Aichmophobia

Aichmophobia (pronounced [īk-mō-fō′bē-ă]) is a kind of specific phobia, the morbid fear of sharp things, such as pencils, needles, knives, a pointing finger, or even the sharp end of an umbrella(). It is derived from the Greek aichmē (point) and phobos (fear).

Sometimes this general term is used to refer to what is more specifically called trypanophobia. Trypanophobia is the extreme and irrational fear of medical procedures involving injections or hypodermic needles.

The Brain and Fear The brain is composed of many parts. Each section of the brain controls various functions of the body from what we hear to what we see and smell and of course think. Fear is controlled by the section of the brain known as the amygdala. The amygdala is an almond-shaped structure in the brain; its name comes from the Greek word for “almond”. As with most other brain structures, you actually have two amygdalae. Each amygdala is located close to the hippocampus, in the frontal portion of the temporal lobe. Whenever one becomes emotional about anything, from anger to happiness to fear, the amygdala is triggered.

The Development of the Fear Fears can be learned, as was proven by Ivan Pavlov in his study with dogs.In Pavlov’s study he discovered that both Humans and Animals can be trained/conditioned to show certain behaviors when presented with specific stimuli. In his study he used dogs and trained them to salivate when they heard a bell.

A man named John B. Watson did a similar study involving a baby. In his study he conditioned a child dubbed “Little Albert” to fear a white rat.Watson would repeatedly place a white rat near the child and then make a harsh sound that would startle the child. Eventually the child began to fear the rat before the sound.

Fears can also be biological in Nature. Evolutionary psychology explains that the learned behaviors of ancestors (be they human or not) are passed down from generation to generation. For example, during the Quaternary Period the people who ate bitter food died and the people who spit out bitter food did not die thus it is concluded that is why most of society does not like bitter food.This is also known as Natural selection.

Cures
1.Hypnotherapy: a combination of hypnosis and therapeutic intervention.If Aichmaphobia has been caused by conditioning then using this method could be helpful. When using this therapy the subject undergoes hypnosis. This hypnosis allows a subject to first relax and then delve deeper into their own mind and discover the underlying problem. Thus helping the subject cure their fear.

2.Counterconditioning: Un- learning a fear: A woman by the name of Mary Cover Jones recreated Watsons “Little Albert” experiment only this time, after making the child fear the animal, she made him “Un-fear” it. In this same fashion can those with Aichmaphobia UN-learn their fear. Basically what happens is that a subject is presented with their phobia and something they enjoy for example: The subject is shown a needle and then given a bowl of their favorite ice cream. In this way the subject can learn to associate needles with ice cream (which for the average person is a positive experience) and thus no longer fear the needle.

Though aichmaphobia has not been widely studied it is often confused with trypanophobia which is the fear of needles used in medical practices. Aichmaphobia includes the fear of needles as well as others which makes it difficult to know everything about because it is such a broad topic with many variables it is difficult to test. However, while it is not widely discussed it influences the lives of others.

See also

• List of phobias