Fear of experiencing pain – Alginophobia

September 01, 2021

Every person is endowed with defense mechanisms, reflexes and a sense of self-preservation. Everyone felt pain . Strong, weak, moderate, aching, preventing you from falling asleep. Each person reacts to it differently.

People born in our time are very afraid of pain. Our age is characterized by the all-inclusive function, complete comfort. And then suddenly something hurts and gives no rest, and the man ran to the pharmacy for painkillers.

And if a person has chronic diseases, then he has a huge number of pills in his arsenal, just so that he doesn’t get sick. And some people know under what circumstances pain occurs and begin to “expect ” it in advance and fear it.

But some people become pathologically afraid of even the slightest manifestation of pain.

Alginophobia is the fear of experiencing any pain.

When a person’s life is threatened, he produces adrenaline (stress hormone). A person who is in fear of pain has a constantly elevated adrenaline level. This leads to the destruction of health. The person realizes this, but begins to avoid traumatic situations and switches to an asocial lifestyle.

Causes of fear of pain:

Parental overprotection. Parents did their best to protect the child from bruises and wounds.
Impressive personality. The tendency to overthink, invent, exaggerate pain, turn it over in your head and be afraid to feel it again.
Negative experience. Having the experience of severe pain is reinforced in the subconscious that only when it is mentioned will cause fear.
Strong impressionability. Some people take everything personally, and physical pain is no exception. They remember negative events for a long time, often.
Increased pain threshold. Individual characteristics of the body, in which the sensation of any pain is much more acute.
Statements from others. Emotional stories about childbirth, tooth extractions, and injuries create fear in a person who has not experienced this himself.

What is dentophobia?

Dentophobia (dental phobia) is the fear of contact with a dentist and the fear of visiting a doctor’s office. A person is sick with dental phobia if he not only says: “I’m afraid to go to the dentist!”, but experiences panic fear. With dental phobia, arguments about excellent anesthesia and the professionalism of the doctor do not work. The patient is simply physically unable to cross the threshold of the dental office, even despite the unbearable toothache.

Difference between fear and phobia

Few of us will find the news about the need to visit the dentist good. The fear of dentists lives inside everyone. Even despite the achievements of modern dentistry, the feeling of fear of the dentist overcomes everyone, regardless of age, gender and profession. However, fear and phobia should not be confused.

Fear is a natural state of our body that overcomes a person under potential danger or uncomfortable conditions. A phobia is a pathology that occurs against the background of vegetative disorders and the inability to realistically assess the situation.

A phobia is not just a very strong fear, it is a much more complex phenomenon. This is a symptom of a neuropsychic disorder. This means that if not treated in a timely manner, the development of the disease can cause mental disturbances.

What exactly is the patient afraid of? TOP 10 fears.

According to the results of a statistical survey conducted in the UK, the largest number of people who suffer from dental phobia are afraid of not having their teeth treated; most of them answered: “I’m afraid to remove a tooth!” Among other frightening factors (as their prevalence decreases) were:

fear of pain from teeth drilling;
fear of giving an injection;
fear of feeling a sharp pain syndrome (since the patient does not see what is happening in his mouth);
fear of the sound of a drill;
fear of dental office attributes and instruments;
fear of a white coat, the sight of a doctor;
fear of postoperative recovery;
fear of side effects during treatment;
fear of showing the doctor bad teeth, his reactions and comments.

Above are the most common fears of a person with dental phobia. However, in practice, unexpected, seemingly absurd fears of patients are also described, for example, the fear of suddenly dying in the dentist’s chair.

Types of dentophobia

The main classification of the disease reflects the congenital and acquired forms of the disease. In practice, cases of hereditary dental phobia are described, from which all family members suffer.

Congenital dental phobia. The rarest type of dental phobia, which is not associated with any unpleasant experience. A person experiences an inexplicable fear of visiting the dentist and any manipulations in the mouth. After the first visit to the dentist, the patient may overcome his fear and forget about it, or the situation may worsen due to the formed negative attitude towards doctors in general.
Acquired dental phobia. A common form of the disease, which affects every third patient. Very often a person experiences fear of the doctor and everything connected with him, due to previously received negative experiences. This form of dental phobia is based on a healthy property of the psyche - to protect us from everything that previously posed a threat and caused unpleasant emotions. Once receiving an alarm signal, the human brain responds not only to the same stimulus, but also to similar circumstances.
Imaginary dental phobia. This disease affects those who have never visited a dentist. The reason for the development of imaginary dental phobia is an inadequate assessment of the treatment process, supported by a wild imagination. Usually a person only has to overcome his fear once, and after a successful visit to the doctor, the symptoms of the disease completely disappear.

Pathological fear of dentists is also distinguished by its severity:

light. A person experiences slight anxiety at a doctor's appointment. There is no need to reassure the patient; he copes with emotions on his own.
average. The patient experiences anxiety not only during the procedure, but also after the end of therapy. Helping the patient - correcting the emotional state. The doctor can tell you in more detail about the features of the manipulation, increase the degree of self-confidence through a friendly conversation;
heavy. An adult visits the dentist only in the most extreme cases, interferes with medical procedures in every possible way, and does not adhere to the dentist’s recommendations. In this case, you cannot do without taking special medications and psychotherapeutic treatment.

The most difficult thing to talk about is congenital dental phobia, because a person is not born with the understanding that the dentist is dangerous. The baby is only capable of primitive and large-scale reactions, and it doesn’t matter what caused the discomfort. Congenital is usually called increased anxiety and fearfulness, which is caused by the child’s developmental characteristics and the functioning of the nervous system. Excessive emotions in a newborn can also be caused by a high level of hormone-transmitters in the blood.

Why is dental phobia dangerous?

In itself, fear of the dentist does not pose a significant threat to the patient. A patient who does not visit a doctor out of fear is able to live a full life. However, if there are problems with teeth or gums, the patient has a serious reason for concern, and at the same time a real threat “looms.”

A sore tooth or gums are sources of infection. Pathogenic bacteria from the oral cavity enter the gastrointestinal tract and other organs. If caries is not eliminated in time, it becomes complicated and develops into periodontitis, which is accompanied by the accumulation of pus that can cause blood poisoning.

Another point is aesthetics. Diseased teeth become dark and decay; a person ceases to look attractive. He begins to be ashamed of his teeth, stops smiling, talking, and loses self-confidence. The patient's quality of life decreases sharply.

And finally, the financial aspect. If a person puts off visiting a doctor for too long, there is a high probability that solving the problem in the future will require serious financial investments.

Practice shows that previously the fear of dentists was so pronounced that it was impossible to carry out full dental treatment. Patients were afraid of any procedures in the oral cavity and even refused to install dentures.

Symptoms of alginophobia:

The main symptom of this pathology is:

Great fear of experiencing pain.
Panic at the memory of past pain.
The desire to prevent the pain from recurring.
Select activities based on the potential for injury and pain.
Horror and panic at the slightest pain.
Representation of the source of pain is clear, drawing images in the head about the operation and unbearable pain.
Constantly listening to your sensations in the body, worrying, expecting pain to increase and worrying about it even more.
Fear that mild pain will become unbearable.
Physiological manifestations: increased heart rate, breathing, pulse, sweating, increased blood pressure, fear of dying.

It happens that the fear is so strong that a person is afraid to move due to an increase in imaginary pain.

Self-help:

If you have just recently experienced this, you can try a few tips.

Try to understand that pain is a defense mechanism that indicates a malfunction in the functioning of some organ that should be helped.
Remember that not everything in life comes down to pain.
When visiting hospitals and undergoing medical procedures, explain to the medical staff that you are afraid. The doctors will understand you and will carry out the entire procedure sparingly.
Try to find the reason for your fear. This may be a distant childhood where you received severe pain. You have long forgotten this pain, but your subconscious still remembers it.
Explain to yourself that you are an adult and can control the situation and your fears.
Learn relaxation techniques and use them during periods of fear. Breathing exercises, meditation and auto-training help a lot.

This fear ruins a person’s life and leads to serious mental disorders. It is very important to make an effort to cure it.

If you cannot cope on your own, seek help from a specialist.

Treatment of the disease:

For successful treatment, psychotherapeutic techniques are needed.

Behavioral therapy. The specialist helps the patient develop a model of behavior in which there is no place for fear and anxiety.
Psychoanalysis. The psychologist identifies the underlying causes of fear and works through them.
Neuro-linguistic programming. The psychotherapist puts into the person’s mind the most effective model of behavior in a stressful situation.

Hypnosis. Under hypnosis, the doctor works with the patient’s subconscious, giving him instructions to overcome fear.
Cognitive behavioral therapy. Therapy is based on the collaboration between patient and therapist. The doctor helps a person look into the depths of his consciousness, return to those moments of life that excite him, seem dangerous, and go through them with him. As scary images are erased from memory, the causes of the phobia are gradually eliminated.

Behavioral therapy. The patient is immersed in a situation that frightens him. A person lies down on a bed and falls asleep under the influence of medications.
Drug therapy. Used in the initial stages. The combination of drug therapy with another type always gives a positive result.

If something resonated with you while reading the text and it seems to you that the situation and symptoms described in the article are similar to your case, and you would like to solve this problem, contact me - psychologist, psychoanalytic therapist Andrei Filippov . I will be glad to be of assistance to you.

I am always near.

Fear of dentists in children

Under no circumstances should you postpone a visit to a pediatric dentist, since oral diseases in childhood progress very quickly and can lead to serious complications. Parents should understand that caries in children in the early stages can be treated painlessly without the use of a drill; Timely detection of malocclusion in a child will help to avoid aesthetic problems, difficulties with speech development and chewing food.

Kids are very inquisitive, and for the first time they can easily agree to come to the dentist because they are interested in everything new. But it happens that a child flatly refuses to go to the doctor. Usually the reasons are the following factors:

The kid had a negative experience communicating with people in white coats. And it doesn’t matter what specialty the doctor caused trouble: the child will be afraid of everyone.
Parents' stories about how bad doctors are and how painful it is to treat teeth. Even if adults talk to each other, children, like a sponge, absorb information and draw appropriate conclusions.
Parents' experiences before visiting the dentist. If the mother is too worried and nervous, persuades the child to be patient and behave well, the baby begins to suspect that it will be painful. His mother's mood is transmitted to him, he also begins to worry and, most likely, refuses to go to the doctor.
The indecisive nature of the child. Some children are so indecisive that they are afraid of everything unknown; If such a child is brought to an appointment without any explanation, he will burst into tears and flatly refuse to talk to the doctor.
You can help your child overcome his fear of the dentist by following these recommendations:
You need to start by choosing a clinic where doctors work who know how to communicate with young patients. Modern children's classrooms are equipped with toy corners and TVs for watching cartoons.
You should start getting acquainted with doctors from the age of one: regular examinations at the dentist will turn a visit to the clinic into a habitual procedure; constant monitoring of the condition of the child’s teeth will help to detect diseases at the initial stages and avoid complex, painful treatment. Adults should set an example for children: undergo a medical examination with them, brush their teeth in the morning and evening.
Before the appointment, parents should not be nervous or express pessimistic assumptions about the results of the examination.
If the child is not in the mood to go to the doctor now, it is better to reschedule the visit to another time. It is necessary to avoid extremes: some parents, succumbing to their mood, may postpone dental examination for an indefinite period of time; others, realizing the importance of the procedure, begin to threaten the child with punishment.
If serious procedures are to be carried out, you cannot tell your child that “the doctor will just take a look.” It’s better to tell the truth, but do it in a childish way: explain that insidious microbes have settled in the teeth, which bite and can hurt, and only a doctor can drive them out.
Let the little patient know that after visiting the doctor, some pleasant surprise awaits him from the “tooth fairy”: at the end of the treatment, the parents or doctor will give it to the child.

People who have been familiar with two rules since childhood have no fear of the dental office:

It is necessary to maintain oral hygiene daily.
It is necessary to undergo a preventive examination at the dentist twice a year.

To stop being afraid of the dentist, start treating him as a friend and assistant who will get rid of the disease and restore health and beauty to your smile!