Blenophobia is the persistent and intense fear of viscous textures . Such textures include, for example, some foods, body fluids and the skin of different animals. It is an under-documented experience and is often mistaken for an aversion.

In this article we will see what blenophobia is, what conditions must be met to be considered a specific phobia, and in what cases it can be considered an aversion. Finally we will see some treatments for each case.

Blenophobia: fear of viscosity

The term “bleno” is composed of the Greek “blennos”, which means “mucus”, and “fobos” which means “phobia”. In this sense, blenophobia can be defined as a persistent and intense fear of mucous or viscous consistencies . To be considered a phobia, this fear must provoke an immediate and disproportionate anxiety response; and it must not be justified by the person’s cultural codes (it is thus considered an irrational fear).

In addition, to be considered a phobia, this fear must significantly interfere with the person’s daily activities. That is, the fear of exposure to viscous textures would generate both symptoms of anxiety and constant avoidance of such exposure .

Some examples of textures referred to by blenophobia are the skin of a snail or fish, the consistency of an egg and raw meat, or one’s own and other body fluids. All of them represent stimuli capable of developing a phobic fear.

However, the fear of viscosity has not been described in the scientific literature as a specific phobia . This is already the case, although it is quite common for viscous textures to generate rejection, it is not so common for them to generate a phobic fear.

This rejection often produces significant aversion, but does not necessarily interfere with the person’s daily activities or trigger disproportionate anxiety responses. In this regard, it is important to remember that not all aversions are phobias, but some phobias may be accompanied by different aversions.

Phobia or aversion? Main symptoms

As we saw before, the main characteristic of specific phobias is irrational, persistent and intense fear, which generates disproportionate anxiety responses. These responses are produced by the activation of the autonomic nervous system, which is responsible for regulating the involuntary motor responses in our body. These include visceral activity, breathing, palpitations, among others.

Thus, the response triggered by exposure to the stimulus that causes the phobia generates sweating, hyperventilation or a sensation of suffocation, increased heart rate , and decreased gastrointestinal activity. And sometimes it causes nausea, dizziness and panic attacks (the latter are more frequent in specific disease phobias).

In addition, this anxiety response significantly interferes with the person’s life, since, in order to avoid it, the person experiencing it generates avoidance and defensive behaviors. For example, avoiding places or circumstances where the stimulus is present.

On the other hand, specific phobias are considered as such in case the fear and anxiety cannot be explained by other clinical pictures (such as an obsessive-compulsive disorder, a post-traumatic stress disorder or a social phobia).

In the case of blenophobia, one would try to avoid contact with any viscous texture, as otherwise a significant anxiety experience is triggered. The latter should not be able to be explained by other means, for example, it should not be one of the manifestations of other diagnoses where there is frequently an important sensitivity to textures .

On the other hand, an aversion can be defined as the strong repulsion to touch, taste or hear things, to which most people are indifferent or even find pleasant (Bados, 2005). They are similar to phobias in that they produce discomfort and are generated by specific stimuli.

However, they differ in that the discomfort does not interfere with the person’s life, and they also differ in the general symptoms. Dislikes cause chills, pallor, cold, deep breathing and sometimes nausea. Some of the most typical are precisely the aversions to textures.

Main causes

The causes of specific phobias are mainly the following:

  • Have had direct or indirect negative experiences with stimuli that have a high probability of becoming phobic.
  • Have fewer positive experiences with stimulus , compared to negative experiences.
  • The severity and high frequency of the negative experiences to which the person has been exposed, either directly or indirectly
  • Biological preparation (phobias are more easily triggered by stimuli that put biological integrity at risk)
  • The expectation of danger corresponds to the negative experience lived.
  • Ways in which the threatening information about the stimulus has been transmitted
  • Having gone through a process of erroneous association or superstitious conditioning triggered by false alarms

On the other hand, aversions are generated by the reinforcement of the unpleasant sensations associated with the stimulus , accompanied by a constant reinforcement of the avoidance behaviours related to it. Although they do not usually significantly affect the person’s life, they can generate constant avoidance behaviours, which in extreme cases could lead, for example, to avoiding the same foods under any circumstances.

Treatment

The most commonly used psychological treatments for specific phobias are live exposure, participant model, cognitive restructuring, introspective exploration, exposure by imagination, relaxation techniques, systematic desensitization and modeling. The latter is especially useful in children and when there is a need to teach different skills.

On the other hand, aversions usually decrease without the need for treatment, but in extreme cases a graduated exposure can be used to allow a non-aversive approach with the stimulus.

Bibliographic references:

  • Bados, A. (2005). Specific phobias. Faculty of Psychology. Departament de Personalitat, Avaluació i Tractament Psicològics. University of Barcelona. Retrieved September 26, 2018. Available at http://diposit.ub.edu/dspace/bitstream/2445/360/1/113.pdf.
  • Blenophobia (2018). Fobias.net. Recovered September 25, 2018. Available at http://www.fobias.net/Blenofobia.html.
  • Etymology of BLENO (2018). Etymologies.dechile.net. Recovered September 25, 2018. Available at http://etimologias.dechile.net/?bleno.