What is Electrophobia? (An Overview)

In this blog we will discuss the symptoms, causes and treatment of Electrophobia. 

What is Electrophobia?

Electrophobia is an intense fear of electricity, and it is a type of specific phobia. Someone who is suffering from electrophobia may experience extreme anxiety when exposed to electricity, or electronic devices and or objects. When someone has Electrophobia even the thought of getting exposed to electricity can instigate anxiety.

An intense fear of electricity is called Electrophobia. It is a type of specific phobia which comes under the category of anxiety disorders in the DSM-V.

Someone suffering from it will experience extreme anxiety when exposed to electricity (electronic devices and or objects). 

Not just the exposure but a mere thought of getting exposed to electricity (in any way) can instigate anxiety. One will undergo full-blown panic attacks if the condition worsens. 

Electrophobia is not wholly irrational because electricity is potentially very threatening or harmful.

One can even die, if exposed to very high levels of it. However, someone suffering from this phobia is unable to rationalise their extremely high levels of fear and anxiety. 

The fear one feels in Electrophobia is out of touch with reality.

Even the sight of an electric device, such as a switched on tube light or toaster can trigger trauma and terror. 

To eliminate anxiety, a sufferer avoids getting exposed to electricity in any possible way.

This avoidance is repeated because of the sense of security it gives one. As a result of these recurrent acts of avoidance, one can develop OCD. 

According to the DSM-V, anxiety and avoidance affects one’s social and occupational functioning.

For example, a sufferer will avoid going near switches or wires and or sitting in a room with the tubelight switched on. An individual can also refrain from touching electronic devices such as mobile phones or TV. 

They might get terrified of leaving their house/room for the fear of getting exposed to electricity. 

Their academic and professional lives are also severely affected because one is unable to withstand any sort of electric device or electricity around them, leading one to skip school or office. 

In today’s world,electronics devices are to be found almost everywhere. Someone suffering from Electrophobia can develop depression as a result of this social, occupational dysfunction.  

Electrophobia is an irrational fear of electricity. The name originates from the Greek word ‘electro’ meaning electricity and ‘phobos’ meaning fear. 

Symptoms of Electrophobia 

People with Electrophobia, like in all other specific phobias experience intense anxiety on the mere thought of getting exposed to electricity.

They’re unable to control this anxiety and thus, end up feeling more anxious. This anxiety, in extreme cases, can give rise to full-blown panic attacks.

Sufferers go into flight or fight mode because of an adrenaline rush. In this state, the body’s physiological responses help one make decisions when in fear causing situations.

They either decide to escape the situation (flight)-faint or suffer from panic attacks or stay and combat their fear (fight)-by taking counterproductive actions.

In the case of Electrophobia or any other type of specific phobia, the physiological symptoms that are produced when exposed to electricity (including extreme anxiety) cause the person to escape or avoid that situation.

Sufferers don’t have the courage to fight with their fear because of the unpleasant, terrifying experience the body goes through.

According to the DSM-V, one must experience anxiety lasting for at least 6 months and 3-5 symptoms out of the ones listed below: 

1. Extreme anxiety when exposed to electricity 
2. Extreme anxiety when thinking about electricity 
3. Anticipatory anxiety
4. Inability to control anxiety
5. Repeated acts to avoid electricity 
6. Full-blown panic attacks
7. Muscle tension
8. Increased heartbeat
9. Hyperventilation
10. Feelings of dizziness
11. Hot/cold flashes when in a flight or fight mode (A hot flash refers to the temporary heating up of the body when in a state of fear. And a cold flash means when the body suddenly starts to shiver or cool down, when encountered by a fear stimulus).
12. Screaming/crying
13. Vomiting
14. Migraine
15. Butterflies in the stomach 

Causes of Electrophobia 

Electrophobia, like all other specific phobias, has no known cause.

These types of phobias can be a result of a number of factors such as biological (genetics) and or environmental (past experiences or social learning).

Genetics refers to the genes and neurotransmitters in our body. Someone with a family history of a phobia/mental disorder has a higher chance of having the same or different disorder in the future.

This is because the genes of the parents are transferred to their children, thus any alteration in the genes of one’s parents is inherited by the child.

This genetic tendency to develop a mental disorder/specific phobia can also be referred to as a Diathesis-stress relationship.

According to this, one with a genetic predisposition will not develop symptoms of Electrophobia until and unless there is some trigger event, instigating anxiety or fear of electricity. 

A trigger event can be a traumatic experience with electricity. For example, as a child one got an electric shock.

The pain and burning sensations it caused can be the reason why one developed Electrophobia.

Also, seeing or hearing someone else die of or get severely injured by getting an electric shock can tigger fear. 

Children who have overprotective parents can also develop this irrational fear of electricity because of them being contacly scolded or told to avoid coming in contact with electric devices/wires. 

Electric shocks can also cause death. Media reports of people dieing or suffering severe injuries can also play a significant role in one developing Electrophobia.

That is why, someone who fears death can have a fear of electricity.  

A sufferer who has a fear of lightning (Astraphobia) can also have this irrational fear of electricity. 

Therefore, Electrophobia is caused by both genetics and environmental factors. 

Treatment of Electrophobia 

Electrophobia, like all other specific phobias, has no exclusive type of treatment that is specifically designed to treat it.

Like all the other specific phobias, Electrophobia is treated by a number of different therapies including, Exposure Therapy, Cognitive-behavioral Therapy (CBT) and or medications that lower downs the anxiety or other physical symptoms.

• Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

It is one of the most frequently used treatments for patients with almost all kinds of mental disorders.

Electrophobia is defined as the irrational fear of electricity. Thus, the therapist helps the patient in replacing these irrational thoughts with more rational ones.

The patients are helped out in analyzing and justifying the way they feel about being exposed to electricity.

Therapists assist them in uncovering the reasons behind their fear and later they provide them with alternate, pleasant thoughts.

The patient is told to maintain a thought diary (with ABCD column) which provides them a replacement for every irrational thought they have, when thinking about a particular situation.

The ABCD stands for:

i.      A (antecedents) a situation or triggering event.

ii.     B (belief) the thought that comes to one’s mind when in that triggering situation.

iii.    C (consequences) the symptoms/feelings caused by that event/thought

iv.    D (dispute) alternate, rational thoughts provided by the therapist in an attempt to    dispute/challenge those irrational beliefs.

This last section of the thought diary is what really plays a role in helping the person feel good/less anxious. 

• Exposure Therapy

It is one of the most frequently used ways of treating patients with Electrophobia (or any other kind of specific phobia).

In this therapy, the patient is exposed to the source of his fear over a certain span of time. To begin with the therapy, the therapist exposes the patient to the least triggering stimuli, a picture of an electronic device for example.

As the therapy progresses and the patient is able to control his anxious feelings, imagery can be used to take the treatment a step further.

In this part of the treatment the patient is asked to visualize/imagine a situation in which he is exposed to electronic devices and or wires.

During this process of imagery, one actually feels being in that particular situation or place, experiencing various senses.

 Once the person successfully, without feeling anxious clears this step of the therapy, he is then exposed to real electricity. For example, exposed to a mobile phone. 

While the patient is being exposed to different intensities of stimuli during the various stages of therapy, the therapist simultaneously teaches them coping exercises.

These include, breathing techniques or muscle relaxation methods to lower their anxiety, when in an actual fear/anxiety causing situation.

This teaches them how to remain calm when exposed to the fear stimuli.

Before actually starting the exposure therapy, the therapist needs to figure out the intensity of the patient’s fear, as to deduce whether they will be able to undergo this treatment, without any physical or psychological harm caused to them during the exposure processes.

However, these steps desensitize one to their fear of electricity, by exposing them to that stimuli repeatedly, until they learn to undergo the situation without anxiety/panic attacks.

• Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR)

MBSR is a meditation therapy, used to manage stress or anxiety. It is an 8-week program which includes group sessions.

Mindfulness meditation and Hatha yoga are practiced in these sessions. Lectures and group discussions are also done to talk about mental health and increase interactivity.

In mindfulness meditation the person is told to, for example, focus on the sensations felt while breathing or the rhythm of the chest rising and falling during the process.

This distracts the person’s attention from something stressful to something which is neutral and soothing.

For quick and effective treatment, patients are also given a set of home works, for example 45 minutes of yoga and meditation sessions for 6 days a week and to record their results/feelings in a book or diary for 15 minutes a day.

• Yoga/Meditation

They are not just one of the many treatment therapies used for Electrophobia, instead they are one of the most common ways of relaxation used by many people.

Yoga tends to stimulate the meditative state of one’s mind while the person is in a particular yoga posture.

Through yoga/meditation the mind is diverted towards something more productive and calm, allowing the person to escape the negative, distress causing thoughts.

Out of a number of yoga types, one can benefit from any yoga type/pose they like. Hatha yoga is one of the different types of yoga.

The breathing techniques or the imagery one creates while in a yoga posture are the real factors that makes the person feel less anxious and diverts their mind, away from the thoughts of electricity.

• Drug Therapy

Drugs are used to reduce the physical symptoms caused by Electrophobia.

Drugs are very quick in effectiveness, as they start showing progress in the patients’ health at least 2 weeks after the medicine is taken.

This type of biological treatment is usually more effective if the cause of the phobia is only genetic.

However, these drugs/medicines are not to be taken without a doctor’s prescription or consultation.

Two types of drugs are used in the treatment of this phobia:

                    i. Anti-anxiety Drugs

Medicines like Valium are anti-anxiety drugs.

They are most commonly used with patients who experience panic attacks and also lowers their anxiety by binding to receptor cells of the brain that cause these unpleasant symptoms.

                   ii. Antidepressant Drugs

These drugs, as the name suggests don’t only treat depression but are also very effective in treating phobias.

Medicines like Lexapro reduce the anxious feelings of a person and makes him feel calm. They need to be taken on a daily basis but not without a doctor’s advice.

Whether the cause of Electrophobia, or any other type of specific phobia is genetics, environmental or both, the best and the most effective way of treating them is by using a combination of both biological treatments (drugs) with cognitive treatment (for example CBT/exposure therapy).

Frequently Asked Questions 

Citations 

• https://psychtimes.com/electrophobia-fear-of-electricity/
• www.commonphobias.com
• www.psychologytoday.com
• www.apa.org