There can be a direct cause between past experiences and development of this fear, and parents should take this into account when they must help a child recover from the death of a loved one. Some people believe that fear of death and dying things has become much more exaggerated in the modern world because most people have eliminated the natural presence of death in their lives.
In the past, people often died at home and bodies were prepared for burial by the family; a casket might sit in a home for several days while people came to pay their respects. In modern times, this happens less frequently, and most people in Western societies die in the hospital, effectively removing death from everyday life.
Since there is no one cause of necrophobia, there is no one-size-fits-all treatment for it either. Therapists can use a number of techniques to help a person overcome the aspects of this phobia that prevent him or her from living a normal life. Desensitization therapy works by gradually exposing a patient to those things he or she fears, in hopes of making them seem less frightening.
Cognitive behavioral therapy can also be used to help the person control his or her thoughts and look at those things that trigger the fear differently. Psychiatrists may be able to prescribe anti-anxiety medications or antidepressant, which can help reduce panic symptoms.
This condition is often confused with thanatophobia, which is the fear of dying itself. In other cases, having been exposed to a traumatic event, such as the death of a loved one, might contribute to an obsession with or fear of dead things and death. Situations that might be linked to necrophobia include witnessing a death, attending a funeral, coming into contact with a dead animal or human body, attending a funeral, or even seeing dead bodies depicted in popular media.
The Anxiety Disorders Association of America suggests that specific phobias are likely the result of a combination of genetic, biological, psychological, and environmental factors. Researchers have also found that insects and aquatic animals exhibit necrophobic behaviors such as avoiding dead members of their own species, possibly as a means of avoiding disease.
The symptoms of necrophobia are similar to the symptoms of other kinds of specific phobias. While those who have necrophobia may recognize that the source of their fear poses no real threat, they still experience extreme fear when they see, or sometimes even think about, corpses or other things associated with death.
People with necrophobia may experience:. In some cases, this fear reaction can become so severe that people experience a panic attack. A panic attack is an abrupt fear response that is characterized by symptoms such as a pounding heartbeat, shortness of breath, shaking, feelings of choking, tingling sensations, feelings of unreality or detachment, chills, and a fear of losing control or dying. Panic attacks are often extremely unpleasant, so people who may begin to avoid any situation where they might encounter the fear source that triggers an attack.
For example, a person with necrophobia might avoid taking a certain route so that they do not have to pass by a cemetery or funeral home. It is important to remember that a specific phobia such as necrophobia is not the same as a normal fear. Many people have a fairly normal amount of fear or anxiety related to death, dying, and dead things.
Normal fear of dead things might involve feeling a little queasy or uneasy when you are around something associated with death. But if you have a serious fear reaction when you see a dead animal on the side of the road, then you might have necrophobia. If you suspect that you might have necrophobia, you should talk to a doctor or mental health professional.
Many mental health professionals and physicians use the criteria outlined in the DSM-5 when diagnosing mental disorders. In order to be diagnosed with a specific phobia, you must experience the following:.
A doctor or mental health professional will start by asking you questions about the type of symptoms you are having, how long you have been having them, and how severe they are.
Your doctor may also ask you questions about other things that are happening in your life, such as recent events that may have played a part in triggering your symptoms.
You should also let your doctor know about any medications or supplements you might be taking. There is no treatment specifically designed for necrophobia, but the treatments commonly used for other types of specific phobias are likely to be effective.
Some of the most common treatment options for this type of phobia include cognitive-behavioral therapy CBT , exposure therapy, medications , and relaxation techniques. CBT addresses the irrational thoughts and behaviors that maintain the fear response.
Through CBT, a person can learn to identify the automatic negative thoughts that lead to a phobic reaction. By changing the way that you think about the situation, you can then replace fearful feelings and behaviors with more adaptive, calm, and realistic reactions. In vivo exposure therapy, which may include gradual exposure or flooding exposure to the greatest fear , has been shown to be effective when used to treat specific phobias.
In some cases, doctors and psychiatrists may prescribe antidepressants or anti-anxiety medications to help treat some of the symptoms associated with the physical and emotional reactions that people experience.
In many cases, a combination of psychotherapy and medication may be used. Other techniques that might be used to treat phobias include cognitive restructuring, systematic exposure, mindfulness training, and virtual therapy which involves exposure to the fear object via a computer screen or virtual reality device. Specific phobias such as necrophobia can have a serious impact on a person's ability to function and cope.
I was terrified that there might have been a dead body nearby. I was also extremely afraid of ambulances and hospitals for the same reason, and I still hide away whenever I have to go to a funeral. Every night I had constant and gory nightmares about dead bodies. It really is the uncanny valley for me.
Where you can see an animal has eyes, ears, and a nose, but something is wrong that you can just feel. It is so disturbing to me that something full of life could just go limp and never move again. What was once life is not just an inanimate object, real disturbing. Ever since I went to my first open casket funeral, corpses always made me feel uneasy. Just trying to do some research on this.
I was so emotional. The smell and the blood i saw, i was terrified. Months later after that. Minutes before i wrote this, i was gonna feed our dogs when a cat entered our garage and then our 2 dogs attacked it, i was so furious at them, crying inside thinking it was dead.
I was so angry that i slapped the dog. I saw them biting the cat and then throwing up and down.
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