Astraphobia, The Fear of Storms
A concerned blog reader wrote in yesterday to ask what one can do if one is unusually afraid of storms. Wikipedia defines Astraphobia as the fear of thunder and lightning.
This site, which claims to have a treatment program for those suffering from the fear, lists Astrapophobia, Brontophobia, Keraunophobia, Ceraunophobia, Tonitrophobia as synonyms.
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The truth is, I think everyone is afraid of thunderstorms at some level, even severe weather enthusiasts, meteorologists and even storm chasers. And for good reason. Thunder is loud and frightening; lightning is dangerous and can strike more than 10 miles outside of a thunderstorm. The NWS Lightning Safety Program website says:
The good news is that if you're inside a building, you're often safe from lightning. You can read more about treatment for Astraphobia on Google, but there isn't a lot of information out there. Wikipedia points out that people often isolate themselves from the storm in a room without windows, however, I'm not sure how well that would work because without the lightning to predict it, the thunder could still be quite loud and jarring (lightning always precedes thunder).
An obvious cure is to live somewhere where thunderstorms don't occur, but that's not always an option. Statistically, the area with the least amount of thunderstorms in the continental U.S. is central coastal California (though they have had their share this winter).
One thing that I always tell my daughter:
"Once you hear the thunder, that means the lightning is over and you're fine." (Repeat 100 times during a storm).
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