If you have stopped eating fish for fear of anisakis, throw away yogurt that is one day past its expiration date, or never keep what you have cooked in a container in the fridge, it is likely that you suffer from cibophobia. This eating disorder, despite being somewhat unknown, is likely to be one of the most widespread. Cibophobia is the fear of food or certain foods because of the effects it can cause in the body.
This anxiety disorder has two main aspects. There may be a fear in the patient of deteriorating her aesthetic appearance by eating food, which may be linked to other disorders such as anorexia or bulimia. On the other hand, there is the obsession with the risk of contracting diseases due to the consumption of foods that contain toxins or germs.
Cibophobia can originate from negative experiences associated with other diseases such as intestinal ischemia or suffering from allergies or food poisoning. Like other phobic disorders, it can also have its origin in vicarious conditioning, that is, the adoption of behaviors that are learned by observation in familiar environments.
Among the signs that identify a patient with this behavior, is the habit of reading the labels of all products to find out their ingredients and their expiration date. Cybophobic people do not usually eat anything that they have not cooked and they keep a strict measurement of the nutrients or fats that their intakes contain. In extreme cases, these people avoid consuming food even though it is beneficial for their health or eliminate foods such as fish, eggs or sauces due to the irrational fear of intoxication.
Patients cannot control their fears, even though they are aware of their disorder. Cibophobia can cause anguish, extreme worry, and changes in behavior, precisely by avoiding negative stimuli associated with food at all costs. On the physiological level, some symptoms are excessive sweating, dizziness, tremors or tachycardia.
Cognitive behavioral therapy is an effective treatment for cibophobia. Specifically, the cognitive desensitization technique helps the patient gradually face the stimuli that cause this irrational fear of food. On the other hand, it is vital to teach the patient relaxation techniques that help control anxiety, so mindfulness or hypnotherapy are also used in the treatment of this phobia.
