Fear of the wind (anemofobia): symptoms, causes and treatment

March 31, 2024

The vast majority of people enjoy sunny days, with a pleasant temperature, and studies seem to indicate that this climate favors well-being. In contrast, gray and rainy days can cause negative moods. In fact, it can lead to some psychological phenomena such as Seasonal Depressive Disorder, which we discussed in our article: "Seasonal Depressive Disorder: what it is and how to prevent it."

But climatic conditions not only affect the well-being of people in this sense, but also A well-known phobia called anemophobia or antrophobia provokes a strong irrational fear towards the wind and the air currents .

In this article we will delve into this pathology and review its symptoms, its causes and its consequences.

Related article: "The 15 purest phobias that exist"

What is wind phobia

Phobias are mental disorders that develop with a certain frequency . They belong to the group of anxiety disorders, because their main main symptoms are anxiety and irrational fear. People suffering from a phobia tend to avoid the feared stimulus in an attempt to reduce unpleasant symptoms. Phobias can be classified in different ways as explained in our article: "Types of phobias: exploring the disorders of fear."

Anemofobia is the irrational fear that some people feel when they present themselves to the phobic stimulus, in this case: the wind. If this phobia is not treated, it can significantly affect the quality of life of the phobic. In fact, it can seriously harm the normal activities of your day to day, because the affected can be confined in their own home to avoid the wind of the street. Many times, these individuals unreasonably anticipate catastrophic consequences of this climatic event, for example, that trees may fall due to strong gusts, causing problems for the physical integrity of the person.

The wind phobia not only affects the person when going out, because having open windows, which would result in drafts, can produce intense anxiety, nausea, headaches, catastrophic thoughts, acceleration of the pulse and feeling of suffocation in the phobic.

Causes of anemophobia

No one is born with a phobic disorder, so these irrational fears are learned . Anemofobia usually originates after a traumatic experience, which is not always consciously remembered. This learning occurs by the association of an originally neutral stimulus with one that triggers the fear response. For example, a person may have had an emotionally negative experience on a windy day, which has impacted him so much that in the following windy days he may remember that traumatic experience. This type of learning is called classical conditioning. If you want to know more, you can read our article: "Classical conditioning and its most important experiments".

Generally, many people who experience this type of situation know that their fear is irrational, but they can not overcome it. This happens because human beings are biologically programmed to experience this negative emotion, which is produced by primary associations in the primitive brain and not by cognitive associations. The logical arguments, in this type of situations, have little weight.

On the other hand, people can also develop phobias by vicarious conditioning, that is, by observing other people. For example, suffering from a traumatic event related to the wind.

Related article: "Vicar conditioning: how does this type of learning work?"

Symptoms of this phobia

Each person experiences fear of the wind in their own way; however, the symptoms are usually general in any type of phobia. The only thing that changes is the phobic stimulus that produces it.

The symptoms of phobias are often divided into three groups: cognitive, physical and behavioral . Cognitive symptoms are the experience of fear, anguish, anxiety, lack of concentration, catastrophic thoughts and death. The physical symptoms are dry mouth, nausea or shortness of breath. Regarding behavioral symptoms, we can highlight the avoidance of the feared stimulus.

Treatment

Anxiety disorders, including phobias, are one of the main reasons for consultation in psychological clinics . These pathologies can cause great suffering, but they are treatable.

There are many effective therapeutic methods, such as Mindfulness or acceptance and commitment therapy.However, the most commonly used is cognitive behavioral therapy. Within cognitive behavioral techniques we can find relaxation techniques and exposure techniques.

In the treatment of phobias a technique that has proven to be very effective is applied. It is systematic desensitization. It consists of exposing the patient to the phobic stimulus in a gradual way, but before it must have learned a series of coping strategies , among which are the aforementioned relaxation techniques.

Thanks to this technique, the prognosis of phobic disorders is positive and is useful for different phobias.

Phobias and new technologies

Nowadays, with the advance of new technologies, it is not necessary to expose the patient to a real phobic stimulus, but it is possible to use virtual reality. Psychologists make use of these technologies and the results are excellent.

Further, in recent times, patients can carry therapeutic tools in their own pocket thanks to the use of smartphone applications . These apps contain, for example, virtual reality, augmented reality, useful information about phobias and record sheets.