The Chronophobia Is a type of specific phobia in which the dreaded element is the passage of time. People with this disorder have an irrational, excessive and uncontrollable fear over time.
It constitutes a anxiety disorder As the phobic fear experienced by people gives rise to high anxiety responses.
Also, chronophobia can be a very serious and disabling alteration for the person, since unlike another type of phobia, in chronophobia the person is in constant contact with his dreaded element.
Time passes permanently, so the passage of time is an abstract concept that the person with chronophobia can develop at any time, regardless of the characteristics of the situation.
However, it is often customary for the anxious and phobic responses of chronophobia to be accentuated at specific times in which the passage of time becomes more noticeable.
For example, making comments like"how fast time passes"to a person with chronophobia may impend an imminent anxiety response.
characteristics
Chronophobia is an anxiety disorder. Specifically, it refers to a rare type of specific phobia.
Not like others Types of phobia Where the feared element results in a clearly identifiable object or situation (eg spider phobia or height phobia), the phobic stimulus of chronophobia becomes more ambiguous.
In fact, people with chronophobia fear an abstract concept as it is the passage of time. The fact that the minutes, the hours, the days, the months and the years happen cause a high fear to the people with chronophobia.
As a result of phobic fear, the person with chronophobia usually develops an anxious state that is maintained more or less permanently during their day to day life.
The person with chronophobia does not enjoy the passage of time, but it causes discomfort. For this reason, thoughts about this phenomenon often appear frequently in subjects with chronophobia.
Likewise, it is usual for certain elements or situations that reveal more or less explicitly the passage of time, trigger more intense anxiety responses in subjects with chronophobia.
These elements can vary in each case and in general it is maintained that any stimulus that refers to the passage of time can trigger an intense anxious symptomatology in the person with chronophobia.
symptom
The symptomatology of chronophobia is characterized by being mainly anxious. This appears as a consequence of the phobic fear of the subject and is highly unpleasant.
The anxiety responses of chronophobia can occur in different situations. Due to the ambiguity of the concept"passage of time"it is maintained that anxious manifestations can appear at any moment.
In fact, any stimulus that triggers the idea of "passage of time"in the subject's mind has the ability to produce the anxiety sensations typical of the disorder.
The most common manifestations are usually physical symptoms. Phobic fear causes an increase in Autonomic nervous system Which translates into a number of changes in the functioning of the body.
In this sense, it is usual for the person with chronophobia to experience symptoms such as:
- Increased heart rate.
- Increased respiratory rate.
- Feelings of choking.
- Muscle tension.
- Body sweating.
- Pupil dilation.
- Dry mouth.
- Body tremors.
- Dizziness, nausea or vomiting.
Likewise, the symptoms of chronophobia are characterized by generating a series of irrational and negative thoughts about the passage of time. These thoughts are fed back with physical symptoms to generate and increase the person's anxiety state.
Diagnosis
At present, chronophobia has well-established diagnostic criteria that determine the presence or absence of the disorder. The criteria that define chronophobia are:
- Fear or intense anxiety caused by the idea of "passage of time"(phobic element).
- The phobic element almost always causes immediate fear or anxiety.
- The phobic element is actively avoided or resisted with intense fear or anxiety.
- Fear or anxiety is disproportionate to the real danger posed by the phobic element and to the sociocultural context.
- Fear, anxiety or avoidance is persistent, and typically lasts for six or more months.
- Fear, anxiety or avoidance causes clinically significant discomfort or deterioration in social, work, or other important areas of functioning.
- The alteration is not best explained by the symptoms of another mental disorder.
Causes
At present there are no specific data on the etiology of chronophobia. Nevertheless, it is maintained that its causes could be similar to those of other specific phobias.
In this sense, phobias can develop in response to a situation or external stimuli. The specific cause can be difficult to identify, but in general, the experience of negative events related to the passage of time is the most powerful factor for the development of chronophobia.
On the other hand, certain authors point out that in the case of chronophobia genetic factors and certain Personality traits Anxious may also play an important role in the development of mental disturbance.
Treatment
Being a specific fear associated with an anxiety disorder, chronophobia is usually treated in the same way as any other type of specific phobia. In this sense, treatment can include both medication (in the most severe cases) and psychotherapy (in most cases).
As far as psychotherapy is concerned, the most commonly used tool in the case of chronophobia is usually cognitive therapy. Correcting thoughts and ideas about the passage of time is fundamental to overcome the phobic fear of pathology.
References
- Becker E, Rinck M, Tu¨ rke V, et al. Epidemiology of specific phobia types: findings from the Dresden Mental Health Study. Eur Psychiatry 2007; 22: 69-74.
- Craske MG, Barlow DH, Clark DM, et al. Specific (Simple) phobia. In: Widiger TA, Frances AJ, Pincus HA, Ross R, First MB, Davis WW, editors. DSM-IV Sourcebook, Vol. 2 Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Press; 1996: 473-506.
- DSM-IV-TR Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (2002). [Links]
- Obiols, J. (Ed.) (2008). Manual of General Psychopathology. Madrid: New Library.
- Sadock, B. (2010) Kaplan & Sadock handbook of clinical psychiatry. (5th Ed.) Barcelona: Wolters Kluwer.