pyrophobia, also known as arsonphobia, is an irrational fear of fire, beyond what is considered normal. this phobia is ancient and primordial, perhaps since mankind's discovery of fire. ==causes== the most common cause of pyrophobia is that fire poses a potential danger, such as house fire, wildfire, and getting caught on fire. some people who are intensely pyrophobic cannot even get close to or tolerate even a small controlled fire, such as fireplace, bonfire or lit candle. another cause of pyrophobia is a bad childhood experience, like getting burned. ==symptoms== if a pyrophobe sees fire, the person may sweat, suffers dizziness or upset stomach. person with severe pyrophobia who sees fire may panic and suffers from fast breathing, irregular heartbeat, shortness of breath, nausea, dry mouth, dread, feeling trapped, tremble, or faint when in the vicinity of fire. people may even suffer panic attack when seeing fires through the media, like in theaters or on television. ==treatment== exposure therapy is the most common way to treat pyrophobia. this method involves showing patient fire in order of increasing size, from lit cigarette up to stove or grill flame. another method of treatment is talk therapy, in which a patient tells a therapist about the cause of this fear, and then calming down the patient by not be afraid of controlled fire. people can relieve pyrophobia by interacting with other pyrophobes to share their experiences that caused fear. alternatively, pyrophobia can be treated using hypnosis. medication can also be used to treat pyrophobic people, although since it has side effects, the method is not highly recommended. ==see also== *list of phobias ==references== 
Fire Phobias