What Is Aichmophobia? Symptoms And Causes

Aichmophobia refers to a severe fear of any sharp object. It’s categorized as a type of anxiety disorder. People with aichmophobia have severe anxiety and fear of sharp objects like pencils, scissors, needles, and knives. 

Individuals who have aichmophobia avoid certain situations where they can see sharp objects. There is another type of anxiety disorder called trypanophobia. It is the fear of needles and injections specifically. Usually, this phobia is found in a medical setting.

Anyone can have this phobia at any age like other phobias. Certain phobias such as aichmophobia can appear in young adults and adolescents. The probability of this phobia is high in females as compared to males. 

Researchers are not sure about the valid number of cases of aichmophobia. Specific phobias are categorized as the common conditions of mental health. Approximately, seven to ten percent of people suffer from a specific phobia.

Causes

Healthcare professionals are unsure about the exact causes that lead to aichmophobia. They believe that any situation in which a person becomes exposed to sharp objects leads to the development of aichmophobia. You can also call it an obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Symptoms

People with aichmophobia try hard to avoid certain situations that have specific objects that make them afraid. An individual can suffer from the following symptoms when he is exposed to sharp objects.

• Trembling and intense anxiety
• Severe fear and rapid heartbeat
• Lightheadedness and dizziness
• Shortness of breath and strong desire to escape from the situation

Diagnosis

A healthcare professional can ask a range of questions about the history of an individual, his or her symptoms, and experiences to diagnose aichmophobia. 

You should have certain symptoms like having an intense fear of sharp objects and anxiety after seeing them in order to be diagnosed with aichmophobia for the time duration of at least six months. 

Consult your doctor if symptoms of aichmophobia are interrupting your daily life functioning. Healthcare professionals use the criteria mentioned in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) in order to diagnose you from aichmophobia.

American Psychiatric Association has published DSM-5 in which criteria for different disorders are mentioned. Your healthcare provider will try to diagnose other physical and mental health conditions. These conditions can also induce symptoms in you.

Generally, there are four criteria to diagnose phobias. These criteria are given below.

• Irrational And Intense Fear: People with phobias have an unreasonable fear of any situation or object. This fear is persistent and exceeds the appropriate fear level.
• Anticipatory Anxiety: An individual with phobias anticipates situations of the future. Some extremely avoid certain situations and things they are afraid of.
• Phobia Disturbs Your Day To Day Activities: Fear can limit your day-to-day activities. People with extreme phobias may feel unable to perform different tasks in certain situations or even in normal situations due to excessive anticipation and worrying.

Treatment

Usually, psychological treatment is used to treat aichmophobia. You can call this treatment psychotherapy like cognitive behavioral therapy and exposure therapy. Doctors recommend medications to individuals in some cases. 

These medications help to relieve the symptoms of anxiety and fear temporarily. It helps them to cope with the fear even during the therapy.

Exposure Therapy

It is a common psychological treatment that doctors use to treat certain phobias like aichmophobia. Usually, people with phobias avoid certain situations that make them afraid. Because of this avoidance, they become unable to learn about how to manage fear.

They always think that certain outcomes will happen even if they are not going to happen. Psychologists and therapists use exposure therapy to make people realize that certain situations are not harmful or it does not harm the individual.

Psychologists keep an individual in that situation so he or she can learn to stay in that event or situation. It helps to manage fear and anxiety in certain events.

Cognitive Behavior Therapy

It is a psychological treatment that mental health professionals use to make people recover from certain phobias. This therapy involves talking in which psychologists ask questions from a client. These questions help you to think about different perspectives.

You learn to respond in a better way and to cope with stress and anxiety whenever you become exposed to certain things that lead to fear. It helps you to recover from phobias as soon as possible.

Medications

Your doctor can recommend certain medications for aichmophobia. These medications can be beta-blockers and sedatives.

Ivan Brandt