The Filemafobia Is the excessive and irrational fear of kissing. N Or all the fears to kiss imply in the presence of filemafobia, since the fear that is experienced in this anxiety disorder Must have certain characteristics.
Firstly, it is important to emphasize that in order to speak of filemafobia one has to experience elevated levels of anxiety and feelings of fear before the exposure to a kiss.
This first appreciation may sound superfluous and unnecessary, since from the beginning it has already been said that the filemafobia deals with that, from phobia to kissing.
However, it is important to clarify this first point, since the filemafobia is an anxiety disorder in which one experiences irrational fear when the person is exposed to a kiss but does not do it when it is exposed to any other situation.
In this way, it is important to examine and accurately detail what the feared object is.
People can be afraid of many things, and these fears can be extrapolated to the action of kissing, however, the filemafobia does not possess these characteristics.
An example to clarify the subject
A person can wear very nervous Having to kiss someone for the first time, to the point of getting blocked and unable to perform the action.
In this situation, the person experiences a lot of anxiety at the moment of giving a kiss, but is the kiss really the phobic element?
Probably not, since in this situation most likely the person experiences anxiety for other reasons.
She is nervous because she wants to start a relationship with that person, she has to be rejected, the other person does not want to kiss her or the other person does not want to have a relationship with her.
In this case, we see that we experience anxiety before an action of kissing, but the element feared is not the kiss itself, but everything that kissing represents.
That is, the person is not afraid to kiss, but is afraid to be rejected or to discover that the other person does not have the same loving intentions as her.
Thus, in this case we would not speak of filemaphobia (in principle) since fears are not subject to the action of kissing, but to other aspects.
Characteristics of the filemaphobia
When we speak of filemaphobia, the object feared in itself is the kiss, so the person fears to kiss, to kiss and even terrified to see other people doing it.
Likewise, for this experienced fear to be considered corresponding to an anxiety disorder, it must possess other main characteristics. These are:
- The fear experienced by the exposure of a kissing situation is disproportionate to the demands of the situation.
- The person can not explain or reason the fear that he experiences in these situations, he does not find sense, he knows that he is irrational but he can not avoid it
- The fear he experiences when kissing or kissing is beyond voluntary control, he can not manage the feelings of terror and fear governs him in a total way.
- The fear experienced by the person is so high that it systematically leads him to avoid any situation in which the act of kissing can occur.
- The fear that appears before the actions of kissing persists over time and does not appear only sporadically or occasionally.
- Fear is totally maladaptive, does not bring benefits and causes relational problems in the person.
- The fear that is experienced in these situations is not specific to a certain phase or age, so it persists in the different stages of life.
With these 7 main characteristics of the fear that is experienced in the filemafobia we already see clearly that not all the anxieties that can appear before a situation of kiss correspond to the suffering of this type of specific phobia.
That way, if you get nervous when you kiss, you fear that they kiss you unexpectedly or you're afraid to kiss someone in a concrete way, it does not mean that you have a phobia to kiss.
Also, people with filemafobia usually do not fear the kiss only when they experience it in first person, but also they present an exaggerated increase of anxiety when they see other people kissing.
Finally, it should be noted that, obviously, people with filemafobia are totally unable to enjoy when they kiss or are kissed, although this action has rewarding elements for most people.
When a person suffering from Filemafobia is exposed to a kiss, he responds automatically with feelings of fear and terror, so he lives the moment as highly unpleasant and all he wants is to avoid that situation.
What are its causes?
The causes of anxiety disorders are a controversial topic and, in the case of the filemaphobia, today there are no known factors that can explain the onset of the disorder.
A good approximation that tries to explain the appearance of this type of phobias is the cognitive-behavioral theories.
These theories try to explain how a previously neutral stimulus (such as the kiss) can be associated with aversive stimuli to the point of end up fearing them completely.
One approach that is quite explanatory for the resolution of this formulation is Mowrer's two-factor theory.
This theory postulates that the neutral stimulus (the kiss) becomes aversive (fear of kissing) through motivational properties.
In addition, it explains that the fear is maintained due to the conduct of avoidance that is carried out.
Thus, when a person who has a phobia of kissing avoids situations in which he may be exposed to a kiss, such avoidance is the main factor that maintains the phobia.
Also, it is postulated that the filemafobia can be consequence of other related phobias, like the fear of the intimacy or the sexual relations.
As regards the motivational factors that convert the neutral stimulus into a phobic and highly feared stimulus, it is postulated that religious or cultural beliefs may play an important role.
In this way, educational styles and early experiences could be major factors in the development of this type of fears.
Likewise, the experience of some trauma related to the sexual field such as suffering rape or having unpleasant sexual relations could be other factors that explain the beginning of the filemafobia.
Thus, the cause of this psychological alteration is understood from a multifactorial point of view in which, both educational aspects, learning, beliefs, early experiences and Personality traits Are fed back together to give rise to the phobia of kissing.
Can it be treated?
The most positive aspect of phobias is that they can be treated and managed with relative effectiveness, so it could be said that the filemaphobia has a solution.
In general, there are many types of specific phobias that do not require treatment since the impact they have in the day to day of the person who suffers from them is minimal.
A clear example can be the phobia of spiders or other animals, which interfere very little in the quality of life of the people and an individual can live with these phobias practically without problem.
The case of the filemafobia is different since due to the characteristics of the object feared, it deals with a disease that can have much more repercussion in the life of the person.
In fact, kissing is one of the most special and rewarding behaviors people have, as well as one of our main resources to express feelings and appreciation to our loved ones.
A person with filemafobia has emotional patterns equal to those that a person has without this alteration, reason why is able to want, appreciate and love other people.
However, what limits him is one of the actions of emotional expression that we humans have, the kiss.
Thus, it is desirable that people with filemafobia treat their fear through psychotherapy to eliminate their phobias.
Cognitive behavioral treatment
The psychological intervention that has proven to be most effective in these cases is the Cognitive behavioral treatment , Since it allows to remedy practically all cases of specific phobia.
These treatments are characterized by applying both cognitive (approaching thinking) and behavioral (addressing actions) techniques.
In the case of filemaphobia, the two main techniques are relaxation and the exposition .
With relaxation you can reduce anxiety levels and provide the person with a calm state that allows him to develop skills to control his fear.
With the exposition the person is exposed to a feared element (to the kiss) when it has been previously relaxed and it is intended that the person gets accustomed to the dreaded stimulus until he stops dreading it.
Finally, cognitive techniques can be applied to restructure distorted kiss beliefs that may be important in maintaining phobia.
References
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