And the afraid of laughter, both their own and that of others. Like all phobias, the fear is irrational, and the body responds with changes such as dizziness, palpitations, nausea and sweating, causing discomfort. The cause is still unknown, but there are a few theories about what triggers the condition, including childhood trauma It is fear transfer from parent to child. It is also believed that the phobia can appear “out of the blue”, for no apparent reason. “A person who has geliophobia will avoid everything or almost everything that puts them in contact with their fear”, says psychologist Sandra Giordani. The indicated treatment is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, which consists of exposing the patient, live or in imagination, to his fear, so that he can confront it.
SOURCES Book Igor’s Dictionary of Phobiasby Igor Rafailov, and website PsycheWeb
CONSULTANCY Sandra Giordani, psychologist