Introduction

‘Rain, rain go away,

Come again another day.’

To some, this nursery rhyme brings back fond childhood memories - but for others, it can trigger significantly high levels of fear (phobia). The condition of being afraid of rain is known as ombrophobia. This article will discuss the causes, symptoms, and diagnostic pathway for ombrophobia, as well as the strategies that can be used to manage and treat it. 

What causes ombrophobia?

There are two main types of phobias:^1,2

1. Social phobias (or social anxiety): the long-term and extreme fear of social situations 
2. Specific phobias: the fear of a specific object or situation

Ombrophobia is a specific phobia related to the natural environment. One study stated that about 2-3% of the general population has a fear of rain, with the phobia being most common in children and teenagers.¹ It is unclear what causes ombrophobia, but there are a lot of theories on how specific phobias arise. For example, one study found that in general, specific phobias can be established by experiential-specific phobia or nonexperiential-specific phobia.³ 

Experiential-specific phobia

If a person has a frightening experience associated with rain, they may develop ombrophobia. For example, witnessing natural disasters in the news or physically having a traumatic experience surviving a terrible storm or flood can make a person ombrophobic. This can lead to avoidance behaviour, in which an individual will persist to avoid being in a situation in which they are in the presence of rain.³

Nonexperiential-specific phobia

The term ‘nonexperiential-specific phobia’ refers to when an individual has a fear of rain prior to or without experiencing a fear-inducing experience of rain. These nonexperiential phobias can be due to genetic, familial, environmental, or developmental factors.³ For example, this study explains that some people may have a fear of rain due to their genetic composition. These nonexperiential phobias exist because, throughout history, rain might have been associated with floods and landslides. This in turn could have caused humans to turn to a self-defence mode when dealing with tumultuous rainy weather. However, those who take this to the extreme may become ombrophobic and pass their condition down to the next generation.¹

Symptoms of ombrophobia

Each individual with ombrophobia experiences different symptoms when they think about or come into contact with rain. These symptoms can be split into two main groups: physical and psychological symptoms.¹

Physical symptoms

• Sleeplessness
• Restlessness
• Trembling 
• Palpitations (abnormally fast beating of the heart)
• Sweating
• Chest pain
• Nausea
• Dizziness
• Fainting
• Feeling numb
• Panic attacks

Psychological symptoms

• Thoughts of being drowned in rainwater
• An irrational, persistent, and extreme fear of rain
• Anxiously monitoring weather forecasts 
• Avoidance of outdoors during rainy days

Overall, it is best to speak to medical professionals if you are experiencing any of the symptoms mentioned above.  

Diagnosis of ombrophobia

There are no tests to diagnose ombrophobia. Generally, medical professionals can diagnose individuals with ombrophobia after discussing:^4,5

• The fear of rain itself and what strategies have been taken to avoid rain.
• How long it has been happening? 
• Whether you experience heightened distress or functional impairment to your daily life and well-being.

Treatment management of ombrophobia

A small minority of individuals with specific phobias undergo treatment.^4,5 The severity of ombrophobia varies between individuals and thus should be discussed with medical professionals. Although treatments are dependent on the individual, the most important reason for treatment is to address and tackle what was discussed during the diagnosis stage of this specific phobia. 

This means that effective treatment will involve:

• Reducing the level of fear towards rain
• Decrease avoidance of rain
• Deflate distress, anxiety and impairment to daily activities 

Hence, there are different ways to treat ombrophobia including:

Exposure therapy

Exposure therapy, also known as desensitisation, is often the first choice of treatment for specific phobias as it allows sufferers to confront their fears gradually.^4,5 Your therapist will design your treatment plan specifically for you and discuss in advance what steps will be taken to treat you. Your therapist will also ensure that you are in a controlled and safe environment. 

The goal of exposure therapy is to reduce your symptoms and level of fear by repeatedly exposing you to your trigger. In the case of ombrophobia, this will involve gradually being exposed to rain to learn how to manage your reactions and thoughts towards being in the presence of rain. 

Patients are taught several relaxation techniques to help them control and cope with being exposed to rain, such as:⁶ 

• Controlled breathing exercises 
• Mental visualisations
• Progressive muscle relaxation: individuals can be taught how to tense and release specific muscles to use this as a relaxation method to cope when experiencing symptoms related to their phobias
• Meditation
• Exercise, such as yoga 

Cognitive-behavioural therapy

Cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT) is a type of psychotherapy used to help a person identify their triggers and adapt their psychological and physical responses to them. This normally involves discussing the cause of their phobia and how they can change their thoughts and behaviours concerning rain. Finally, patients will be taught how to put patterns into practice to help them remember the positive outlooks discussed.⁷ CBT can be used as an independent treatment for ombrophobia but is more effective when used in conjunction with exposure therapy.⁵

Hypnotherapy

Hypnotherapy or hypnosis is an alternative method used to treat those with ombrophobia. This involves being in a state of deep relaxation which gives access to subconscious beliefs, thoughts and memories.^4,5 A person under hypnotherapy is more open to suggestions and changes to beliefs, thoughts, or memories. For those with ombrophobia, being in a state of deep relaxation might help change their views of rain by implementing a new belief system and/or convincing individuals that they are less (or not at all) afraid of rain or not at all. This new belief system, in turn, can be effective if they are convinced the fear of rain is eliminated while in a hypnotic state.

Pharmacotherapy

Pharmacotherapy is not commonly used to treat specific phobias, as it has been shown to be ineffective for treatment in comparison to behavioural therapies and psychotherapies such as exposure therapy. However, it can be used to help manage or cope with specific phobias.^4,5 There are several antidepressant and antianxiety medications that can be used to decrease depression, anxiety, and even some of the physical symptoms linked to ombrophobia. More research is required to understand the use of drugs to treat specific phobias.^1,5

Summary

• Ombrophobia is an extreme fear of rain. Fear of rain can arise due to a traumatic experience, but research has shown that other causes of ombrophobia could involve genetic, familial, environmental, or developmental factors. 
• Ombrophobia is most common in children and teenagers, but it can affect anyone at any point in their lifetime. Extreme fear of rain can cause several physiological and physical symptoms detrimental to your daily life. 
• Although there is no concrete method for diagnosing an individual with ombrophobia, it is advised that you seek medical professional help to discuss and analyse your psychological and physical fear of rain. 
• A minority of people with specific phobias seek help or even undergo treatment.
• Exposure therapy is most commonly used to treat specific phobias to confront fears gradually. 
• There is a need for more awareness to understand specific phobias. This, in turn, will also help medical professionals find more effective ways of diagnosing and treating those with specific phobias like ombrophobia.

FAQs

What other fears are related to ombrophobia?

• Ancraophobia: fear of the wind
• Anglophobia: fear of flooding
• Aquaphobia: fear of drowning
• Astraphobia: fear of lightning and thunderstorms
• Chionophobia: fear of snow
• Cryophobia: fear of the cold
• Neophophobia: fear of clouds
• Lilapsophobia: fear of hurricanes
• Homichlophobia: fear of fog.
• Pluviophobia: fear of weather related to rain, including storms, wind, thunder, and lightning

And sometimes those with ombrophobia can also experience several of these weather-related phobias at the same time or at different moments in their lifetime.¹