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fear of witches
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Wiccaphobia – The Fear of Witchcraft

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The Fear of Witchcraft, or Wiccaphobia: Is It Real?

Did you know that wiccaphobia, or the fear of witchcraft, can be deadly, at least to some?

In 1692, the infamous Salem witch trials led to the execution of some twenty individuals. That’s barely scratching the surface, as hundreds of suspected witches were burned at the stake in the centuries before that. While witchcraft is no longer a death sentence, a phobia of witches persists.

Do you find pointy hats and broomsticks terrifying? Do you constantly worry about someone putting a hex or curse on you? You could have wiccaphobia or a fear of witches. When this goes beyond discomfort and starts to affect your life, you need help. Fortunately, the fear of witchcraft is treatable.

What Is Wiccaphobia?

Wiccaphobia is an irrational fear of witches and witchcraft. The name comes from two words, Old English “wicca” meaning male witch, and the Greek term phobos meaning fear.

The term “wicca” is now used to refer to the pagan religion practiced today. The phobia of witches is different from other phobias. Although irrational, this fear of witches has adverse effects on you. In a world of science, it can be frustrating to explain your fear of supernatural powers.

Why Are Witches Scary?

Some religions have strict rules against practicing witchcraft. As a result, witches were routinely tortured and killed in Europe and North America between the 14th and 17th centuries. Witches were often blamed for natural disasters, droughts, and failed harvests. While wise women and herbalists were known for healing, they could easily be accused of casting spells on villagers.

Wiccaphobia Causes

There is no definite cause for the phobia of witches. The possible causes of your fear can range from genetic factors to external influences.

Genetics

Is there a history of phobia in your family? If so, you are more likely to develop phobias such as wiccaphobia. Certain traits are passed on from a parent to a child. While there’s no gene for phobias, you can inherit a predisposition to them.

Stereotypes and Prejudices

Stereotypes refer to expectations and beliefs we may have about a particular group of people. Prejudices have everything to do with how society emotionally responds to that group. Both lead to discrimination.

What comes to mind when you hear the word “witch?” You probably picture a hag with long crooked nails dressed in black and stirring a cauldron. Much of what we know now about witchcraft is from pop culture, literature, and films. Keep in mind that all these promote stereotypes for witches. Witches are rarely presented as heroic. Instead, they are believed to use their powers to bring misfortune and bad luck.

Trauma

You may have watched a horror movie as a child that depicted a hideous and evil witch. Perhaps your caregivers used to threaten that a witch would take you away if you misbehaved. You may have gotten seriously ill and overheard a relative say that it was caused by a witch’s curse. It is also possible that during trick or treat, someone dressed as a witch terrified you.
These negative memories may lead to the development of wiccaphobia.

Wiccaphobia Symptoms

Keep an eye out for these manifestations of this common phobia:

Physical Symptoms

  • Shortness of breath
  • Sweating, especially at night
  • Trembling in fear
  • Headaches
  • Dry mouth
  • Butterflies in the stomach
  • Avoiding going out
  • Being disoriented
  • Increased heart rate

Mental/Emotional Symptoms

  • Avoiding places where you might encounter witches
  • Excessive anxiety when you think about witches
  • Persistent thoughts about witches
  • Panic attacks
  • Fearing that you might become a witch yourself

Self-Help for Wiccaphobia

Before you reach out to a professional, here are some strategies you can try at home:

Knowledge Is Power

To deal with this phobia, gather as much information as you can about the existence of witches, what they do, and the danger they pose. Look for facts, not just opinions or unsubstantiated claims. Do you know why society no longer burns witches today? Thanks to scientific research, we now have a better understanding of natural phenomena. A modern child has a better grasp of how and why people get sick than someone who lived 400 years ago. This knowledge has made wiccaphobia less common and intense. Modern witches are still viewed with skepticism, but they are no longer killed or jailed for their beliefs.

Speak Out

Speak with a trustworthy person about your fears. Being quiet about your worries won’t solve anything, so let someone else know what you go through. This person must be close, so they can help you in the journey to recovery. Emphasize that you need them to listen, not provide criticism or judgment.

Join a Support Group

In these support groups, you will have an opportunity to hear from others and tell your own story. Sharing your experiences can be cathartic. Not only that, but you can also discover how other phobia sufferers deal with their condition. The best thing about these groups is the fact that they are also available online. You don’t need to attend physical sessions if you don’t want people seeing you in person. Online sessions also tend to be more affordable than in-person meetings.

Getting Professional Wiccaphobia Treatment

A licensed therapist may recommend these methods to help alleviate your phobia.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

Cognitive behavioral therapy or CBT is an effective treatment for phobias and certain other mental health conditions. In CBT, the idea is to replace irrational thoughts with more logical ones. A therapist may ask you to keep a thought diary with four columns labeled A, B, C, and D. ABCD stands for Antecedents, Beliefs, Consequences, and Disputes.

  1. Antecedents are triggering events that create beliefs.
  2. Beliefs refer to what you accept as true, which then guide your actions.
  3. Consequences come from these beliefs. The therapist will help you cancel out any harmful or misleading beliefs by bringing a dispute.
  4. A dispute is a positive approach. The dispute is what brings the solution.

Talk Therapy

In talk therapy, you’ll be asked to express yourself fully. You’ll answer questions concerning your beliefs, family background, and opinions about witches. Your therapist will then advise you based on the information gathered. If spiritual matters cause your fear, the therapist may refer you to a spiritual leader, say a pastor, priest, or rabbi.

Meditation Techniques

Meditation can help you manage your anxiety disorder. There are many forms of meditation, but the most common is mindfulness meditation. In mindfulness meditation, your attention is shifted to something else. Instead of wallowing in fearful thoughts, you may be asked to concentrate on your breathing. Afterward, your therapist will ask you to describe what you noticed. You may also be instructed to go home, practice meditation, then come back and report during the following session.

How to Avoid It Altogether

You may be tempted to rely on safety or evasive behavior. After all, witches are not exactly popular or mainstream. They ought to be easy to avoid altogether. But keep in mind that ignoring a problem will just make it worse. There’s no medicine specifically for phobias, but don’t worry. These treatment options have helped alleviate symptoms of wiccaphobia and similar conditions. You may have to try several before you find one that works for you. The most important thing is that you get out of this pit of fear.

Conclusion

A fear of the unknown is at the heart of why witches were so feared in the past. The more you know, the more you can reject irrational beliefs. Don’t allow wiccaphobia to get in the way of your everyday life. Witches can be scary, but they don’t have to take over your thoughts. Once you find a treatment that works for you, practice it. Soon, you can wear a Halloween witch costume for fun.

FearAZ.com is looking for personal stories of any 'fear of' or phobia. If you have an interesting story you'd like to share, we welcome your submission. If the story fits with our content and guidelines, we'll add it to our site.
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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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