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Pyrophobia is a
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
fire Fire is the rapid oxidation of a fuel in the exothermic chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction Product (chemistry), products. Flames, the most visible portion of the fire, are produced in the combustion re ...
, which can be considered irrational if beyond what is considered normal. This phobia is ancient and primordial, perhaps since humanity's discovery of fire. Usually pertaining to humans' comprehensible reaction to fire itself, the fear of fire by other animals cannot be considered pyrophobic, as they are thought not to understand its purpose beyond general danger.


Signs and symptoms

When witnessing fire or smoke (even if the fire poses no threat, such as a candle), suspecting a fire is nearby, or (in some cases) visualizing fires, pyrophobes exhibit typical psychological and physiological symptoms of
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 ...
and panic: acute stress, fast heartbeat,
shortness of breath Shortness of breath (SOB), known as dyspnea (in AmE) or dyspnoea (in BrE), is an uncomfortable feeling of not being able to breathe well enough. The American Thoracic Society defines it as "a subjective experience of breathing discomfort that con ...
, tightness in chest, sweating, nausea, shaking or trembling, dry mouth, needing to go to the bathroom, dizziness and/or fainting. A pyrophobe may also attempt to avoid or flee from fires, and avoid situations where harmless fire may be present (such as a
barbecue Barbecue or barbeque (often shortened to BBQ worldwide; barbie or barby in Australia and New Zealand) is a term used with significant regional and national variations to describe various cooking methods that employ live fire and smoke to coo ...
or a
campfire A campfire is a fire at a campsite that provides light and warmth, and heat for cooking. It can also serve as a beacon, and an insect and predator deterrent. Established campgrounds often provide a stone or steel fire ring for safety. Campfires ...
). The severity of pyrophobia can range from inconvenient to disturbing a person's daily functioning.


Causes

The most common cause of pyrophobia is that fire poses a potential threat to life safety (which is identical in animals). However, people who are intensely pyrophobic cannot even get close to or tolerate even a small controlled fire, such as fireplace, bonfire or lit candle. In many cases a bad childhood experience with fire may have triggered the condition.


Treatment

Exposure therapy Exposure therapy is a technique in behavior therapy to treat anxiety disorders. Exposure therapy involves exposing the patient to the anxiety source or its context (without the intention to cause any danger). Doing so is thought to help them overc ...
is the most common way to treat pyrophobia. This method involves showing patients fires in order of increasing size, from a lit cigarette up to a stove or grill flame. Another method of treatment is talk therapy, in which a patient tells a therapist about the cause of this fear. This can calm the patient to make them less afraid of controlled fire. People can relieve pyrophobia by interacting with other pyrophobes to share their experiences that caused fear. Alternatively, pyrophobia can be treated using
hypnosis Hypnosis is a human condition involving focused attention (the selective attention/selective inattention hypothesis, SASI), reduced peripheral awareness, and an enhanced capacity to respond to suggestion.In 2015, the American Psychological ...
. Medication can also be used to treat pyrophobic people, although since it has side effects, the method is not highly recommended.


See also

* List of phobias *
Pyromania Pyromania is an impulse-control disorder in which individuals repeatedly fail to resist impulses to deliberately start fires, to relieve some tension or for instant gratification. The term ''pyromania'' comes from the Greek word (''pyr'', 'f ...
, its exact opposite


References

{{reflist Environmental phobias Fire