Phobia of thunder and lightning name. Fear of thunderstorms

Everyone has at one time or another experienced an inexplicable feeling of anxiety when a thunderstorm is approaching. Some greatly exaggerate its danger, and then the fear gradually develops into a phobia. To begin treatment, it is necessary to understand the characteristics of the pathology and the causes of its occurrence.

What it is?

The fear of thunderstorms out of a sense of self-preservation is inherent in many people. But it happens that the fear of lightning and thunder leads to anxiety disorder. The person experiences panic and loses self-control. He wants to hide, hide in the farthest corner. Such pathological fear thunderstorms are called brontophobia.

It is otherwise called keraunophobia.

People of all ages are susceptible to these painful manifestations. For some, brontophobia may be closely intertwined with other phobias:

• astrapophobia - horror arising from a sharp flash cutting through the clouds;
• tonitrophobia - panicky fear of thunder;
• ombrophobia - fear of getting caught in the rain due to contact with drops or rainfall;
• ligirophobia - fear of any strong and sharp threatening sounds, including in this case thunderclap;
• acousticophobia, phonophobia - fear of loud sounds.

Causes

The reasons may lie in beliefs, genetics or mental trauma associated with this natural phenomenon.

• Someone perceives a thunderstorm as God's wrath and heavenly punishment. Popular beliefs say that lightning strikes a person mired in sins.
• Fear can be transmitted at the genetic level. People have a tendency to want to hide from bad weather, thereby protecting themselves.
• Feeling vulnerable to the power of nature, irrational fear people are faced with the impossibility of predicting the consequences of an unusual natural phenomenon. A person experiences all-consuming horror at the sight of dark clouds, foreshadowing the approach of a thunderstorm.
• Some people are afraid of ball lightning. There is evidence of the chaotic movement of mysterious fireballs, their ability to penetrate into a home through open window and take the life of a person who happens to be there.
• Impressionable people are afraid of becoming a victim of lightning. They have heard a lot about people who died and suffered from natural disasters, who ended up in the wrong place by fate.
• Watching news and movies has a negative effect the plot of which is based on the destructive effects of various natural phenomena.
• Negative personal experience may be associated with lightning entering the home and the building catching fire. It is possible that a person had to experience fear due to unexpected lightning strikes while he was in the forest.
• Children often take on their parents' intense anxiety. and also experience fear when a thundercloud appears.
• Animal lovers get restless seeing how their pets timidly hide in secluded corners when a thunderstorm approaches.

Symptoms

People with brontophobia may have specific symptoms.

• They experience an overwhelming horror at the sight of sockets, mistakenly believing that lightning through them can kill a person. They begin to fear any contact with household appliances. Do not touch metal objects.
• For some, on the eve of a thunderstorm there is a growing fear of being in an open area, as well as a fear of staying in someone else's house. Frightened people often cover their eyes and ears with their hands.
• In especially severe cases, brontophobia behave incredibly strangely: they build thunderstorm shelters and bunkers, acquire a private house with an underground space in which you can hide during a thunderstorm. They are afraid to leave the house. If a thunderstorm catches them outside, they panic and become hysterical.
• Experiences directed towards the future push a person to thoroughly study the forecast of weather forecasters every day. Brontophobe does not miss a single television program with weather reports, scrupulously looks through all meteorological sites, tries to observe the behavior of animals and not forget about folk signs.

Physiological symptoms:

• cramps in the stomach;
• chills;
• tremor;
• tachycardia;
• decrease in body temperature;
• migraine;
• lack of oxygen;
• rapid breathing;
• increased sweating.

After the end of the thunderstorm, the symptoms disappear without a trace until the next occurrence.

Treatment options

Parents need to make a lot of efforts to prevent children's fear of thunderstorms and prevent it from developing into a phobia. A child's fears can lead to severe mental disorders and stuttering. Your entire appearance should demonstrate calm. There is no need to scold, much less shame, a child. It is necessary to hug the baby, reassure, support.

It is necessary to tell the little man about this unique natural phenomenon and tell him where lightning and thunder come from. You should overcome the fear of thunder in a playful way. You can imitate a strong roar using pot lids and bursting balloons. At the same time, you have to laugh cheerfully.

Fairytale therapy is effective. She teaches children to respond appropriately to the sounds of thunder. During a thunderstorm, you can play his favorite games with your baby.

A qualified specialist can conduct a full diagnosis and distinguish normal fear of bad weather from abnormal fear. The level of anxiety is assessed using the Zang or Beck scale. If necessary mental condition a person is determined using other methods.

There are often cases when a person can overcome a phobia on his own. To do this, you need to create comfortable conditions for yourself during a thunderstorm and switch to your favorite things. You can listen to loud music, watch movies, do relaxing breathing exercises and some physical exercise. A soothing bath, herbal tea, motherwort, and valerian tincture help a lot.

Tightly drawn curtains give a person confidence in their own safety. It is advisable to be close to loved ones who always provide the necessary support.

If the situation gets out of control, you need to seek help from a specialist.

A psychotherapist will help identify the cause of the phobia, advise and prescribe complex treatment. He can recommend drug treatment. Antidepressants prevent the onset of severe depression. Tranquilizers eliminate vegetative and behavioral symptoms of panic, eliminate nervous tension, stop the manifestation of fear.

For hysterical syndrome, it is usually prescribed neuroleptic drugs. Additionally, restorative therapy is carried out.

This phobia lends itself well to psychocorrection. Individual psychotherapy is based on identifying the causes that provoked the disease and developing constructive ways to overcome this situation. Training courses in group classes contribute to the acquisition of skills of complete self-control during a thunderstorm.

Hypnosis sessions help a lot. The person is put into a trance for some time. Terrible thoughts are forced out of consciousness.

A conviction emerges: a thunderstorm does not always promise dire consequences. This method Suitable for people who tolerate hypnosis well. A hypnologist helps to correct the psyche.

By the end of the hypnosis course, the fear of lightning and thunder dissipates, the phobia is replaced by positive thoughts:

• there is no sharp reaction to the approach of a thunderstorm;
• a clear understanding comes that lightning strikes bring benefits to nature, and there is nothing scary at all about thunder;
• the mental state is gradually restored;
• the perception of a thunderstorm as a frightening phenomenon disappears;
• liberation from fear occurs.

Just the sound of a thunderstorm can cause tremors throughout your entire body, scaring you to the point of goosebumps. Fear of thunderstorms is quite common. Some people just feel a little uncomfortable, while others are waiting in horror for the next clap of thunder. No matter how severe your phobia is, you can cope with your fear of thunderstorms by asking loved ones for support, trying to identify the cause of your fear, and finding ways to distract yourself.

Steps

Determine the cause of fear of thunderstorms

So, make a storm plan. A correctly installed lightning rod - best protection against thunderstorms in any building. Having a plan in advance can help reduce your fear of thunderstorms. Think about which place in your house (or apartment) will be the safest during a thunderstorm - it should be away from the windows. Rooms on the ground floor of a house or basement are perfect for this. If you live in an apartment, you can create a shelter in case of a thunderstorm in the bathroom, pantry or dressing room.

• Think about what you will do if a thunderstorm catches you by surprise while you're outside or in your car. For example, if a thunderstorm starts, you can immediately drive into a parking lot or park your car on the side of the road. It is quite safe to be in a car during a thunderstorm.

1. Prepare for a thunderstorm to control the entire situation. If you face your fear intentionally, you will be less sensitive to the experience. Consider listening to audio recordings of thunderstorm sounds first; they should definitely include strong thunder. Do this type of workout in warm weather to make sure you stay safe. To dull the feeling of fear, try listening to such audio recordings several times a week.

   • You can also view videos of thunderstorms. Start watching the video only when you get a little used to the sounds of a thunderstorm and stop feeling terrified while listening to audio recordings.
   • Don't be discouraged if you don't get used to them right away, or if you don't see much of a difference the next time you encounter a thunderstorm. It will take time to become comfortable with what scares you.

2. Start to slowly reduce the number of appliances and safety equipment you use. People who are afraid of thunderstorms often use various objects that help them feel calmer when a thunderstorm occurs. To try to break your dependence on these items and reduce your fear, simply use these items and devices less. This will help you feel more comfortable over time during a thunderstorm, and you will not have to constantly resort to the help of foreign aids and objects. Every time there is a storm, try to make a small change.

   • For example, you could start using lighter blankets, staying in the living room during thunderstorms rather than hiding in your bedroom, or at least leaving the door open while you hide in your closet.
   • All this needs to be done gradually, because you will not be able to get rid of all these habits overnight. If necessary, you can ask someone to stay with you while you give up some habits and "safe items."

3. Set yourself limits on checking the weather. Don't constantly check the weather forecast just because you're afraid of an upcoming thunderstorm. This habit only increases your anxiety rather than helping you. Instead of focusing on the weather forecast, focus on being able to control the situation if a storm comes unexpectedly.

   Try to take your mind off the storm. Find ways to have fun so you don't have to think about the storm. This will help you gain control of the situation by focusing on something positive instead of fear, and will also help you learn to control yourself during a thunderstorm.

   • Find a place where you feel good and comfortable, where you can read a book, play board game or watch TV.

4. Listen to music. Calm or positive music will help you get rid of worry and anxiety and take your mind off the storm. If the storm is too strong, you can wear headphones to block out the noise. You can block out noise by using noise-canceling headphones.

Find more information

Find more information about the thunderstorm. Knowledge will help you understand the essence and mechanism of this natural phenomenon, and a thunderstorm will no longer frighten you so much. Take a look at the lightning accident statistics. The number of people injured by lightning is quite small, especially among those who were indoors at the time of the strike. It is important to know that lightning always strikes the nearest electrically conductive object, and if you are indoors, then you obviously will not become this object.

Brontophobia is one of the fears a person receives at birth, expressed in the fear of thunderstorms, and especially of thunder and lightning, and is accompanied by the desire to hide from them as quickly and reliably as possible. Moreover, brontophobes are often able to seek shelter under beds, in closets and closets.

Fear of thunderstorms in one form or another is common to almost all people. But if some are simply trying to protect themselves, because they understand what they could face from hypothermia if they get wet, or a direct hit from lightning, then for others, brontophobia can be absolutely destructive. Not only do they experience extreme fear, sometimes causing a panic attack, at the slightest clap of thunder or flash of lightning, they may also believe that no home can truly reliably protect them. And they are also afraid, for example, that lightning will “get” them through the TV or telephone, or will strike them in the form of ball lightning, flying out of the socket.

The only salvation for brontophobes can be considered that in most regions of our country thunderstorms occur extremely rarely, and besides, almost always such weather conditions are of a rather short duration.

Treatment of brontophobia

It has been noticed that especially acute attacks Brontophobia occurs when people suffering from it are caught in a thunderstorm or when they are on the street or arrive in a house or room that is foreign to them. So, if they are at home during a thunderstorm, then their fear is usually much less. Although if we are talking about a night thunderstorm, then we observe an exacerbation of the disease, regardless of where exactly the brontophobe is located.

The causes of such fears should be sought primarily in mental problems or nervous system, which turns a very useful, essentially, defense mechanism into an insurmountable phobia.

Hypnosis was and is considered the best way to treat brontophobia, which makes it possible to completely change most behavioral reactions to thunderstorms in the patient’s consciousness and subconscious. As temporary means to alleviate a painful condition, various psychotropic drugs can be used, whose action is primarily aimed at reducing the peaks of the sinusoid of the mental reaction to stimuli. But various group and personal psychotherapeutic sessions for patients with brontophobia practically do not help.

Are you afraid of thunder and lightning?

Many people suffer from this irrational fear.

If you've ever felt afraid during a thunderstorm, remember that you're not the only one.

Each year, approximately sixteen million lightning storms occur around the world.

Lightning can be defined as an electrostatic discharge in the atmosphere, which is usually accompanied by thunder.

These natural phenomena occur during thunderstorms, and in some cases, during dust storms or volcanic eruptions.

An interesting fact about lightning is that it can travel at speeds higher than 220,000 km/h (140,000 mph) and its temperature can reach 30,000°C (54,000°F). At this temperature, silicon dioxide can fuse into glass channels called fulgurites.

Lightning helps to ionize the air through which it passes, which leads to the formation of nitric acid and nitric oxide, which are very beneficial for plants. It appears that lightning can also occur within ash clouds produced by volcanic eruptions. It can also be caused by severe forest fires.

Another interesting fact is that no one can say for sure how lightning is initially formed. According to scientific theories, lightning may be associated with the accumulation of charged solar particles and atmospheric disturbances such as Atmosphere pressure, friction, wind, humidity or exposure to solar wind.

It is said that the key element in the formation of lightning is the ice within the cloud, which can cause the positive and negative charges within a given cloud to separate.

There is a phobia based on the fear of thunder and lightning called astrophobia. Storms are undoubtedly spectacular natural phenomena that can evoke very strong emotions in humans and animals.

While some people love watching thunderstorms, others don't know where to hide. Some people like to go out during such storms, risking their lives, while others develop this phobia.

Some signs of astraphobia are quite similar to the symptoms of other phobias. Symptoms of astrophobia include crying, sweating, and shaking during or just before a thunderstorm.

People suffering from this phobia need support from others, while symptoms may worsen if the person is completely alone. In addition to this, people who exhibit their fear of thunderstorms seek refuge outside the boundaries of normal behavior. For example, such a person may hide under a bed or under a blanket.

Other manifestations of strangeness include seeking refuge in the closet, in the basement, in the bathroom. Closing the curtains to isolate yourself from the sounds of a thunderstorm is also a sign of astrophobia.

Another fairly common symptom is an obsession with weather forecasts. Thus, a person suffering from astrophobia prefers to leave the TV on weather channels, especially during the monsoon season, or searches for storm warnings on the Internet.

In more severe cases, people may be afraid to leave home without first checking the weather forecast to track any possible cases thunder and lightning. Some are quite hazardous conditions Astraphobia can eventually lead to agoraphobia, or the fear of leaving the house.

Astraphobia is extremely common in children, because basically all children are afraid of thunderstorms, so it should not be taken too seriously. Fears are an integral part of every child's development and therefore they are not diagnosed as phobias unless they last for more than six months.

The best thing you can do is try to calm yourself and comfort your children. Children tend to imitate the examples and behavior of adults, both positive and negative. Therefore, it is necessary to prepare in advance some fun activities in case of rainy, stormy weather. But if the fear continues to be severe and exceeds a six-month period, you should consider treating your child.

When treating astraphobia, doctors most often use cognitive behavioral techniques. This treatment includes calming messages that are repeated during thunderstorms to dislodge negative thoughts. Visual exercises are also used to get rid of such irrational fears.

Brontophobia is one of the fears that a person receives at birth. It is usually expressed in fear of a thunderstorm or the sound of thunder. This fear is accompanied by a wild desire to hide away from him. Such people begin to seek shelter from strong noise, for example, under the bed.

Absolutely all people are afraid of thunderstorms, although for some this fear manifests itself in a severe form, while for others it manifests itself in a mild form. When thunder strikes, sick people experience extreme fear, and they may also believe that no home can adequately protect them. Another fear is that lightning will pierce a person through a TV or telephone. How to treat this condition?

In addition to brontophobia, other phobias can also be distinguished.

• Ombrophobia is a panicky fear of rain. This fear can also lead to panic attack. It is generally accepted that fear of rain can be formed for several reasons;
• Tonitrophobia is a panicky fear of thunder;
• Astrapophobia is a panicky fear of lightning. This fear also has other names, for example, tonitophobia or keraunophobia. The meaning does not change depending on what name was used, for example, astrapophobia - people experience fear of lightning. How can you help a person who is afraid of this natural phenomenon? First of all, if we are talking about a baby, then parents should focus his attention on his favorite games. Astrapophobia can also be treated well with behavior therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, or hypnotherapy;
• Ligyrophobia - fear of sharp sounds.

Causes

Brontophobia causes a lot of controversy among scientists.

The human psyche is structured in such a way that after a certain time, all negative events lose their significance, and memory stores only bright moments. That is why sometimes it is quite difficult to figure out why human eyes are filled with light during a thunderstorm. panic fear. At these moments, it seems to the sick person that the world is collapsing.

Man inherited the fear of thunderstorms from our ancestors. The fact is that in ancient times such phenomena were considered to mean that the gods were angry. Plus, there are known cases when lightning struck a person himself. And although, it is worth noting that these episodes are isolated: the information is often repeated in conversations among adults, and is also often discussed on TV. Children often listen to adults’ conversations, drawing conclusions that are not always correct.

Symptoms of the disease

This disease causes chills and trembling, forcing you to look for the most secluded place. As soon as the thunderstorm subsides, many symptoms immediately disappear. Symptoms of the disease:

• Firstly, such people try to avoid places where celestial discharges are very often observed. One of the secluded places is Egypt. If a person does not have enough money to live in that place, then he will try to buy a private house so that a reliable underground floor is organized;
• Panic fear of sockets. If a person watches enough of various films, then in a short period of time the patient will begin to fear everything in the world. For him, the socket will become not just a connector for connecting any household devices, but a real threat. A thunderstorm can cause significant harm not only to equipment, but also to people.

Treatment

If you notice the first signs of the disease, you should immediately consult a doctor. He will select the optimal treatment for you, which includes methods such as:

• Group classes;
• Hypnosis or suggestion;
• Taking medications;
• Independent work on yourself.

Psychologists often prescribe some kind of psychotropic drugs as medications.

With the help of hypnosis, you can determine where this or that fear comes from. He is instilled with complete safety during a thunderstorm, which helps in as soon as possible overcome your fear. Self-hypnosis will help a person control himself during a thunderstorm.

Medicines

For sleep disturbances, doctors often prescribe a medicine such as Novo-Passit, which has an anti-anxiety effect. With long-term use, allergies, a feeling of drowsiness or fatigue may sometimes occur. Contraindications for use are childhood up to 12 years, epilepsy, any liver damage, as well as gastrointestinal diseases.

Amitriptyline is often prescribed for depression. Contraindications for use include conditions such as pregnancy, heart disease, and liver disease.

A psychoanalyst will help a person understand the true causes of a thunderstorm.

All these techniques are aimed at realizing that you should not worry about this fear. They help the patient understand himself and draw the right conclusions.

Brontophobia is a disease that can be easily corrected. If a person turns to a psychologist for help in time, then in the shortest possible time he can get rid of this unpleasant illness.