Table of contents:
- What is mysophobia?
- What are the symptoms of germ phobia?
- What causes mysophobia?
- Mysophobia is different from OCD
- Can germ phobia be treated?
Apart from being disgusted, touching dirty objects also increases your risk of various diseases. However, most people can just ignore the dirty ducks to hold trash or dig the ground when gardening. Right, after that you can immediately take a shower or wash your hands. However, it is different from people who have mysophobia. They can scream in panic when they touch a fallen scrap of paper. Are you one of them?
What is mysophobia?
Mysophobia is an excessive and unreasonable fear of bacterial contamination, dirt, dust, germs, and the risk of infection and disease. Mysphobia is also known as germ phobia or dirty phobia.
A person who has a phobia of germs will justify all kinds of ways to avoid exposure to bacteria. For example, by avoiding physical contact such as shaking hands with other people or holding elevator buttons. They will also do various ways to clean their bodies and the environment around them from bacterial contamination, and keep them clean.
This phobia has a devastating, to paralyzing, impact on the life of the person who has it. Living too hygienic can actually increase the risk of various diseases. Excessive use of antiseptic and antibacterial products to prevent germs will actually make you sick easily.
Apart from being detrimental to physical health, phobia of germs can also affect a person's self-esteem and self-esteem, interfere with relationships and performance at work or school, which can lead to mental health problems such as depression, social isolation, and anxiety disorders.
What are the symptoms of germ phobia?
Because of his extreme fear of something (he thinks) dirty, a person who has mysophobia usually shows the following signs or symptoms:
- Avoid places that are considered to have a lot of dirt or germs
- Excessive cleaning of the room
- Wash your hands frequently and take a shower several times a day
- Refuse to share personal items
- Refusing to use public toilets
- Avoid physical contact with other people
- Avoid crowds or animals
- Refusing to share food
A person who has mysophobia will feel nauseous (maybe even vomiting), trembling, heart palpitations, shortness of breath, sweating profusely, even panicking excessively and crying when he feels he is exposed to dirt or bacteria.
Symptoms of this phobia may also arise when the person is simply looking at their phobic object, such as seeing park workers pulling weeds and sprinkling fertilizer or cleaning workers carrying trash.
What causes mysophobia?
As with phobias in general, there is no definite reason why a person can be so afraid of germs. However, there are several factors that affect mysophobia such as genetic, environmental, and psychological traumas that have been experienced in the past. Phobias can also occur after a person has experienced trauma to the brain.
Mysophobia is different from OCD
Phobia of germs is often associated with obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). Both of these disorders show the same characteristic symptoms, namely frequent hand washing.
However, the motivation for washing hands between people with germ phobia and OCD is different. A person with OCD is motivated to wash their hands to relieve their anxiety and stress, while a person who is afraid of germs feels they must wash their hands to get rid of germs.
A person who has a history of OCD has a higher risk of having a phobia of germs, but not everyone who has OCD will have a phobia of germs.
Can germ phobia be treated?
Mysophobia treatment is the same as phobia therapy in general, which usually includes CBT psychotherapy (to stop obsessive behavior, symptoms, and improve thinking), medical drugs (a combination of antidepressants, beta-blockers, and anti-anxiety), or a combination of both.
