Aritmophobia what is, symptoms, causes and treatment

Being in contact with mathematics can be a stressful factor for many people. From childhood we interact with the numbers and continue in contact with them in many activities that we do daily. The numbers are necessary to live in society, since they regulate several areas.

Even so, the reality is that the numbers can bring more than one headache to some people. In fact, some individuals have intense fear in the face of the numbers that bring them consequences in several everyday situations. Maybe you are familiar with some of this or know someone who has this type of sensations. Knowing relevant data on this subject can help you face this problem with tools that allow you to address it in an effective way. If you want to know more, in this Psychology-online article, we will give you information about the Aritmophobia: What is, symptoms, causes and treatment.

1. What is arithmophobia
2. Aritmophobia symptoms
3. Causes of arithmophobia
4. Treatment of arithmophobia

What is arithmophobia

The term of arithmophobia refers to a fear or fear exacerbated towards mathematics and/or arithmetic. This fear is considered irrational, since the situations that generate this phobia cannot be considered dangerous or threatening for the person suffering from this clinical picture.

If you do not feel very comfortable when you do numerical tasks and ask yourself how to know if I have arithmophobia, you should know that it is related to a rejection of any situation that implies the presence of numbers. According to the DSM-V^[1], Aritmophobia is part of a group called specific phobias and has the following particularities:

• Fear or anxiety in the face of a situation or object related to numbers.
• Avoidance of the situation or object.
• Fear or disproportionate anxiety to real danger which implies exposure to mathematics or arithmetic.
• Duration of six months or more.
• Deterioration of interpersonal relationships, labor and family.

Aritmophobia symptoms

Aritmophobia produces a series of manifestations that have both physical and emotional level. It is important to know these peculiarities to detect phobia and offer the most appropriate diagnosis of each patient. Thus, then, we show you what are the main symptoms of arithmophobia:

• Anxiety in the presence of numbers.
• Fear.
• Distress. If you doubt what to do before the appearance of this symptom, you can consult this article about the anguish crises: symptoms, causes and treatment.
• Avoidance of situations in which there are numbers.
• Headaches.
• Nausea.
• Stomach pains.
• Increased blood pressure.
• Excessive sweating.
• Incrise of cardiac frecuency.

It should be noted that the presence of any of these symptoms does not necessarily imply that we are facing an arithmophobia picture. It is pertinent that the diagnosis be carried out By a mental health professional, because he will be in charge of evaluating the clinical characteristics of the person, taking into account his medical background, family history and pre -existing diseases, among others.

Causes of arithmophobia

Determining the causes that can give rise to an arithmophobia picture provides the possibility of preparing an adequate approach for each person in particular. At the following points, we will describe the main causes of arithmophobia.

Environmental factors

On the one hand, arithmophobia can occur because in the past the person has lived situations that generated stress and/or anxiety Numbers related. These experiences are stored in memory as memories that function as initial kick of the symptoms of arithmophobia.

On the other hand, it may happen that there is environment people suffering from arithmophobia. Here the imitation of behavior plays a fundamental role since the person can adopt a pattern of behavior by observing significant people of their surroundings.

Genetic factors

Although it has not yet been proven in its entirety, there are probabilities that arithmophobia is due to some Genetic alteration. For this reason, emotional reactions can be associated due to the type of neuronal connections carried out by the central nervous system. If you want to understand it better, in this article, we show you the parts and functions of the central nervous system.

Treatment of arithmophobia

If you wonder how to overcome arithmophobia, you should know that, at present, there are different ways to treat it. Next, we will see what are the main treatments indicated in cases of arithmophobia.

Psychological therapy

Since one of the causes of the emergence of the symptoms of arithmophobia are the past experiences, therapy can Help understand the reasons for which certain conflicts originate. From this perspective, two types of arithmophobia treatment can be performed:

• Of short duration: They are focused on problem solving in a limited period of sessions in which tools are provided that allow to face in a different way situations that generate stress and/or anxiety.
• Long lasting: They try to place the origin of the symptoms of arithmophobia that bother the person. This allows the patient to adopt other types of solutions in situations that generate a conflict in their daily lives.

If you have doubts about whether you need therapy or not, in article you will find information about how to know if I need psychological help.

Psychiatric medication

While the severity of the case should be considered, there are certain medications that act on the chemistry of the brain and They inhibit certain bodily reactions that cause discomfort to the person suffering from fear of numbers. However, drugs must be prescribed by a health professional who works together with a psychologist.

This article is merely informative, in psychology-online we have no power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.

If you want to read more articles similar to Aritmophobia: What is, symptoms, causes and treatment, We recommend that you enter our clinical psychology category.

1. American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-V), 5th Ed. Washington DC.