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Fear of Belly Buttons – Omphalophobia
Body Phobias

Fear of Belly Buttons – Omphalophobia

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The Fear of Belly Buttons, Rare but Real

Do you wake up feeling disgust when thinking about belly buttons?

Does going to the beach worry you? Maybe you avoid going anywhere where you might be exposed to belly buttons.

Do you feel disgust or anxiety when someone wears risqué clothing showing their belly button? If the answer to any of these questions is a yes, then you are most likely suffering from omphalophobia.

Omphalophobia is the fear of belly buttons or navels.

Not everyone likes to look at belly buttons or human navels. However, there are some who face dread while seeing or even thinking about looking at a belly button. If you have omphalophobia, it’s likely you feel overwhelmed when you look at a navel. Shivering, sweating profusely, dry mouth, shortness of breath, and tightness in the chest are all common symptoms faced by those who have omphalophobia.

Is omphalophobia common? Unlike many phobias, omphalophobia is not common. Because of this, you might feel that you can’t discuss your phobia with others. This inability to share your fears might lead to social isolation and in some cases, depression.

Did You Know?

The medical name for a belly button is umbilicus.

What Is Omphalophobia All About?

Although omphalophobia can be considered an irrational fear, there are ways to treat it. As a matter of fact, with a little work one can learn to better manage this phobia, and perhaps even overcome it completely. The first step toward that goal is to understand why you have it.

Let’s explore what omphalophobia is, its symptoms, and the various treatments available to treat it.

The word “omphalophobia” is a combination of the Greek words omphalo meaning “navel” and phobos, meaning “fear.” It is defined as the “fear of navels.” Omphalophobia is a specific phobia, meaning that these types of phobias cause extreme and persistent fear in those faced with a particular situation or object.

What Causes Omphalophobia?

There are various reasons why you might have omphalophobia and others may not. Let’s take a look at some of the possible causes of omphalophobia:

Childhood Injury

Children are fascinated with the different parts of their bodies and want to know more about them. The navel is no exception. Some children might poke their belly buttons while playing with them, which in turn, can hurt them. Hence, they might dread looking at or touching their navel again for fear of injuring themselves.

Its Delicate Nature

Some people may notice that their belly buttons are dark or have dirt in them. They might then try to clean it using sharp objects, hurting themselves in the process. The fact that there was dirt in their navels or that they hurt themselves may then create feelings of fear and disgust. Those who experience this might not want to look at their navel again.

Presence of Umbilical Cord in the Navel

For some, omphalophobia might be triggered by the fact that a small section of the umbilical cord may have remained in their navel at birth. Because of this, even thinking about belly buttons can trigger feelings of anxiety and disgust in them.

Physical/Sexual Abuse

Those who might have been inappropriately touched at the navel in the past may have symptoms of omphalophobia. Now, seeing or thinking about belly buttons brings forth a lot of unpleasant memories for them. Some might deliberately find ways to avoid thinking or looking at belly buttons or avoid going to places where they believe they might be exposed to others’ navels.

Vicarious Conditioning

In some cases, vicarious conditioning may also trigger omphalophobia. Vicarious conditioning implies a type of learning where an individual develops fear or dread of something after looking at someone else suffering with a problem. For example, you might develop a fear of belly buttons if you’ve known someone who perhaps has a navel deformity, navel injury, or navel pain.

Similar to other phobias, the onset of omphalophobia generally begins in childhood, particularly after a negative or traumatic experience. However, some might also develop omphalophobia due to a predisposition to anxiety or family history where members of a family have suffered from omphalophobia.

Symptoms of Omphalophobia

After the onset of omphalophobia, symptoms may last for at least six months. Let us take a look at the mental, emotional, and physical symptoms of omphalophobia.

Mental/Emotional Symptoms

  • Panic attacks
  • Difficulty concentrating
  • Inability to relax or calm down
  • Becoming easily triggered or irritated at small things
  • Avoidance
  • Interference with daily activities

Physical Symptoms

  • Trembling
  • Excessive sweating
  • Dry mouth
  • Shortness of breath
  • Tightness in chest
  • Increase in heartbeat
  • Upset stomach
  • Nausea

Not all those who suffer from omphalophobia experience all symptoms listed here. Some people may only have a few symptoms while others may experience all the symptoms depending upon their past experiences and exposure to belly buttons.

Self-Help: What Can I Do to Help Myself?

Omphalophobia, or the fear of belly buttons, doesn’t affect many. As a result, those struggling with this phobia may feel unable to openly discuss their fear or seek help. If you prefer to undertake omphalophobia treatment on your own versus seeking professional help, there are several self-help techniques you can rely on to help you better manage your fear of belly buttons.

  • Deep breathing.
  • Muscle relaxation techniques to help you relax your body and mind. One of the most effective techniques is Jacobson’s relaxation technique that focuses on tightening and relaxing specific muscle groups in sequence.
  • Mindfulness techniques such as yoga, guided meditation, or pursuing creative hobbies.
  • Seeking out support groups of those with phobias.
  • You can also begin to slowly expose yourself more to belly buttons in an effort to increase your tolerance and reduce your reactions.

Professional Help for Omphalophobia

If self-help techniques aren’t effective, it may be time to seek professional help. There are many treatment options available to you. Below you’ll find two such options which can help you overcome omphalophobia. Read on to discover what these techniques are all about.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

With CBT, you can learn to overcome your phobia of belly buttons by learning to think about belly buttons in a different way. A licensed therapist will guide you through the treatment process. This technique helps you learn to react differently towards navels. CBT is a short-term technique that focuses on your omphalophobia by equipping you with certain tools to help you better manage your fear.

Exposure Therapy

Exposure therapy, also known as systematic desensitization, is a specific type of CBT in which your therapist will gradually expose you to the object of your phobia—belly buttons—while helping you take control of your fear. In this technique, the therapist may show you images of belly buttons, in the hope that it will reduce your fear and increase your confidence in managing it.

How to Avoid Omphalophobia Altogether

If you want to avoid confronting your fear of belly buttons altogether, then you should find ways to avoid thinking about or seeing belly buttons. Avoid creating thoughts of belly buttons by distracting yourself with positive thoughts. You might also avoid watching TV shows or movies where you believe you would have to see others’ navels, and stop reading magazines that have images of belly buttons.

Lastly, if you can, avoid going to places such as the beach or gatherings where it’s likely that others would be wearing clothing that reveals their belly buttons.

In Conclusion

While omphalophobia might not be common, it is certainly not incurable. With the right help and treatment, you can overcome your fear of belly buttons and lead a normal, happy life.

Stories Submitted by Our Readers

Belly Buttons

I suffer with this fear. Have since I can remember, but I can’t think of a reason why. The reason I am afraid is beyond me, but my sister has the same fear. I am in my thirties and had to have surgery a few years back. The worst part of all is that the surgeon was explaining he went through my belly button to do the surgery which he seemed proud of, but it horrified me. I’m having trouble just writing about it. I’m getting sick to my stomach. I can’t stand anything to do with belly buttons, mine or others. I freak out when someone touches their own belly button or acts like they are going to touch mine. It may sound silly to some, but I totally freeze when I see a belly button. No going to the beach for me.

Kathy W.

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Your Fear Goes Up and Down

Are you someone who would rather climb the stairs than take the elevator? You call it squeezing in a workout after being sedentary the whole morning. Or perhaps you claim it's a faster route. These are both typical, normal, and acceptable reasons. But what if you need to be in the conference room on the eleventh floor in five minutes, and you're wearing your business suit and wingtips? Would you still prefer to take the stairs? If your answer is yes, then maybe it's time to take a closer look at your reasons for avoiding elevators. Elevators stir all sorts of emotions in passengers. From the discomfort of closeness to strangers to the sensations in our gut, elevators can be a source of the heebie-jeebies for many, but for some, they can also be a source of terror. Let's dig a little deeper into the latter, and see what this terror is all about and what can be done to manage it. To begin with, does being inside an elevator give you chills or the sweats? Or does it trigger an unpleasant memory? Perhaps you remember movies you've watched where something terrible happens inside an elevator. From Silence of the Lambs, The Shining, Final Destination 2, or the king of all elevator horror films, 2010’s Devil, the elevator becomes witness to something sinister and horrible. And you want nothing to do with any of it. You know that you're not claustrophobic. You can deal with heights just fine, too. And you know that you're not going to be trapped inside. All of these contribute to a fear of elevators—but they don't apply to you. Yet being inside one does something to you. It's hard to explain.

What is the Fear of Elevators Called?

What you have is a fear of elevators, which is called elevatophobia. It is most commonly triggered by an experience of getting stuck inside either due to a power outage or technical maintenance. Hearing about other people's experiences or watching a movie about similar circumstances can prompt a fear of elevators getting stuck with you inside. Usually, claustrophobics and agoraphobics may also develop elevatophobia because the triggers and objects of these fears are related. Claustrophobia is the fear of closed and cramped spaces, while agoraphobia is the fear of being trapped without any means of escape. Put the two together, and the elevator becomes the perfect combination of both phobias. The space is limited and closed, with only one means of entry and exit. You can add another point of access if you consider climbing the cables like they do in the movies, but that certainly isn't ideal.

Symptoms of Elevatophobia

If for some reason an elevator stops due to an outage or some technical difficulty, passengers with elevatophobia may go into full panic mode. Even if the maintenance team advises that it will just be a matter of minutes, by then, the person's mind has become irrational with the fear of the elevator falling, being stuck for hours, or other unpleasant thoughts. You would expect a person to exhibit the following physical symptoms: Additionally, you would be filled with that overwhelming anxiety where you feel that you have zero control over the situation. You start fearing the unknown and are filled with negative thoughts about death and imminent doom. You become irrational and unresponsive.

Possible Complications of Elevatophobia

When the panic sets in, the possibility of emergencies related to pre-existing conditions may make themselves known. This might include serious health crises like heart attacks or asthma attacks. When this happens, fear becomes a medical emergency. Elevator rides do not last long; it's just a matter of minutes or even less. But the fact that a person can escalate from panic to a near fatal medical situation classifies the fear of elevators as a 'hard phobia.'

Trying Some Self-Help Methods

Your fear of elevators can likely interfere with your social and work life and relationships. Not everyone understands that elevatophobia, like most phobias, can be crippling. But don't be disheartened. Depending on the level of your fear and level of control, you can gradually face and manage your phobia. Here are some recommendations you can try:
  1. Make a List of Everything that Entails Riding in an Elevator This is a systematic approach to getting over your anxiety. By following a step-by-step process, you can identify where the fear kicks in at its strongest. You can write a list of steps like pressing the topmost button and waiting to arrive on that floor, watching as the door closes and opens, being alone inside the elevator, or having delays with the doors opening. Now try doing the opposite. For example, face away from the door or occupy yourself with your phone so that you are distracted.
  2. Create Your Fear Ladder Although the name says fear of elevators, it is not the whole process that scares you. There are just phases and parts of the elevator riding experience that cause you to panic. So go back to the list you initially created and label the fear level you feel. You can do it numerically, too, like ten being 'really scary,' six, 'manageable scary,' and one, 'not scary at all.' You can put the corresponding fear levels so you can focus more time and effort into activities that are more scary to you.
  3. Face Your Fear By now, you have identified what scares you the most. You can try repetitive action to minimize your fear and increase your sense of ‘normalcy’. Remember that the longer you expose yourself to your fear, the better you get at handling your emotions. If you are feeling overwhelmed, stop. Pushing yourself too fast and too soon can backfire. Modify your pace and go slower instead.
  4. Talk About Your Fear People by nature, unfortunately, are not quick to offer understanding and support. You need to tell them what's wrong before they can empathize. Talk to someone who you trust and ask for their support, especially in the initial phase of overcoming your fear. If you are too afraid to ride the elevator alone, you can ask them to go with you, and before you realize it, you are on your floor, and there was no indication of panic.
  5. Learn To Be Patient Be patient with yourself and your predicament. This is, after all, your fight against fear. It might take hundreds of elevator ride practices before the fear gets under control. Even then, there might be some hesitations and episodes of nervousness. These are acceptable and expected, so cut yourself some slack and congratulate yourself for every progress.

Seeking Professional Help

Along with self-help, you can always enlist a medical professional's aid to support you with your elevatophobia. Talking to someone who has experience with similar cases can be comforting, because you know that you are not alone, and this situation can get better. Talk to your doctor about the severity of your fears and the symptoms that you experience. Explain how you deal with it in an attempt to control it. An exam and a health history are made to ensure that there are no unrelated or underlying problems that your symptoms might mask. Usually, phobias like this are approached with a combination of psychotherapy and medication. Your doctor will talk about these options with you, and it's entirely up to you, with your doctor's recommendation, what you want to pursue. For psychotherapy, the most common type is cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), which aims to help you find different ways of behaving, thinking, and reacting when about to step inside an elevator or when already inside it. With medications, there are beta blockers and benzodiazepines, but note that these can have side effects. Whatever these side effects are, you should promptly share it with your doctor.

Simple Tips to Overcome Elevatophobia

Elevators are not perfect, but their likelihood to malfunction, fall, or get stuck is very low. If you are not fully confident with this information, you can help overcome your elevatophobia by learning common elevator safety tips and basic elevator operations. These should help curb your mild fear until you become more self-assured. In addition to that, here are some of the things that you can do to gradually overcome your fear of elevators—both in getting on and riding one.

Conclusion

Yes, elevatophobia can be a challenge in today's world, but don't allow the elevator to win. Don't let it stop you from taking a job on the top floor or attending a social gathering on the rooftop. Sure, you can take the stairs if you insist and arrive winded and sweaty, with the party about to wrap up. But is this the quality of life you seek? Elevators are designed to make life easier. There are guaranteed ways to help you overcome elevatophobia. Take the first step and seek help. Soon, you’ll see yourself breezing through the floors with those arduous stair climbs little more than a memory.
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