What is halitophobia and how to get over it
Halitophobia (also known as delusional halitosis) is the fear of having halitosis (bad breath). People who have halitophobia often worry excessively about their breath. They may have some halitosis or none at all, but usually their breath is not as bad as they believe it is.
How many people suffer from halitophobia
Most people are at least slightly concerned about how their breath smells, so it is reasonable to say that most people have halitophobia to varying degrees. Severe halitophobia is uncommon; estimates suggest that fewer than 1% of adults suffer from it. Halitophobia is severe when the fear of having bad breath causes social anxiety, depression, withdrawal, and similar problems.
Dentists have estimated that up to 25% of the people who consult them about halitosis are actually suffering from halitophobia.
Causes
Emotional Trauma
Halitophobia often develops quite innocently, through a remark from someone who lets a person know they have a bad breath problem. The person then becomes paranoid about their breath, to the point that it affects their everyday life.
Culture and Society
We are constantly bombarded with advertising that tells us we need this mouthwash, those mints, that chewing gum, and these toothbrushes and toothpastes to get rid of bad breath. As a result, we are frequently reminded about our own breath and how others might not like it.
Difficulty of detecting your own bad breath
Although there are various methods for how to smell your own breath, it is still very difficult to do. Not knowing for sure whether one’s breath smells bad at any given time fuels the anxiety of people suffering from halitophobia and can lead to OCD-like symptoms.
Stemming from another condition
Halitophobia may stem from other conditions a person has, such as delusional disorder, hypochondria, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), and olfactory reference syndrome. If you have any of these disorders, you might be more susceptible to halitophobia.
Effects
The effects of halitophobia can range from something small, like turning your head away when someone gets too close to your face, to severe effects such as depression and even suicide. Here is a list of possible effects:
- It can destroy your personal life and your confidence
- Social anxiety
- Withdrawal from social situations
- Lack of vocal projection when speaking or not speaking at all
- Anxiety of being close to others and physical affection
- Constant gum chewing / mint sucking
- Refusal to eat certain foods
- Living in fear of offending people with their bad breath
- Excessive teeth brushing
How to know if you have it
If you experience some of the effects listed above, you may have halitophobia. If you are concerned about your breath much of the time and it affects your life negatively, then you suffer from it.
You may also have halitophobia if you go to a doctor who tells you there is no problem, but you still believe you have halitosis.
How to treat it
Get rid of bad breath - The most effective way to treat a fear of having bad breath is to get rid of the bad breath itself. Bad breath is undesirable and affects others, so instead of just trying to get rid of your fear, it is better to get rid of the bad breath. Halitophobia can actually be useful, because it gives you the motivation to practice better oral health care. If you have fresh breath most of the time and know it, your fear of having bad breath will affect you less. Better oral health care is not simply a matter of brushing or flossing more. If you have poor technique and brush too often or too vigorously, you may do more harm than good. You need to do it right; click here to learn how.
Once you have visited the dentist and are taking good care of your teeth, relax and don’t let halitophobia affect you so much. Live your life, and if you do offend someone with temporary bad breath, it is not a big deal — everyone has bad breath at one time or another.
Ask others about your breath - If you know you are doing all you can to have fresh breath but still have halitophobia that affects you negatively, it might help to get opinions from others. Ask them directly whether they think you have a problem with bad breath. Listen to the people you trust; if you are consistently being told you don’t have bad breath, relax and believe them. If you need to, you can even get a dentist’s opinion about it.
You are not alone - It is important to know that everyone suffers from halitosis at one time or another, and most people have halitophobia to some degree. If you want a support system, talk with others about how you feel; you might be surprised to find that they go through the same things. For even more support, there are groups such as Halitophobics Anonymous.