Introduction
Newton’s third law of motion says, ”For every action, there must be an equal and opposite reaction”. By looking for this law in other spheres of life, we find that for every like, there is a dislike and for every love, there is hate.
So what is the opposite of a pluviophile? What even is a pluviophile? What is an ombrophobe? You’ll find the answers to all of these questions in this article!
What are pluviophiles?
In a nutshell, pluviophiles are people who really love rain. These people love rain so much that they’d rather spend time listening to the rain pitter patter than listen to another person talk! The rain brings them plenty of comfort and peace. It makes them truly happy from within.
What Is a Person Who Hates Rain Called?
If you’re wondering what the opposite of pluviophile is, then the answer is ombrophobe. You probably know this person; as soon as it starts raining, they make a weird face and scrunch their nose. The rain and clouds make them feel trapped inside their house and the mud disgusts them.
Apart from just hating the rain, they may also fear it! These people who hate/fear rain are called ombrophobes. Ombrophobia is the extreme, irrational fear of rain. People with ombrophobia will go to great extents to avoid any exposure to or contact with rain.
Ombrophobia – Extreme Fear Of Rain
The word ombrophobia was actually coined for plants! Julius Wiesner, a botanist in the 19th century came up with this term to describe plants that cannot handle too much rain. This word has now also been added to the common lingo for people who hate or fear the rain.
It is a type of anxiety disorder. Anxiety disorders are fear-related disorders that are so extreme that they interfere with the daily life and activities of the person involved.
Any dripping water, or clouds could send them
Ombrophobes could have many reasons to fear the rain. They could have never gotten over their childhood fear of thunder and lightning. Somewhere in their mind, ombrophobia is possibly linked to fear of more enormous thunderstorms and lightning (astraphobia).
In other cases, the fear of a possible flood or catastrophe might fill these people with anxiety. The possibility of nasty germs in the rain could also be a factor, alongside the rain being harmful acid rain!
Another reason why someone might develop ombrophobia is because of a deeply painful or traumatic event that could have happened to them while it was raining.
It could be that after that event, whenever they hear raindrops falling, see gray clouds or smell the scent of rain, they could be transported right back into that moment. The rain is possibly connected to their PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder).
In extreme cases, an ombrophobe could have their day sent into an anxious frenzy just by hearing a running shower or a leaky faucet!
How can someone stop fearing rain?
Thankfully, ombrophobia doesn’t have to be a permanent sentence. Fortunately, there are a few ways through which a licensed counselor can help someone with their rain fear issues.
Some of these include; CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy), which is a talk therapy that helps alleviate people’s symptoms by modifying their thinking patterns and changing their behavior. Alongside CBT, exposure therapy has helped many people with various phobias.
In exposure therapy, a counselor slowly exposes the person to the object, situation or thing they have a phobia of. In the case of spiders, for example, it may start with showing them a picture of a spider, then slowly moving on to being in the same room as one.
The idea behind exposure therapy is to convince the person that their fear is irrational and they aren’t actually under any harm by slowly increasing the frequency and closeness between the person and what they have a phobia of in a controlled environment.
However, if the person needs an instant solution and trying a long-term therapy is out of the question, then taking anti-anxiety meds, learning stress management techniques, meditating and practicing deep breathing techniques during a stressful storm would definitely help out a lot!
To help someone that has developed ombrophobia through trauma or deep emotional loss while it was raining, a counselor could have to break the connection they’ve formed between rain and the event, helping them fall in love with rain again and eventually heal from the trauma.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the answer to the question, “What is the opposite of pluviophile?” is an ombrophobe. If pluviophiles are people who love rain, ombrophobes are people who hate or fear it deeply. We hope this article answered your questions on people who fear rain, why they hate it, what ombrophobia even is and how they can be helped.
