Among all the phobias that there are, some of us manage to understand them better while others surprise us a lot. This is the case of selenophobia or fear of the moon, a disorder that some people suffer and that causes them unbearable anxiety when they see the moon or even when they think about it. In our dictionary of phobias we tell you everything about this type of phobia.
What is selenophobia
Selenophobia is the fear of the moon. Fear of the moon in all its variants, although it tends to intensify during the full moon, the supermoon or some eclipse. Be that as it may, the sight of the moon, which fascinates so many people, terrifies people with this disorder. Can you be afraid of the moon? When we talk about phobias , fear can arise from any stimulus.
Being afraid of the moon is not one of the most limiting phobias. Avoidance behavior can be relatively easy , that is, not looking at the sky at night and looking the other way when images are shown on television, but the truth is that although you can avoid it, you have to make certain efforts to achieve it and you may you ever have to face the situation.
Symptoms of selenophobia
It seems clear that the moon affects us all, in a more or less intense way. Our emotions are influenced by lunar changes and there are people who can notice it perfectly. But being sensitive to lunar influence does not imply having selenophobia. The phobia appears when fear appears.
The main symptom of a phobia is the irrational and excessive fear that then triggers all the anxiety symptoms that we know so well. Shortness of breath, dizziness, rapid heartbeat, excessive sweating, feeling of unreality or panic attack . And, above all, that urgent need to flee from the situation, which is known as avoidance behavior.
Causes of selenophobia
But what can develop a fear like selenophobia? The moon does not pose any danger , although the mind of a child or a person with an anxiety disorder may be enlivened by the many horror stories that surround, for example, the full moon.
However, most of the time, phobias appear after having lived a traumatic experience with a great emotional charge. The night in general is conducive to the appearance of the most varied fears, especially in childhood, so in this case, the cultural context is important when it comes to finding the origin of the phobia .
Treatment of selenophobia
Fear of the moon can be overcome, but psychological help is needed to ensure successful treatment and to prevent new phobias from developing. The cognitive behavioral therapy is the most effective in transforming all these distorted thoughts about the moon that induce avoidance behavior.
And in the case of selenophobia, gradual exposure is a good technique to cope with fear. If little by little it is verified that there is no danger in seeing an image of the moon, later the person with selenophobia will dare to contemplate it from their window. It never hurts to accompany any therapy to overcome a phobia of practicing relaxation techniques to reduce anxiety.