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Fear of getting cancer and dying from it
Last reviewed: 07.06.2024
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Among the many human phobias is the fear of disease - nosophobia, and one of its types is the fear of getting cancer and dying from it.
What is the phobia of getting cancer called? This specific anxiety-phobic disorder is called carcinophobia or carcinophobia.
Epidemiology
Carcinophobia is one of the most common specific phobias, but even the approximate number of people suffering from it is unknown.
Causes of the carcinophobia
Fatal diseases are feared by many people, but in most cases such fear is controlled by the person, that is, it is rational and quite normal.
But human phobias, which psychiatrists consider to be irrational fears, belong to psychopathic states. And the causes of uncontrollable fear of developing a fatal cancer disease may be related to the experience and psychological trauma of cancer in relatives or suspected disease; the loss of loved ones with cancer; watching someone suffer from the disease.
The mere thought of the possibility of cancer can be an impulse that triggers feelings of overwhelming fear, and the well-established belief that cancer inevitably leads to a horrible and painful death only reinforces carcinophobia.
And children may subconsciously "adopt" the fear of cancer and reactions to it from their parents and other older relatives.
Risk factors
Among the risk factors for carcinophobia, experts note hypochondria and astheno-neurotic personality type; increased anxiety and emotional lability; low stress tolerance and susceptibility to depression; obsessional neurosis or thoughts, as well as a tendency to neurasthenia.
More than a third of people with nosobophilia show a direct link to depression.
Pathogenesis
Researchers have proposed several hypotheses for the mechanism of development phobic disorders.
The most reasonable version explains the pathogenesis of phobias by dysregulation of biogenic amines: deficiency of the neurotransmitter serotonin and excess of dopamine, which leads to excessive activation of the sympathetic nervous system and such cerebral structures associated with emotions and behavior as the prefrontal and orbitofrontal cortex, the frontal cingulate cortex, and the amygdaloid bodies of the temporal lobes of the brain.
According to another theory, phobias are based on a defense mechanism of shifting intrapsychic conflict (clash of opposing forces, desires and urges), which is manifested by increased anxiety, release of cortisol and adrenaline into the bloodstream, and reactions of the sympathetic nervous system.
Symptoms of the carcinophobia
The intensity of the anxiety experienced increases and the phobia may develop into panic attacks - panic attacks, with symptoms such as palpitations, increased sweating, dizziness, dry mouth, tremors, and fainting. Difficulty in concentrating, loss of control over one's behavior, inability to distinguish the real from the imaginary are observed. Often noted symptoms of depressive disorder.
Many carcinophobic patients are simply obsessed with their health: they are constantly monitoring their well-being, making frequent doctor's appointments, undergoing tests and examinations to make sure they are okay.
Diagnostics of the carcinophobia
The diagnosis of carcinophobia is determined on the basis of anamnesis, symptomatology and the results of research of neuropsychic sphere of the patient, which is conducted by a psychiatrist using special questionnaires, tests (scales) of anxiety and others.
Who to contact?
Treatment of the carcinophobia
How to treat phobias and fears? By far the most effective psychotherapeutic method is considered to be cognitive-behavioral therapy, which aims to help a person become aware of their unreasonable thoughts and fears, to look at the situation more realistically and react to it appropriately.
In addition, group therapy sessions, hypnotherapy (Ericksonian hypnosis), and neuro-linguistic programming (NLP) can help.
In some cases, it is necessary to use pharmacologic medications for anxiety disorders - antidepressants selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) group.
Prevention
There are no methods to prevent the development of panic fear of getting cancer and fear of death.
Forecast
The prognosis of any phobic disorder is determined by the patient's personality, the degree of his motivation for treatment and the severity of the condition. To get rid of the fear of getting cancer and dying from it, you need the help of specialists: this obsessive fear will not go away by itself.