Algophobia or algiophobia is a
phobia
A phobia is an anxiety disorder, defined by an irrational, unrealistic, persistent and excessive fear of an object or situation. Phobias typically result in a rapid onset of fear and are usually present for more than six months. Those affected ...
of
pain
Pain is a distressing feeling often caused by intense or damaging Stimulus (physiology), stimuli. The International Association for the Study of Pain defines pain as "an unpleasant sense, sensory and emotional experience associated with, or res ...
an abnormal and persistent
fear
Fear is an unpleasant emotion that arises in response to perception, perceived dangers or threats. Fear causes physiological and psychological changes. It may produce behavioral reactions such as mounting an aggressive response or fleeing the ...
of pain that is far more powerful than that of a normal person.
[Barker, R. L. (1992). Fear and Phobias. Mental Health and the Elderly: A Social Work Perspective, 271.] It can be treated with
behavioral therapy
Behaviour therapy or behavioural psychotherapy is a broad term referring to clinical psychotherapy that uses techniques derived from behaviourism and/or cognitive psychology. It looks at specific, learned behaviours and how the environment, or oth ...
and
anti-anxiety medication. The term comes .
Overview
According to Sabino Metta, a behavioral psychologist, the phobic reaction is a learned behavior. A common example of this reaction would be an elderly person who hears about all of their friends' various ailments and pains. This person will begin to anticipate the problems and experience the results before anything actually happens to them.
People with this problem probably have
hyperalgesia
Hyperalgesia ( or ; ''hyper'' from Greek ὑπέρ (''huper'') 'over' + ''-algesia'' from Greek ἄλγος (algos) 'pain') is an abnormally increased sensitivity to pain, which may be caused by damage to nociceptors or peripheral nerves and ...
.
The Fear of Pain Questionnaire (currently the FPQ-III), a mental health screening tool, has been used to test for algophobia in the past and was found to have good internal consistency and test-retest reliability.
[McNiel, D. & Rainwater, A (1998). ''Journal of Behavioral Medicine''. Volume 21, Number 4.]
See also
*
Dental phobia
*
List of phobias
References
{{reflist
Phobias
Mental health