve your mood. Having haptophobia in a person alters this process. A person first needs to get rid of false fears and distorted reflexes associated with touch. For a haptophobe, such a number of hugs per day will most likely cause a panic attack. At the same time, the internal, subconscious need for hugs still remains, but it is not possible to satisfy it.
What can you do yourself?
If you are unable to contact a psychotherapist, you can use the helpline. Psychologists answer calls. Every city has a psychological support service. They will listen and give advice.
What else can you do?
- All alone, take a sheet of paper (use an electronic notepad, Word) and write down all the traumatic situations. Starting from early childhood.
- Reassess each situation and explain the reasons for what happened. Rethink.
- It is necessary to attach positive images and memories to each event. You must understand that what happened was an experience, and the reaction could have been softer, without injury. Find the positives.
- After that, look at each situation again. Emotions must change.
- Tear the paper or erase what you wrote. This is not in the present, these situations are in the past. And they won't happen again. Forget about them.
Remember that a lot of baggage from the past will slow you down on your path to the future. Let go of everything unnecessary. And think positive.
Advice from psychologists
The symptoms of thixophobia bring significant discomfort to the owner of the disorder. Thixophobes avoid public places, large crowds of people and events where frequent hugging and contact with people is necessary. In a situation where an unexpected touch occurs, thixophobe may exhibit inappropriate reactions from a panic attack to an outburst of uncontrollable anger. Psychological symptoms include physical ailments in the form of rapid pulse, pale or reddened skin color and trembling throughout the body. To alleviate symptoms and begin recovery, psychologists recommend:
Recognize the presence of a disorder. It can be difficult to admit that some experiences are out of control. It can be especially difficult to share your fears regarding objects that bring you to the peak of emotionality and interfere with your life. It is very important to do this, since without awareness of the problem it is almost impossible to take a step towards correction.
Find a possible cause. There is a problem in independently searching for causes, since many traumatic events are erased from memory and sent to storage in the unconscious. However, some patients bravely find in their memory the event that became a turning point. After this, it is important to look at the situation through the eyes of an adult and try to find an explanation for your feelings.
Warn loved ones. This will help avoid breaking relationships and misunderstandings on the part of people around you. For many people, tactile contact is a sign of attention and trust. Due to their ignorance, they may unconsciously constantly seek physical contact, from which thixophobe falls into horror. An explanatory conversation will help achieve understanding and comfort for a larger number of people around you.
Meditation and breathing. Any phobia is accompanied by increased anxiety. This leads to chronic fatigue and a pessimistic outlook on life. Meditation helps you find inner peace, improves sleep and can at least temporarily stop the flow of restless thoughts. Meditation is a way to become more aware of your feelings and emotions. This helps you monitor your condition and direct your thoughts in the right direction.
Contact a specialist. All of the above techniques can help in the early stages or mild forms of the disorder. But, if the situation gets out of control, the reasons are not found, and the symptoms are overwhelming, you need to go to a psychologist or psychotherapist. With the help of psychoanalytic psychotherapy, finding out the reasons with the help of leading questions and observation by a specialist, you can get rid of thixophobia.
