Theory and practice: phobias and how to get rid of them

A rather rare but complex psychological condition, the main symptom of which is the fear of dolls, is called pediophobia. In this case, a person not only experiences discomfort at the sight of a toy that looks like a living creature, but begins to panic, which can lead to some more serious consequences.

This psychological illness belongs to automantophobia. This is a group of diseases in which a person experiences real horror when he sees figures or outlines similar to people. Pediophobia is directly related to dolls. These can be porcelain figurines, and modern toys, for example, the famous Barbie doll.

Many pediophobes experience a strong sense of fear when ventriloquists perform in front of them. Most people who live with this problem have had serious problems in their lives related to dolls. Most often, the disease begins to develop in childhood.

What is pediophobia

Pediophobia is the name given to the phobia of fear of dolls. Pediophobia is an irrational, panicky fear of dolls, mannequins, robots and any other humanoid dolls. This is a subtype of autotophobia - fear of wax dolls and other humanoid toys.

The name is derived from the Greek words paidion, which translates as “child”, and phobos, which means “fear”. The name was not chosen by chance: the similarity of the dolls to children is one of the reasons for fear. More precisely, it is not the resemblance itself that is frightening, but the associations with death. It seems like there is a person in front of you, but he is not alive. However, this is not the only reason for the development of pediophobia.

This is interesting! There is a specific type of pediophobia - glenophobia (fear of a doll's gaze). In this case, it seems to the person that the toy is constantly watching him.

What is the fear of dolls called?

The name of the phobia was formed by adding the ancient Greek words: “paidion” (child) and “fobos” (fear). As a result, the fear of dolls is called “pediophobia.” In psychiatry there is a disease with a very similar name - “pediaphobia”, or fear of children.

As doctors explain, pediophobia includes all cases of fear of an inanimate object imitating a living person. The subject of fear for a pediophobe is not only dolls. He is afraid of mannequins, robots stylized as humans, and wax figures of people.

Psychiatrists note that the basis of this mental disorder is childhood impressions, the fear that dead matter can come to life and cause harm.

Reasons for fear of dolls

The reasons for the development of fear of dolls, or what this disease says:

1. Psychotrauma with direct associations. For example, a child was frightened by the appearance of a doll, or a toy screamed in the dark. Or the child was shocked by a horror film about a doll. Or the child is very upset because he lost a toy. Or he was afraid that she would return for revenge. And another thing - there are a lot of options.
2. Psychotrauma with indirect associations. For example, a child was punished for a broken toy, or the child experienced some kind of negativity and at that moment concentrated his attention on the doll (she was in the room, “saw” everything, but did not help, or became a witness to his misconduct or secret). Or the child got lost during a mass celebration where there were life-size dolls, or in a shopping center full of mannequins.
3. Conflicting feelings. The dolls are very similar to living people, their gaze is so piercing, but at the same time empty. And in general, wax figures, for example, are very similar to people, but they don’t move or speak. As if they had died.
4. Suggestion, media influence. Evil dolls coming to life or demons possessing them is a favorite plot point in horror films. Annabelle and Chucky are the most popular representatives of this genre. Many people developed a fear of dolls after watching the movie Child's Play. What makes the situation worse is the fact that many films add the saying “Based on a true story.” This will be enough for a suspicious and suggestible person.
5. Fear of an uprising of clones or artificial people, robots. An unusual reason, but sometimes this happens. The pediophobe is afraid that by going against nature by creating man, society will doom itself to death and the project will get out of control.
6. Belief in mysticism and magic. Closely related to the influence of "based on a true story" horror films. Dolls are used for rituals, causing damage, attracting dark forces, etc.
7. Fear of illness, ugliness, etc. (associated with the distorted proportions of dolls). Big eyes, a small nose, long or short arms and much more subconsciously frighten a person.
8. Fear of pregnancy, children. If a person is afraid of baby dolls, then perhaps this is due to a reluctance to have children.

This is interesting! All children humanize dolls. It seems to them that they are pretending, but when night falls or when they are alone in the room, they come to life. Because of this, children are often afraid of offending the doll. And if they accidentally drop it, then they expect revenge, they are afraid to turn their back to the toy, to be alone with it. Sigmund Freud also wrote about the inability of the child’s psyche to distinguish reality from play. If fears are not worked through, then together with the child they move into adulthood.

Symptoms of fear of dolls

Symptoms of the disease manifest differently depending on the severity of the phobia in a particular person.

In a mild form, doll phobia manifests itself only slightly when confronted with an object of fear.

1. A person feels discomfort, general discomfort, restlessness, anxiety.
2. He may have minor symptoms of stress, such as a headache or stomach ache.

But in general, a person can successfully cope with fear on his own.

The presence of the disease is indicated when the symptoms when meeting the object of the phobia manifest themselves more seriously:

• anxiety increases to a state of panic;
• the person sweats a lot;
• his heart is beating wildly and intermittently;
• dry mouth appears;
• the throat “squeezes”, breathing becomes difficult;
• tremor of the limbs is felt, the body becomes weak and disobedient;
• the head is compressed by pain, dizziness appears;
• the pressure rises sharply, or vice versa, drops.

Note! The peak of a phobia can be a panic attack, when a person completely loses control over himself, can lose consciousness, fall into a hysterical state, etc. The patient, in the grip of strong horror, ceases to clearly understand what is happening and loses orientation in space. The opposite reaction of the psyche during a phobia is falling into a stupor, when a person is literally paralyzed with fear on the spot.

Typically, pediophobes experience serious difficulties in life. After all, there are children all around, and therefore dolls, shop windows with mannequins, images of toys with human faces are full of media pages and movie posters.

If left untreated, pediophobia can turn a person into a complete sociopath who only feels safe at home.

Phobia is also dangerous because prolonged stress has a depressing effect on all vital systems of the body, inevitably causing subsequently psychosomatic diseases.

Signs and symptoms of fear of dolls

Some pediophobes are afraid of all dolls, others are afraid of a specific type. For example, some people are only scared by jointed toys, some by baby dolls, others only by life-size or porcelain dolls, etc. One way or another, a person is frightened by contact with a doll. Some cannot withstand visual or tactile contact, and some cannot even be in the same room with the likeness of a person. Others avoid toy stores, theaters, mass celebrations with dolls and animators, and shopping centers.

Note! If we are not talking about dolls, but about clowns, then this is a separate phobia. The fear of clowns is called coulrophobia.

If a pediophobe fails to avoid contact with the object of fear, then a complex of somatic reactions is added to the psychological stress:

• nausea,
• vomit,
• chills,
• dizziness,
• headache,
• tremor,
• chest pain,
• breathing problems,
• arrhythmia,
• tachycardia,
• pre-fainting state.

A pediophobe may have a panic attack. At such moments, a person thinks that he will go crazy or die. In this state, a person poses a danger to himself and others. He can attack someone, destroy shelves with dolls or throw mannequins, etc.

Why are people afraid of dolls

In adults, fear of dolls arises for various reasons. Many consider the creation of a human likeness from artificial materials to be completely absurd. This is frightening, alarming, and causes mistrust. But such a reaction of rejection is rather natural and requires only a slight correction of behavior.

When inexplicable fear occurs at the sight of dolls and mannequins, when the patient is focused only on internal discomfort and does not imagine ways to calm down, this is a mental disorder. A pediophobe is convinced that he could have a heart attack, go crazy, or die. Painful symptoms appear even when remembering objects of fear.

Irrational fear of dolls causes changes in mental and physical state:

• disorientation;
• distortion of perception of reality;
• dizziness;
• visual impairment;
• hallucinations;
• hearing impairment;
• labored breathing;
• increased heart rate;
• tremor;
• problems with bowel movements and urination.

For emotional, impressionable people, the causes of pediophobia can be numerous horror films with animated dolls . You should categorically refuse to watch such “film masterpieces.” Films with the participation of “evil” dolls have a negative effect even on a healthy person.

Diagnosis of fear of dolls

There is no specific test for identifying pediophobia. You can suspect the presence of a phobia of fear of dolls based on the following signs:

• you are experiencing severe anxiety and want to escape from the room where the dolls are located;
• you feel uncomfortable in direct contact with the toy when you look at it;
• upon contact with a toy, you feel negative somatic changes (described in symptoms);
• when in contact with a toy, your speech and thoughts lose coherence, a vacuum appears in your head;
• The closer you are to the doll, the stronger the signs and symptoms and general discomfort.

There are two variants of the course of the phobia: a person is constantly anxious and lives in anticipation of contact with a doll; anxiety intensifies only with direct contact with the toy.

Causes of phobia

Such a harmless childhood fantasy easily turns into a phobia at the moment when the child has to endure psychological trauma. If he accidentally breaks the doll, then subconsciously he will perceive this fact as murder. The natural reaction in this situation would be to turn to parents, on whom it depends whether the game turns into a pathological fear or remains a game.

If a child has a trusting relationship with his parents, then the parents will be able to join in the gameplay. In such a situation, it would be appropriate to either repair the toy, or if repair is impossible, explain to him that he is more valuable to them than any doll in the world. If parents begin to scold a child for a broken toy, then he not only feels guilty for killing his friend, but may also begin to perceive any doll as dead. As a result, the child develops a pathological perception of dolls no longer as living ones, but as the living dead. He may also begin to fear that his toy will want revenge.

Another reason that can cause fear of dolls is the fear of artificially reproducing a human model. This fear probably goes back to the archetypal biblical prohibition of creating a homunculus, a human being made of clay, alive but without a soul. As a result, a person subconsciously fears that he will not be able to control the inanimate copy of a person and that it will definitely attack him.

How to get rid of the fear of dolls

The correction and rehabilitation plan depends on the root cause of the fear. Psychologists use hypnosis, psychoanalysis, cognitive behavioral psychotherapy, gestalt therapy, EMDR, gradual rapprochement techniques, and trainings (including auto-training methods). The goal of psychotherapy is to work through the trauma and convey to the client the irrationality of fear and develop new patterns of behavior.

It is important! In advanced stages, in the presence of complications, medication is indicated: tranquilizers, sedatives, antidepressants. They are available by prescription; the psychotherapist prescribes them strictly for a short period and in small doses.

How fear manifests itself

Fear of dolls can have very different and unexpected manifestations. Here are the most common symptoms:

• Avoidance. A person suffering from pediaphobia usually avoids the toy departments in the store. Tries not to visit playgrounds and other places where he might encounter dolls.
• Anxiety attack. When a person sees a doll, unpleasant stories associated with moments of the past are scrolled through a person’s head. The individual begins to fear their repetition.
• Stupor. If a person does not have a bright, violent temperament, contact with a doll can lead to numbness.
• Panic attack. At the sight of a doll, a person can become aggressive and uncontrollable. As a rule, leaving the visibility zone of the toy, the individual calms down.
• Deterioration in health. Contact with a frightening object may cause dizziness and nausea. In severe cases, the possibility of fainting and asthma attacks cannot be ruled out.