Fear of water in a child: reasons for its occurrence and ways to overcome fear

Aquaphobia disease

Aquaphobia, or hydrophobia, is a fairly common phobia. It got its name after studying such fears as:

• Just “dive” into the water,
• Swim where you don't feel the bottom underneath you,
• Reluctance to swim after drowning or seeing a tragedy happen,
• Fear of cold water
• Fear of muddy, dirty water,
• Reluctance to swim at night.

Fear of water manifests itself in the sea, lake, or open body of water. People with this disorder may feel comfortable taking a shower and bath, but going to the pool can result in panic attacks. Aquaphobia can manifest itself at absolutely any age. More often women suffer from it.

Important! Phobia is not a congenital disorder. However, young children often suffer from it. When considering all aspects, the birth process, complicated childbirth, and fetal hypoxia are often the source of fear of water. Occasionally, the phobia is transmitted from parents who are also afraid of water. Qualified specialists will help in this matter.

Hydrophobia is often characteristic of those who cannot swim. Occasionally, there are cases where a skilled swimmer experiences stress in the water and acquires aquaphobia.

Types of disorder

Hydrophobia is divided into several types depending on the object of fear. The main types include:

1. Absolutophobia is a panicky fear of water in any form. A panic attack can develop at the sight of a full bathtub, rain, or liquid flowing from a faucet. With absolute phobia, even banal washing of hands or taking a shower turns into a real test.
2. Limnophobia is an uncontrollable fear of lakes and its inhabitants.
3. Thalassophobia is a neurotic disorder accompanied by a fear of swimming in the sea or ocean.
4. Potamophobia – fear of rivers and mountain waterfalls.
5. Antlophobia - panic fear of flooding.
6. Ombrophobia – the object of fear is rain, puddles, a person is terrified of getting wet in the rain.
7. Chionophobia is an aversion to snow and frozen water.

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With hydrophobia, uncontrollable fear can be caused by various objects - the depth of a reservoir, muddy, dirty, dark or cold water. A feeling of panic develops if the hydrophobe ceases to feel the bottom under his feet, he feels complete helplessness.

Reasons for appearance

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Most often, a phobia of water develops in childhood. This is usually facilitated by some situation that traumatizes the child’s psyche. He may try to swim and, if he tries unsuccessfully, begin to drown. Strong fear can settle in the mind for a long time.

Trauma from drowning may contribute to fear of water

Sometimes the fear of water arises after watching disaster films or news about incidents involving the death of people in water.

Fear of swimming is often associated with the fact that a person is afraid of sea creatures. In any case, a phobia always occurs against a background of severe stress.

How to get started with water

1. Make sure the baby is fed.
2. Fill a small amount of water into the bathtub.
3. The water for the first bath should be 36 degrees.
4. Wrap your baby in a swaddle so he doesn't get scared.
5. Immerse your child in the water gradually, starting from the feet.
6. Immediately after bathing, wrap the baby in a warm, soft towel to avoid discomfort after the baby is taken out of the water.

Main development factors

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The reasons for the development of aquaphobia may be the following:

• Psychological trauma in childhood. In this case, the person may not even remember what happened to him.
• Stressful events related to water. This includes an unsuccessful swimming experience, a long stay in the water, a tragedy seen with subsequent death, and natural disasters.
• Viral diseases. When drinking water, an infected person experiences a spasm that prevents them from swallowing the liquid.

Fear of water - how to overcome fear: treatment methods for adults

• For many people suffering from hydrophobia, it seems that it is simply impossible to overcome this fear. In fact, all problems are only in our heads and it is possible to recover from this phobia. Another thing is that this process requires great desire, perseverance and perseverance. Also, a person must understand that this process is time-consuming.
• It is worth noting that the fear of water can be either permanent or temporary, occurring periodically. Depending on how negatively the presence of a phobia affects a person’s life, a method of getting rid of it is chosen.
• Most often, treatment consists of working with the head, personal experiences, and stressful situations that have occurred in the patient’s life. Drug treatment is used quite rarely and more as an additional therapy. In this case, the doctor may prescribe sedatives , which will relax the person, calm his nervous system, and eliminate the symptoms of panic attacks.
• The main work on a phobia lies in the psychological impact on it. Please note that it is not the phobia itself that needs to be eliminated, but the reasons that provoked its appearance.

It is important to overcome fear.
That is why working with a psychologist or psychotherapist in this case gives the most positive results:

• First, the specialist finds out what triggered the fear of water, analyzes these reasons, and only after that chooses the most effective way to combat them. And, of course, methods of work are always individual, since what works well for some may be completely useless for others.
• Sometimes specialists resort to the “visualization” method. Initially, a person is shown various pictures with the source of his fear, he is taught to control his state (breathe calmly, listen to the heartbeat, reason adequately).
• After a person copes with this task, the psychotherapist moves on to the next stage, direct contact with water. In this case, a person is taught to understand what specifically frightens him, he pronounces all the sensations that he feels upon contact with the irritant, after which he is taught to control himself in the water, and is helped to get rid of panic and stress.
• Sometimes a person suffering from this phobia is asked to write a list of all the unpleasant and dangerous situations related to water that have ever happened in his life. After this, it is worth considering each situation, analyzing your state at this time and your actions. Next, understand what exactly you did wrong and understand exactly how you should have acted. After this, you need to assess the real risks in current situations, because often there are simply none. For some, this kind of self-analysis helps quite well.
• Experts also recommend that patients imagine themselves in a “stimulating” situation (at depth, in water, near large objects in the water) and try to adjust their perception of the situation. Also at this time, it is important to work with manifestations of the phobia: adjust your breathing, try to remain calm, etc.
• Hypnosis is considered to be the most effective way to combat phobias . Thanks to this effect on consciousness, the specialist finds out the true reasons for fear, instills in his patient that in fact there are no real reasons to be afraid of water, that water cannot harm him in any way.
• Such treatment helps the patient stop constantly thinking about his phobia, relieves him of the fear, anxiety, panic and hysteria that he feels when he sees the source of the fear. Over time, a person begins to look differently at what previously caused him discomfort and fear, and begins to see the positive in the source of fear.

Hypnosis can help

• In our case, the patient begins to understand that water can bring not only anxiety and troubles, but also pleasure , that you can enjoy swimming, bathing in the water, and having a great time with friends by the river. Gradually, a person’s thinking completely changes and the phobia, as a rule, recedes

It is worth understanding that treatment with hypnosis is completely painless and safe.

• However, we are talking only about the case if we are talking about a highly qualified specialist, and not a charlatan, of whom, unfortunately, there are a lot.
• Based on this, try to find a good specialist, read reviews about him and his work, estimate the cost of services (the services of a qualified specialist are not cheap) and only then seek help

Diagnosis of aquaphobia

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To deal with the issue of phobia for fear of drowning, you should go to see a psychotherapist. In the Russian Federation, this consultation costs about 1000 rubles in private centers [1]. The doctor will conduct a conversation with the patient, where he will find out the type of phobia and the reason for its development.

Note! Diagnosis can only be made by a professional doctor. The person himself will not be able to correctly determine the type of phobia. The subsequent therapy regimen is also not suitable for each patient, so it is selected strictly individually. If the fear of water can be overcome on your own, the doctor will draw up a treatment regimen at home and give the necessary recommendations.

HELP OF A CHILD PSYCHOLOGIST FOR AQUAPHOBIA?

How nice it is to look at your baby splashing happily in the bath or pool.
It's nice to know that a child already knows how to swim or is learning to swim, and will be able to withstand dangerous elements if he has to face them in life. However, not all kids enthusiastically accept various types of water procedures: there are also those who greet every trip to the bathroom with a loud, heartbreaking cry, turning even ordinary washing into an “ascent to Calvary.” Most babies who started swimming in infant swimming classes before the age of 12-15 months usually treat the water element with great interest and joy: for them, bathing or swimming is always a holiday. However, children who started swimming at the age of over a year and a half often have a negative attitude towards water and even a pronounced fear of it - aquaphobia. In this case, most likely, parents will need the support and help of a child psychologist. Fortunately, there are several ways to solve the problem of a child's fear of water.

Symptoms

It is customary to distinguish both psychological and vegetative signs of hydrophobia. They can be either pronounced or completely indistinct. Thus, in young children, fear may initially be veiled by a reluctance to simply go swimming. The child begins to be capricious and cry.

The very first symptom in babies is crying and reluctance to go to the bathroom.

In some cases, a person may vomit at the sight of water. Then you should definitely seek the help of specialists.

Mental manifestations:

• Hostility when water comes into contact with skin,
• Fear of depth
• Fear when swimming, taking a bath,
• Anxiety when being outside during periods of rain or snow,
• Rarely anxiety when drinking liquid.

Physical signs arise when thinking about contact with water, directly upon contact:

• Nausea,
• Dry mouth
• Migraine,
• Fever,
• Tachycardia,
• Tremor,
• Breathing is lost
• Sweating.

Games in the water

• Encourage your child to blow or pop soap bubbles. Usually children like this activity.
• Buy finger paints and let your little one create “paints” on the walls of the bathtub. Let him understand that you can do things in the bathroom that you can't do in other rooms.
• You can also make colored foam by adding paint to the foam.
• Make the bathing area attractive for your baby: stick on mini-mats, buy a baby curtain, and you can even dress your baby in a beautiful swimsuit.
• Show your child, using the example of a doll, that when the water in the bathtub drains, the toy will not fall in, just like the child himself. At the same time, take into account the fact that the doll should be heavy. Let your child bathe the doll and lather it with soap.
• If you have flowers, then allow your child to water the flowers. (And it’s okay if there are puddles around) Tell your little one that without water the flowers will wither.

Bath toys:

• various toys with taps and valves, watering cans, buckets;
• all kinds of “fishing”;
• figurines of aquatic animals and fish;
• wind-up floating toys;
• various boats and ships, groovy and simple; special water stickers and coloring books (for older children);
• special books for water;
• various squirt toys;
• For the little ones, a swimming circle will be useful.

How to get rid

Aquaphobia is a disease and therefore requires treatment. Each person needs an individual approach. In some cases, psychotherapy may require medication and long visits to a psychotherapist.

Getting rid of an adult's fear of water

Psychotherapy includes several treatment methods:

• Individual counseling to identify the root cause of fear.
• Group therapy. All patients help each other overcome fear by visualizing water, but without coming into contact with it.
• Then comes the moment when the patient comes into contact with the object of fear.
• Often the doctor resorts to hypnosis, which helps to achieve quick results in a short time.
• For severe cases of the disease, sedatives are used, such as Novo-passit, Sanasol, Valordin. They are prescribed exclusively by the attending physician.

Additional Information. Art therapy has proven itself very well in the treatment of aquaphobia. The patient depicts his fear on paper. Then he analyzes from the outside what exactly he is afraid of. As a rule, a person comes to the conclusion that there is nothing to be afraid of; he sees everything from a different perspective.

How to help a child

Every child needs security. He receives it when there are parents or an adult nearby. To prevent the baby from experiencing severe stress when immersed in water, all procedures and familiarization with water are done sequentially. Be sure to stay close to the child and, if possible, hold him in the water in your hands. In this case, the baby’s first swimming experiences will leave only positive memories.

If you create a safe environment and be nearby, this will help your baby stop being afraid of water.

Features of hydrophobia in adults and children

Treatment of adults and children is not much different. In both cases, it is necessary to determine the cause of fear and teach the person techniques for coping with stress. Only the methods of psychotherapy differ.

Freeing children from phobias

How to help your child at home:

• in the form of a game and in a pleasant psychological environment, bring the aquaphobe to water;
• create a favorable psychological atmosphere in the house (all children's fears appear due to general tension and anxiety);
• show by the example of other children and adults what joy swimming and relaxing in a water park brings;
• arrange a bath with oils and aromatic candles.

You can get rid of fear through indirect contact with water, for example, come up with a fairy tale in which a child overcomes his fear or saves someone from the water. Art therapy is effective in childhood. You can visualize the fear of water and play a scene or depict in a drawing how a child overcomes his fear.

What is prohibited to do:

• force a child to go into the water;
• forcibly bathe a child, drag him into water;
• shout and punish.

It is important! Most childhood fears go away on their own over time. If a child cannot overcome his fear of water, then it is necessary to consult a psychologist.

Helping adults overcome their fear of water

To get rid of hydrophobia yourself, follow the following plan:

1. Try to determine what situation started the phobia.
2. Analyze this case. Think about how much of your responsibility is in what happened. What can you do now to prevent this from happening again? If this happened through no fault of yours, then you need to accept the fact that you cannot control everything.
3. Make a list of scary situations. Write down each of them in detail: what exactly scares you and why.
4. Master self-regulation techniques: auto-training, meditation, relaxation, breathing exercises.
5. Start getting closer to the object of fear. First achieve a relaxed state, and then approach the object of fear. You can start with a photo or video of water. Then move on to real life: a walk along the river bank, a trip to the pool.

If you are afraid of drowning because you don’t know how to swim, then no matter how paradoxical it may sound, you need to learn how to do it. These days there are a lot of programs for both children and adults. You can hire a personal trainer.

It is important! You can only overcome your fear of water by facing your fear face to face. Shock therapy (an abrupt meeting) is suitable for some, while gradual rapprochement combined with relaxation is suitable for others.

What you can do yourself

You can help yourself only at the initial stage of the disease. Self-medication is carried out according to these instructions:

• Choose a quiet place, a gently sloping bank of a pond (even a bathtub will do).
• Ask someone close to you to be nearby and provide backup.
• Get used to the water gradually. First, touch it, shake it with your hand. Sink slowly. You can take your mattress with you.
• Be sure to relax and worry less. If desired, turn on calm, soothing music.

Hydrophobia, like any phobia, is curable. Despite the fact that the disease is unpleasant, it is now possible to select individually effective methods of psychotherapy and hypnosis. Fear does not go away on its own, so you should call it by name and show proper resistance.

What not to do if your baby is afraid to swim

• Under no circumstances should you try to drag your baby into the water if he doesn’t want to.
• Never listen to those who claim that you need to throw a child into the water, and if he wants to live, he will swim up. This approach will only make the situation worse.
• Don't make fun of your child for being afraid.
• Don’t say: “But that boy already knows how to swim and is not afraid of water,” this will lower your child’s self-esteem.
• Do not run the bath to the brim.
• If your child does not want to perform water procedures today, do not insist, skip it, and you will catch up tomorrow.