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Food Phobias

Ovophobia – Fear of Eggs

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Fear of Eggs- A Real Phobia?

Ovophobia or also known as the Fear of Eggs is a real phobia and it causes real issues, let’s crack on and discus in depth.

Fear of eggs, otherwise called ovophobia, isn’t a common phobia. Many of those affected usually have had a traumatic experience involving eggs. Phobic persons aren’t born with their fear. They learn it because of experiences during their younger years or perhaps in rare occasions as adults.

Often, people suffering from the phobia do not recall how the excessive fear began. They cannot pinpoint the time the phobia manifested they just recall experiencing fear symptoms. In many cases, the fear simply persists or increase with age.

Is Ovophobia a Phobia of Fear or Disgust?

Eggs alone pose no danger or threat but those of you with this phobia may have an unreasonable and overwhelming dislike of eggs which provokes avoidance and anxiety. Unlike the temporary anxiety you might feel when taking a test or giving a speech, a fear of eating eggs may be lasting and affects a person in social settings, at work, or school. Individuals with this phobia experience intense, constant fear that is disproportionate to the actual risk.

Some phobia sufferers may also have a deep-rooted disgust for eggs, this disgust can lead to fear as you try to avoid contact with eggs. This fear is not weird, so try to get past the stigma, eggs are simply an item that you are afraid of. With simple techniques and educating yourself, you can limit this fear greatly.

Thankfully, there’s hope for those who have this phobia. The best approach involves exposing the person to situations and places that elicit anxiety. By taking small steps daily, sufferers ultimately learn to cope with situations that previously generated intense fear, this is known as Exposure or Desensitization Therapy and is better explained below.

Ovophobia Meaning?

This is your brain on Ovophobia: if only there was a tv commercial explaining this excessive fear, well we will try.

This term denotes fear-of-eggs phobia triggered because of negative experiences involving eggs. Such experiences include being hit by eggs, breaking eggs accidentally, and smelling eggs (a disgust of eggs). A trigger might also emerge because of egg allergies – a fear of becoming ill due to eggs. Some sufferers might even think that living creatures such as chickens might pop out of an egg, thus some have the fear of cracking eggs.

Like all kinds of phobias, the why isn’t as significant as the how. Rather than determining why or where the fear originated, it’s crucial to recognize how the mind develops fear. This is more significant for considering the right treatment approach.

A person might exhibit indications of anxiety upon seeing an egg. A glance at an egg makes some physically ill and might even faint. Others even fear going to cafes and restaurants. They experience an instant feeling of intense anxiety, disgust and panic when thinking about or being exposed to the source of their fear.

While they recognize that their fears are unreasonable, they feel a sense of powerlessness. They’ll also do everything possible to avoid the situation or object or endure it with intense fear or anxiety. This is where social problems may occur, not going to restaurants, events or visiting friends because of the fear.

What Causes Ovophobia?

Doctors are uncertain about the precise causes, and many with the phobia can’t remember when, how, or why the fear developed. Many can’t even associate their fear with a particular experience. They’re simply fearful. In this instance, temperament, traits, and other inherited elements might be responsible. However, these are possible causes:

Negative Experience

This fear stems mostly from a negative experience even if a person can’t recall the experience. For instance, a person might have had a traumatic experience in their childhood and forgot about it.

Environment and Genetics

Young children usually learn numerous behaviors from their environment and parents, including those associated with anxiety and fear. For instance, if your parents felt nervous around eggs, you might have picked up on the behavior in your younger years and developed a comparable response.

Ovophobia Symptoms

Persons with this phobia frequently experience panic attacks, which can be distressing and frightening. The signs frequently occur abruptly and without warning. Symptoms differ from person to person. For some, the phobia might cause mild discomfort. For others, it involves debilitating attacks. Besides overwhelming anxiety, a panic attack could cause these physical symptoms:

Physical Symptoms

  • Trembling
  • Sweating
  • Difficulty breathing or shortness of breath
  • Tightness or pain in the chest
  • A choking feeling
  • Nausea
  • Dry mouth
  • Dizziness and headaches
  • Feeling faint
  • Disorientation or confusion

Psychological Symptoms

  • Fear of death
  • Indications of anxiety upon seeing an egg
  • Panic attacks
  • Fear of powerlessness
  • The person will go to great lengths to avoid contact with eggs
  • Shame, guilt, or self-blame about fearing eggs
  • Dread or panic at the sight or thought of chickens
  • An overwhelming need to be away from eggs

Self-help: Coping with Ovophobia

Meditation Techniques

Various kinds of meditations can be beneficial for those who experience the fear of eggs. You’ll also find numerous meditation apps that help make things easy. Mindfulness can help sufferers because of how it distracts you from the fear by refocusing your attention on other things that don’t have any kind of emotional baggage attached.

If you find yourself in the middle of a panic attack, redirecting your attention to the different sensations experienced when breathing can help decrease the mental anguish.

In addition to concentrating on breathing, you can concentrate on the surrounding sounds, how your skin feels against certain objects, and how particular aromas smell. Honing into your senses can help you decrease some of the anxiety related to the phobia. Remember, this takes practice.

Exercise

Exercise has proven beneficial for those suffering from phobias, including ovophobia. In particular, cardiovascular exercise can help alleviate one’s stress considerably. That isn’t to say that weight-resistance training wouldn’t benefit someone with anxiety.

Rather, aerobic exercise has proven more efficient at emitting endorphins in the brain. Exercise can help condition your mind to cope with stressful circumstances better. If you lead a sedentary lifestyle, engaging in aerobic exercise might help decrease your symptoms by making it easier for you to cope with the stress and anxiety related to the condition.

Numerous aerobic modalities exist that can help decrease your symptoms, including biking, swimming, jogging, and walking. Alternatively, you could play sports, for instance, basketball or tennis.

Yoga

Numerous yoga poses can benefit sufferers considerably. This is partly because of the meditative mind state that yoga emits in people who practice it consistently. Yoga can help alleviate some of the anxiety related to this phobia because you’ll direct your attention to more productive things. Yes, simple getting your mind off of eggs will help.

If you’re new to yoga, consider taking a class or watching some videos that could help you through different poses. Similar to meditation, the more practice you do, the more skillful you’ll become. Besides helping you decrease phobia symptoms, you can expect to gain increased flexibility and strength.

Professional Help

Doctors recommend ovophobia treatment when the phobia disrupts your daily life. The most effective treatment approaches include:

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

This approach teaches people how to recognize and alter unhealthy emotions, thoughts, and behaviors. The objective is to build confidence in the person and have them gain control over the fear. Therapists might adopt this approach together with exposure therapy.

Exposure or Desensitization Therapy

With this approach, the sufferer will undergo gradual and repeated exposure to eggs under controlled circumstances. For a severe phobia, this might just entail thinking about eggs. The use of anxiety-reducing methods will help the person face fear until they master it. Consequently, the person will come across more intense circumstances with eggs. The objective is to discover that it’s possible to control the fear rather than have it control you.

Talk Therapy

Talk therapy might be what is needed to help you overcome your phobia. Most therapists are qualified to tackle this phobia, and some specialize in phobia treatment.

End of the Line for Ovophobia

While ovophobia might seem unrealistic to most people, those who suffer from it know how debilitating it can be. Fortunately, there’s hope for those who want to overcome their fear.

Similar Phobias: Fear of Pumpkins, Fear of Bananas

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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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