Astrophobia psychological alteration that is part of anxiety disorders. Based on its own name, it is easy to deduce that it is an excessive, irrational and uncontrollable fear of the stars or celestial bodies that are in the universe .
Irrational and exacerbated fear of the stars, the universe and its magnanimous amplitude.
Disease
Although it has very little incidence among the population, it can become a highly disabling disorder, in which the patient is susceptible to reaching the extreme of being confined at home so as not to run the risk of sighting the sky.
Therefore, this mental illness can modify and limit the behavior of the person, reducing their quality of life. Fortunately, there are very effective treatments for this type of specific phobias thanks to which the person is able to overcome it and lead a normal life.
Clinical characteristics of the disorder
Like the rest of phobias or anxiety disorders , astrophobia has a series of clinical characteristics that allow it to be distinguished from normal or non-pathological feelings of fear or fear.
Therefore, in order to differentiate astrophobia from a non-pathological fear, it must meet the following characteristics:
• Excessive and disproportionate fear taking into account the real danger of the situation or phobic stimulus.
• Irrational fear, since the person is unable to offer a logical explanation for it.
• Inability to control the emotions of fear and anguish.
• Generation of avoidance behaviors of the situation.
• Fear appears constantly and permanently through the different feared situations.
Symptoms
The main symptoms are those related to experiencing great anxiety . This clinical picture does not manifest itself continuously over time, but only in those cases in which the person faces or anticipates what he is going to face with the phobic stimulus; in this case, the stars and celestial bodies .
These symptoms can be classified into three groups, depending on whether they correspond to physical, cognitive or behavioral symptoms.
Physical symptoms
Before the appearance of the situation object of the phobia, the central nervous system experiences an excessive increase in its activity, generating a large number of changes and alterations at the physiological and organic level.
This physical symptomatology includes:
• Increased heart rate.
• Increased respiration.
• Palpitations.
• Feeling of suffocation.
• Muscle tension.
• Increased levels of sweating.
• Headache.
• Gastric disorders.
• Dizziness.
• Nausea and / or vomiting.
• Blackouts and loss of consciousness.
Causes
Although, for the moment, completely reliable causes have not been established to explain phobias . The researchers point to the possibility that the experimentation of highly traumatic or emotionally charged events or experiences, together with a genetic predisposition to the harmful effects of stress, establish a basis for the appearance of a specific anxiety disorder such as astrophobia.
In addition, there are other factors such as personality, cognitive styles or vicarious learning , which can favor the appearance and development of an irrational and uncontrollable fear such as that of phobias.
Treatment
Despite the low incidence of astrophobia, there are very effective treatments and interventions common to the rest of specific phobias thanks to which the person can overcome their fear and continue with their life in a normal way.
In the case of specific anxiety disorders such as phobias, the type of intervention that turned out to be the most effective is cognitive-behavioral therapy, where through systematic desensitization (DS) the person can get used to facing the object of their afraid.
In this systematic desensitization, the patient is exposed in an imaginary way to a series of situations related to phobia, which are ordered gradually, from less to greater degree of fear. Likewise, relaxation techniques are applied to reduce the level of anxiety.
Another widely used technique is that of live exposure, through which the person is directly and gradually exposed to the feared situation. However, these techniques should always be carried out under the supervision and guidance of a mental health professional.