Do You Have Books Phobia?

If you get clammy hands, sweaty palms, and if you all of a sudden become terror-stricken when inside a library, or somewhere near books, more likely you are suffering from one of the rare types of phobias–bibliophobia or simply fear of books.

Most people who suffer from books phobia are those that have traumatic incidents in the past, of which its effects were not processed well for complete healing.

But more often than not this books phobia is only a subphobia of the main fear.

There are different kinds of subphobias. One is fear of poetry or metrophobia. Another subphobia is called mythophobia or fear of legends.
It’s not that difficult to identify a person who suffers from the symptoms of books phobia.

When a person with books phobia reads a book, he may experience crying spells, shaking, and excessive sweating while doing so. He also has troubles reading or even merely looking at a book, particularly if he is forced or encouraged to do so.

He also tends to do outrageous things when he is about to read. He may hide at the back part of the classroom or go home straight, merely to avoid reading.

It is said that most sufferers of books phobia are those people who are characterized as high-strung, has adrenal deficiency, or has the general tendency toward fear and anxiety. People exhibit different symptoms of bibliophobia.

The common signs of it are profuse sweating, fear of dying, shortness of breath, fast heartbeat, nausea, vomiting, loneliness, dizziness, inability to think clearly, mouth dryness, and being aloof from the situation.

Treatment through medication is not advisable for people with bibliophobia. Drugs can only reduce and control the symptoms but not the root cause.

The most important treatment procedure that any person with books phobias should undergo is therapy. There are cases when patients with books phobia were treated in 24 hours’ time, given the condition that they found an accurate method for their kind of bibliophobia.

Most people believe, out of fictional books they read, that patients who are suffering from a certain phobia should be given the chance to face their fear.

This strategy does not work well with a person who has books phobia. Compelling a person to face his phobia can make his condition worse as it already is.

It would be more helpful to support the patient emotionally until the acceptance stage. Only then can he start on proper treatment.