Anthophobia

Anthophobia (Greek: anthos for flower , phobos for fear ) describes the pathological fear of flowers. Affected people avoid flowers, their components and places where flowers are present.

Emergence

One possible cause of the development of anthophobia is an allergy to one or more types of flowers. Since those affected strive to avoid an allergic reaction, they usually try to avoid contact with the respective plant. In some cases it can happen that those affected also apply this behavior to other plants and this can lead to a phobia.

Another potential cause of illness are other phobias. For example, a fear of bees or other insects ( acarophobia ) can induce those affected to also develop a fear of flowers, which could contain insects.

Symptoms

Possible symptoms of anthophobia are:

• Irrational fear of flowers
• Feeling afraid / frightened
• Increased heart rate
• dizziness
• Tremble
• Shortness of breath
• Panic attacks
• Dry mouth
• Inability to speak / think clearly

treatment

Although there are no medications for the disease per se, symptoms can be treated with medication or relaxation techniques.

Possible treatments for the phobia would be:

• psychotherapy
• Cognitive behavioral therapy
• Behavior therapy (e.g. exposure therapy )

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Lisa Fritscher: What Is the Fear of Flowers? phobias.about.com, August 2, 2012; accessed August 22, 2013.
2. ^ Symptoms of Anthophobia . rightdiagnosis.com; accessed August 22, 2013.
3. ↑ Antophobia . allaboutcounseling.com; accessed August 22, 2013.
4. ↑ What Is Anthophobia? wisegeek.com; accessed August 22, 2013.

This article is about a health issue. It is not used for self-diagnosis and does not replace a diagnosis by a doctor. Please note the information on health issues !