Could Wallonaphobia be an actual thing? Let’s find out why anyone should have such fears. Walloons generally consider it an irrational fear.
The Walloons are just a group of people who speak French, live in the neighboring region of France, or live in the southern or eastern part of Belgium.
We understand that communication is essential, and language is integral to conversations.
However, not everyone will learn more than one language or feel comfortable with others who speak a different language.
What is Walloonphobia
As we discussed above, Walloonphobia is basically an irrational fear for people who speak French or for people who live around France or reside in Belgium. These people are known as Wallonia.
Walloonphobia doesn’t just end at being a mere phobia; those who suffer from this particular fear can experience severe anxiety just by thinking of people with these characteristics.
There have been cases of people who endured a full panic attack just by thinking of people who speak the French language. Although it’s not always the case with everyone, the possibility of it occurring is not inevitable.
Anyone with this phobia usually experiences the following: increased heart rate, increased breathing rate, trembling, excessive sweating, blood pressure, muscle tension, and many more.
Usually, people with the phobia go through a lot to avoid that which is the cause of their pains and fears; most times, it’s not just avoiding a Wallonia, but also taking premeditative precautious plans to ensure they never come in contact.
For example, someone with this type of phobia might ensure they never go anywhere near Belgium or its surroundings, and this usually leads to mental anguish.
But in many cases, this is usually not the best way to deal with the problem, as doing so may worsen their problem in the long run because they would only justify their fear towards the Wallonia by actively avoiding them.
Signs and Symptoms of Walloonphobia
Anxiety is a prevalent symptom in a lot of phobias, and Walloonphobia is not an exception.
Just like was discussed earlier, some cases might lead to full-blown panic attacks, and this might be so severe that it might, in turn, get them hospitalized, though this would vary from person to person and would depend on a lot of factors.
Below is a list of some of the most common symptoms of the Walloonphobia
- Constantly avoiding the Walloons
- Being unable to cope with the anxiety of the Walloons
- Excessive anxiety when thinking of the Walloons
- Muscle tension, shakiness, and unending sweating
- Panic attack episodes due to the Walloon
Causes of Walloonphobia
Technically, there are no definite causes for Walloonphobia. Nonetheless, the environment and genetic structure can greatly determine whether a person suffers from the disorder.
If a family has a history of mental illness, then it’s very likely that people from that family could develop Walloonphobia.
If someone was born from such a genetic strand, then all that might be needed to trigger the phobia is some traumatic experience for them to develop Walloonphobia.
Any painful experience related to the Walloon is enough to produce the phobia as long as he or she has the corresponding genetics.
As in the first paragraph, there are no definite causes for Walloonphobia, as we do not know the exact cause.
However, among professional mental health practitioners, the consensus is that genetics and environmental factors play a very significant role in all kinds of mental disorders.
So, we advise you to examine these two closely to determine what steps you would take to curb the disorder.
Treatments of Walloonphobia
Clinically, some article sees Walloonphobia less as a clinical illness and more as a prejudice, like Xenophobia or homophobia, and just as there aren’t really any definite causes of the disorder, there is also no sure treatment for it.
But regardless, countless ways or procedures have been claimed to treat this disorder. These include exposure therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, and psychiatric medications.
Exposure Therapy
This is the most convenient way of tackling various forms of phobia. Exposure therapy is a form of introducing people suffering from multiple phobias to their fears.
Many mental disorder professionals adopt this mode of treatment to help treat phobias and anxiety.
In the case of walloonphobia, the patient might be shown pictures of French or Belgian territory; after some time, the specialist might introduce them to videos that show not only the French or Belgian region but also someone who speaks French.
This method is introduced to help disordered patients get over their fear of a particular thing, as the more they get exposed to what they are afraid of, the less scared they would be.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy CBT
Like exposure therapy, CBT is also a conventional treatment for various disorders, which most times works for generalized anxiety disorder (GED) or obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).
Aside from these disorders, CBT is also said to be an excellent treatment for Walloonphobia.
Usually, the therapist takes sessions to interact with the patient. While interacting, the therapist would try to ask the patient suffering from this illness why he or she always feels that particular anxiety about that particular thing or person.
This would, in turn, help the patient take a more pragmatic approach to thinking about their fear.
If you are experiencing some of the symptoms above, we would advise you to see a specialist.
