There are all kinds of phobias and some of them are most surprising to us. This is the case of mageirocophobia or fear of cooking , a disorder that depending on what life situations can cause many limitations and even food health problems. While some people relax by cooking, for others the kitchen is a place more like hell. We tell you everything about mageirocophobia in our dictionary of phobias .
What is mageirocophobia
Mageirophobia is the fear of cooking. It is not that you do not like cooking because you prefer to have it put on your plate or that the kitchen is not your favorite place in the house because you have few culinary skills. It is about authentic panic at the time of cooking .
But fear of what? What is so dangerous that in the mind of the mageirocophobic can happen while cooking? Well, there are several fears. It can be a fear of burning in the stove , a fear that others do not like the food or preparing food in bad condition and that your family will get sick. And then there is that undefined fear that causes any anxious state.
Symptoms of mageirocophobia
The reactions caused by this phobia are the usual ones. Anxiety to an extreme degree with palpitations, sweating, dizziness, a feeling of suffocation or even a panic attack if the situation cannot be avoided. It is precisely avoidance that characterizes all phobias, and can you really avoid cooking? It depends on your life situation, but in the best of cases it is convenient to treat this phobia.
Mageirophobia has dangerous consequences both at a social and family level as well as health . Sometimes it is related to other food phobias such as lakanophobia or even disorders such as anorexia and bulimia. The origin is found in that uncontrolled anxiety that ends up turning any aspect related to food into a real danger.
Causes of mageirocophobia
The origin of mageirocophobia can be found in a deep rejection of cooking because it is a socially imposed role. But as with all phobias , the most common is that it develops through an anxiety disorder that favors the appearance of irrational and excessive fears.
Conditioning by traumatic experience is not ruled out in the case of this fear of cooking. Living an unpleasant episode in a kitchen , cutting yourself with a knife while cooking at a time of great emotional charge, receiving bad news while preparing food or seeing someone have a domestic accident are sufficient reasons for a disorder such as fear of the kitchen.
Treatment of mageirocophobia
It is tempting to think that if you have organized your life so that you do not step in the kitchen , you have no need to deal with this problem. You can avoid it at all times, right? But that does not mean that the disorder has disappeared and an untreated phobia usually attracts more phobias.
So it is best to put yourself in the hands of a psychology professional who with cognitive behavioral therapy will help you modify that initial distorted thinking that leads you to consider the act of cooking as dangerous. From there, avoidance behavior can be transformed.
A very useful strategy to overcome mageirocophobia is gradual exposure . You can start by preparing cold and simple dishes that do not require much preparation but that familiarize you with the space. Then you can increase the difficulty by cooking something just for yourself, so you don’t feel pressure from others.
And little by little you will be able to reduce the fear of cooking. As this fear is accompanied by high doses of anxiety, the regular practice of relaxation techniques , mindful breathing exercises and meditation is also recommended .
