Life with an Illogical Fear

Last week’s blog was on the “storm of the century” for a portion of Northwest Michigan. It was interesting, yet bizarre to be living through what many have gone through before in many other areas – with much more devastation. I’m expanding on it this week as I really feel for people with serious fears, including the fear of storms. How they must have suffered that long night! Logically, we can google about our fears and how to combat them, or go to doctors, or try different relaxing therapies, but it isn’t so simple. The fears are illogical, so, generally speaking, we can’t just say, “Stop! This is stupid!” and move on. As a child, my mother was standing in a room and lightening came in through the window and struck the floor. She hates lightening. That moment in life set it in place. She doesn't shy from life when there's a storm overhead, but she is not happy about potential lightening. It’s not something you just “get over”. It’s part of you from that moment on. One of our daughters is afraid of thunderstorms, so when she was little, I tried making a game of it. I got all the young ones to climb under the dining room table to hide from the storm, and we were quite silly about it. It did seem much better after that, but she still suffers with it as an adult, so I was curious about this astraphobia – fear of thunder and lightning or rainstorms.

Astraphobia is a common phobia in people, dogs and cats, and can occur with anyone, regardless of personal attributes. It is most common in children. At least 10 percent of people in the U.S are estimated to suffer from astraphobia to some extent. (That’s ten in one hundred or one in ten, folks! No need to be embarrassed by this fear. You are not alone!) The main cause for developing astraphobia is when people have traumatic experiences related with thunderstorms, rain and lightning, or if they’ve witnessed someone get hurt by thunder and lightning. Other potential contributors in acquiring this phobia are the in-built personality traits of people inclined toward fear and anxiety. Even a small distressful event linked with the storm might trigger these traits and lead to astraphobia.

All of us have fears that we live with, and if they aren’t keeping us from work or school (for children), or travel, or necessary chores, or making us extremely clingy (also children, mostly – but who doesn’t need a hand to hold now and then?), then we can likely continue to deal with them the best we can. But if we or our children show the definite, especially the more drastic, symptoms (a list is at the end of the blog) for more than six months, and it has disrupted daily living, you might want to see a doctor.

If you want a preview of the therapies done for astraphobia, and likely other phobias, so you can feel more comfortable seeking some help, these will give you an idea: exposure therapy, Cognitive Behavioral therapy (CBT) and in extreme cases only, medications.

Exposure therapy tries to bring out the fear of the person for a therapist to study the level of the fear, and how it occurs in the person. The person suffering is encouraged to face the fear, either real (an actual thunderstorm) or in a safe environment (audio or video). Regular exposure helps the therapist try to bring down the level of fear gradually with relaxation techniques, like breathing exercises or self-talking and mental visualization exercises to calm down the senses.

Cognitive Behavioral therapy (CBT) runs alongside of exposure therapy. Exposure therapy focuses on controlling the fear and panicking, and CBT focuses on changing the thoughts associated with thunder and lightning. One to one counseling sessions will help the therapist to know the negative thoughts surrounding the thunderstorms, so they can help replace them with positive images. This is the best therapy I’ve ever seen. Changing negative thoughts to positive thoughts can transform a person’s life from depressing to manageable to good. It alters the thoughts and behaviors related with a phobia (or depression, or whatever else ails us), and helps the person reclaim a normal life.

For serious or severe cases of phobia, anti-anxiety and anti-depressant medicines may be prescribed by the doctor.

There you have it. That doesn’t sound so bad. In fact, it almost sounds like fun (almost), so there’s nothing to be afraid of! And wouldn’t it be great to be free of it? Free to splash or dance in the rain or play with your children and sail a toy boat in the puddles? (As long as there's no thunder - lightning isn't far away, if there is.) Don’t miss out on life because you’re afraid. Consider doing something about whatever fears ail you, if they are stopping you from living a relatively normal life. Do it safely and slowly, or better yet, get help from a specialist.

And always remember, the sun is pushing its way through...any moment now.

Common symptoms: intense and constant fear during the storms, being distressed when thunderstorms may be coming, realizing the fear is irrelevant or excessive (except for children), being alert and checking weather forecasts before going out, avoiding the weather by hiding in closets, under blankets or just staying home, clinging to loved ones, or in extreme – panic attacks with physical signs (trembling, stomach pain, trouble breathing, heart palpitations, chest pain, numbness around limbs, frequent urination, nausea and sweating, and/or feeling of being out of control).