Many of us enjoy Rainy days accompanied by a delicious coffee and maybe some dessert. Many others, we get distracted listening to its sound and watching a movie on afternoons with rain, thunder and lightning. Some of us get wet coming back from work or school. However, for many people around the world, rain —and everything that goes with it— is a distressing phenomenon, leading to a persistent and intense fear of it. These people suffer from ombrophobia or pluviophobia.
Throughout this Supercurious article we will tell you about the characteristics of fear of rain, causes, symptoms and treatments. Get the umbrella ready, we started!
Ombrophobia or pluviophobia: What fear are you referring to?
First of all, let’s briefly see what a phobia is. Do you have a fear that seems to have no explanation? Many times we have fears that seem to have no logic, but no matter how hard we try, they become almost impossible for us to face, even if they do not present a real danger. Precisely this fear is a phobia, which in turn is a form of anxiety disorder.
In this world there are many strange phobias that affect all kinds of people and that, without a doubt, have the power to interfere with their daily actions. Although there are phobias towards animals, objects or specific situations, some of them focus primarily on the environment and the conditions that make it up. This is exactly what happens with ombrophobia or pluviophobia.
As mentioned earlier, ombrophobia is the irrational fear of rain and those elements related to itlike thunder or lightning. This alteration generally develops throughout childhood, although it does not exclude adolescents or adults.
The irrational fear of rain acts as a strong stimulus for the appearance of a sense of danger, whether conscious or unconscious. This, eventually, will determine the type of life that people who suffer from it lead, as with any phobia.
1. Main causes of pluviphobia
Although there is no common explanation for the appearance of this phobia in each of the individuals who suffer from it, such specific phobias are generally related with negative past experiences.
This means that the memory of these experiences can trigger warning reactions in front of a certain object, in this case, the rain. In relation to this phobia, bad experiences are linked to storms, floods, lightning strikes or other natural disasters.
However, another possible cause is related to the physical, mental or emotional conditions of an individual. Many times, the conditions of vulnerability or susceptibility can converge in the appearance of all kinds of fears or annoyances. For example, rain can further affect the mood of a depressed person or anxious, which increases his fear of her.
It is worth emphasizing that, although these are possible causes, phobias appear for many reasons and these will depend on the context of the individual who suffers from them.
2. Main symptoms of ombrophobia
We have already talked about the possible causes of this phobia, but now we will focus on those signs or symptoms that indicate its appearance:
- Anxiety triggering. This involves symptoms such as tachycardia, increased blood pressure, hyperventilation, increased palpitations, etc.
- immediate need for protection or protection.
- increased sweating realizing it’s raining.
- Great demonstrations of fear due to lightning strikes or the sound of lightning.
- Development of malaise conditionssuch as stomach pain or headache, nausea, dizziness, decreased body temperature, among others.
- appearance of negative beliefs towards rain and towards the individual coping capacity of this.
- The affected person will be constantly on the lookout for any signs of rain or change in the weather. This behavior can become obsessive.
- fear of rain explicitly interferes with the patient’s daily life, disabling the development of many activities and the evasion of multiple situations.
3. Possible treatment for fear of rain
The most important thing about the treatment of the different types of phobia is that they always start with the evaluation of the degree of response to a negative stimulus (in this case, the rain). This evaluation must be carried out by a professional and it has to consider contextual situations of the patient, such as bad experiences with rain, thunder, etc.
That said, one of the most common treatments for ombrophobia is cognitive behavioral therapy. The most common technique of this type of therapy is exposure technique.
As its name indicates, this consists of the prolonged exposure of a patient to the feared stimulus. In response, anxiety and fear levels will begin to decrease as time progresses.
Now, it is important to keep in mind that rain is a natural phenomenon, so its appearance cannot be controlled. Faced with this, therapy makes use of related techniques, such as imaginary exposure or the use of virtual reality tools.
Other techniques used to treat ombrophobia are cognitive therapies and systematic desensitization. However, another quite effective way to deal with it is psychoeducation. This consists of explaining to the patient their problems and providing them with the necessary information, which will improve their attitude towards treatment.
Knowing about this and other phobias will not only allow you to identify them in people close to you or in yourself, but it will also allow you to understand the scope of the mind and the different ways in which each individual understands and relates to the world.
Before saying goodbye to you, we would like to know your opinions on the matter: do you know someone who suffers from ombrophobia or pluviphobia? Do you have any other symptoms or causes in mind? We are looking forward to reading you! Oh, and don’t forget to read our entry on celebrity phobias! It will fascinate you.
Other phobias you should know
Now that we have concluded our article on the fear of rain, we want to leave you with this selection of phobias. Do you have any of them?
- What is turofobia, fear of cheese
- What is Eisoptrophobia, fear of mirrors
- What is arachnophobia, fear of spiders
- What is glossophobia, fear of public speaking
- What is acrophobia, fear of heights
- What is haphephobia, fear of being touched
- What is decidophobia, fear of making decisions
- What is tanotophobia, fear of death
- What is aerophobia, fear of flying by plane
- What is ophidiophobia, fear of snakes
- What is hemophobia, fear of blood
- What is clautrophobia, fear of closed spaces
- What is coulrophobia, fear of clowns