Arithmophobia, the fear of numbers

To a greater or lesser extent, numbers are everyday elements; creating them allowed us to progress as a society and understand countless phenomena of the world and the universe.

Although we may not be aware of it, they are everywhere, from the number of our favorite channel to the names of streets and avenues. Now, can you imagine being afraid of numbers? What would it be like to live with arithmophobia?

What is aritmophobia?

From the DSM-5, Arithmophobia would be classified as a specific phobiaa type of anxiety disorder.

It is about the irrational and disproportionate fear of everything that has to do with numbers, be they natural, prime, even, odd, etc. This irrational fear would be triggered by the presence of an object that we relate to a numerical representation.whether writing a date or studying Baldor Algebra.

The person with this phobia would also live in constant alert because they would try to anticipate where or what they might have to deal with numbers.

It is normal that a differential calculus test can generate some anxiety, but this emotional state is not compared to the phobia in question. Although numerical expressions do not represent any danger or risk, the person may feel deep panic when reviewing the invoice for their purchases or having to think about what you will do when you are discussing the loan you need to start your business idea.

This is because a disproportionate response is carried out in the brain of the person with arithmophobia that causes anguish, anxiety and stress. Which implies manifestations on the psychological level – blockages, fear or anticipation of failure – but also physical – sweat, palpitations or dryness in the throat -.

The person with arithmophobia experiences an irrational fear of any situation that has to do with numbers.

Symptoms of arithmophobia

The symptoms of arithmophobia manifest themselves on a physical and emotional level:

Diaphoresis (excessive or uncontrollable sweating). Stomach pain. Migraine and nausea. The person avoids situations that involve numbers or any numerical representation. Blood pressure and increased heart rate. Fear, distress and anxiety when faced with any numerical representation. Anxiety or The fear almost always occurs immediately. The fear lasts at least 6 months.

In addition to the above, the discomfort experienced interferes with daily life and aritmophobia cannot be better explained based on another illness.

Causes of aritmophobia

Many phobias are rooted in traumatic childhood experiences that generated enormous discomfort. So these have an associative learning component (classical conditioning).

In the case of arithmophobia, the person would associate the numbers with a traumatic experience which caused him discomfort.

Another cause that can explain this phobia is a bad experience with the mathematics subject. In fact, if this has been the case, it is very likely that the person will manifest symptoms due to the fear or insecurity of doing any type of calculation wrong.

Finally, Arithmophobia can also be learned by observation; That is, by seeing how others “suffer” mathematics, it would contribute to forming an irrational idea about it.

Relaxation and exposure techniques, specifically systematic desensitization, have obtained the best results for specific phobias, such as arithmophobia.

Intervention against arithmophobia

There are different ways to address arithmophobia. However, it is necessary that a mental health professional be the one to address it.

Psychological treatment is the most effective for this type of phobia, with cognitive behavioral therapy being the best approach; although in the most serious cases it can also be accompanied by psychotropic drugs.

Among the most common techniques for specific phobias, The techniques of exposure to the feared stimulus (in this case, numbers) and relaxation techniques stand out. For example, one that combines both is systematic desensitization, through which the patient is exposed to the phobic stimulus gradually after having learned a series of coping strategies to reduce anxiety.

The key to therapy lies in knowing how to understand the patient’s rhythm, encouraging him to be aware of what is happening to him with his work and reinforcing his progress, even if in appearance these are not very significant.

However, in addition to cognitive behavioral therapy, acceptance and commitment therapy is also very effective for the psychological treatment of specific phobias.

You might be interested…