por What is chromophobia?
The chromophobiachromatophobia or crematophobia is a persistent irrational fear or aversion to colors, or to some specific ones. It is a type of specific phobia.
Its form of presentation may vary in each case, so the feared colors may be different in each individual.
Chromophobia is not a very common type of specific phobia, and data on its prevalence indicate that only a minority of the world population could suffer from this disorder.
The most commonly feared colors in chromophobia are usually red and white, although some studies suggest that a person with chromophobia can develop a phobic fear of any color.
Data about its etiology are scarce today, however, it is argued that chromophobia is usually a conditioned response.
Characteristics of chromophobia
– Chromophobia is an anxiety disorder. Specifically, it is an alteration that is included within the specific phobias.
– The feared element of chromophobia can sometimes be difficult to define. However, it is argued that the phobic stimulus of this disorder is colors.
– A person with chromophobia presents an excessive, irrational, uncontrollable and persistent fear of colors.
– It is usual that the typical fear of chromophobia does not appear as a response to all colors, but rather develops in a particular way towards one or more certain colors. In this sense, red and white seem to be the most feared colors in this disorder.
– People with chromophobia experience high feelings of anxiety whenever they are exposed to their feared stimuli, that is, the color or colors that they fear phobically.
Symptoms
The symptomatology of chromophobia is characterized by being anxious. This appears as part of the fear response caused by the feared color and is usually extremely unpleasant and distressing for the person.
The anxiety manifestations of chromophobia are intense. They are characterized by negatively affecting the subject’s quality of life and reducing their functionality.
In general, the typical symptoms of chromophobia can be divided into: physical, cognitive and behavioral.
physical symptoms
The physical symptoms are probably the most unpleasant manifestations for the subject with chromophobia. They are characterized by producing a series of modifications in the normal functioning of the organism.
These symptoms are caused by increased activity of the person’s autonomic nervous system. This increase in activity is generated by feelings of fear, so the physical manifestations appear when the subject is exposed to the feared color of him.
In general, a person with chromophobia can experience any of the following symptoms when exposed to their feared stimulus.
– Increased heart rate.
– Increased respiratory rate.
– Excessive sweating.
– Body tension.
– Headaches and/or stomach aches.
– Dry mouth.
– Nausea, dizziness and/or vomiting.
cognitive symptoms
The physical symptomatology of chromophobia appears as a consequence of the elaboration of a series of irrational and incongruous thoughts about the feared color.
The colors do not constitute any real risk to people, but the subject with chromophobia interprets his feared color as highly threatening.
behavioral symptoms
Finally, chromophobia is characterized by producing two behavioral symptoms: avoidance and escape.
Avoidance refers to all the behaviors that the subject develops in order to avoid contact with their feared color. This manifestation can report extensive negative consequences for the person, since the spaces avoided can be multiple.
For its part, escape is the behavior that the subject initiates when in contact with its feared color due to the fear and discomfort that it causes.
Diagnosis
In order to establish the diagnosis of chromophobia, the following criteria must be met:
– Fear or intense anxiety for one or several specific colors (phobic element).
– The phobic element almost always causes immediate fear or anxiety.
– The phobic element is actively avoided or resisted with intense fear or anxiety.
– The fear or anxiety is disproportionate to the real danger posed by the phobic element and to the sociocultural context.
– The fear, anxiety, or avoidance is persistent, typically lasting six months or more.
– Fear, anxiety, or avoidance causes clinically significant distress or impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning.
– The disturbance is not better explained by the symptoms of another mental disorder.
Causes
Chromophobia is now considered to be a conditioned response. That is, this disorder appears due to the association of a certain color with specific negative attributes.
The most common is that the conditioning is carried out through the experience of negative or traumatic experiences related to the feared color. However, it can also be developed vicariously (viewing images) or informatively.
Treatment
The first choice treatment for most specific phobias (including chromophobia) is usually psychotherapy. Specifically, treatments that include the exposure technique or systematic desensitization are usually applied.
These treatments are based on exposing the subject to their feared colors in a controlled and progressive way, with the aim of getting them used to them, learning to manage their anxiety response at those times and managing to overcome their phobic fear.
To facilitate the process, it is often useful to incorporate relaxation techniques, since these allow the subject’s state of tension and anxiety to be reduced.
References
Muris, P., Schmidt, H., Merckelbach, H. (1999). The structure of specific phobia symptoms among children and adolescents. Behav. Res. Ther.
Ost, LG, Svensson, L., Hellstrom, K., Lindwall, R. (2001). One-session treatment of specific phobias in youth: a randomized clinical trial. J. Consult. clin. Psycho.