Dealing with Pedophobia Strategies for Overcoming Fear of Children
The irrational fear of children is known as pedophobia. When thinking about children, much alone actually being with them in real life, a person with this illness should expect to feel an extremely high flow of Anxiety. They could take extreme measures to avoid children because of their overwhelming fear of them. As a result, they may find it difficult to avoid children in many situations, such as going to the grocery store, where this would be almost impossible.
Pedophobics may find great relief in avoiding travelling to locations or situations where kids may be present, but doing so may actually make their condition worse in the long run since by purposefully avoiding kids, they are also reinforcing their fear of them. Therefore, despite the fact that someone who suffers from pedophobia might believe it is in their best advantage to avoid seeing children at all costs, the opposite may actually be true.
Supermarkets, parks, and buses (public transportation) are a few locations that pedophobic persons may avoid. All of this would be done in an effort to lessen the likelihood of them coming into touch with a child. They might have a much harder time than they otherwise would have had they simply gone to some of these important locations.
What is phobia?
An anxiety disorder known as a phobia makes a person experience excessive fear of things that won't hurt them. A special Phobia is called pedophobia. Someone starts to feel worried or frightened around a certain things or situations. In this situation, the thing which causes fear and anxiety are small children and babies.
Symptoms of pedophobia
Mild to severe phobia symptoms can be present. Even if you are aware that your fear of children is unjustified, you may still find it difficult to regulate your body's reactions. Some signs and symptoms of pedophobia include:
Dizziness.
Dryness in mouth
Extreme fear or panic.
Diarrhoea, vomiting, or nauseous
Excessive sweating
Rapid heartbeat and breathing.
Trembling or shaking
Breathing difficulty.
Anxiety when they think of children
Feeling of anxiety when they are around children or when children are around them
Avoiding kids constantly
Not able to cope with the anxiety they are having
They might also experience a panic attack
Causes of pedophobia
The exact causes of pedophobia are unknown. However, the development of this illness may be greatly influenced by both a person's environment and heredity. For example, a person may be more likely to develop pedophobia if they have a family history of mental illness, particularly anxiety disorders or certain phobias. This can be because they are genetically programmed to suffer from mental health disorder in particular.
If someone is having genetic information, it might only take for them to go through a terrible event to fully develop pedophobia. Basically, if a person has the right genetic makeup, any emotionally traumatic incident that includes the numerous phobias connected to pedophobia in some way may be sufficient for them to develop this illness.
You might directly experience something or see something happen, like:
Child abuse
Bullying, humiliation, violence, or violent outbursts from kids.
Baby or young child death.
Pregnancy loss, such as a stillbirth or miscarriage.
Treatment of pedophobia
Most of us fear or feel frightened of particular circumstances or things. However, you should get help if the fear is severe and interferes with your daily activities. You might not be required to seek professional treatment for your fear of children if it has no significant negative effects on your everyday life. Self-help techniques can be effective in certain circumstances. For treatment seek professional help from the Best psychologist delhi or search for the Best psychologist near me.
Self-help
Self-help techniques are often quite successful in treating pedophobia. You can put your ideas or feelings concerning your fear in a notebook. Make a list of terrifying circumstances connected to your phobia. It could include statements like "kids are dirty" or "a child might hurt me," among other things. Then, order the items on your list from the least to the most terrifying. Here, the idea is to focus on the ultimate result: not experiencing a panic attack when in front of a baby or young child. Your fear will diminish with time as you reflect on the frightening event for a longer period of time. Ideally, you should perform this exercise every day.
Meditation
Moreover, you can practise meditation and deep breathing. When faced with your fear, practise belly breathing. If you can maintain steady, regulated breathing for three to four minutes, you can avoid a reaction that might trigger anxiety or Depression.
Seek professional help
In the most severe circumstances, you might need to think about hiring a specialist. Speak with a Child psychologist or an Counseling psychologist who can advise you on the best course of action based on the severity or intensity of your fear. Many phobias can be effectively treated with cognitive behaviour therapy. It entails confronting unfavourable thought patterns until your mind develops the ability to suppress terror. Another course of Pedophobia treatment is hypnotherapy. The Therapists in delhi can assists you in identifying the source of your fear so that you can learn to approach it logically. To control the anxiety, medication or medications may occasionally be given.
Schedule a mental health treatment session with the highly skilled and experienced psychologists at the Psychowellness Centre. The building is near Janakpuri, Dwarka, Faridabad, NOIDA, and Delhi NCR.
Contribution: Dr (Prof) R K Suri, Clinical Psychologist, life coach & mentor TalktoAngel & Dr. Sakshi Kochhar
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