NANJING, Our staff reporter learned from Zhongda Hospital affiliated to Southeast University that the psychological clinic of the Neurology Department recently received a strange patient who had been afraid of summer for over ten years, forcing him to hide in a cold storage every day during the summer.
It is reported that 53-year-old Mr. Liu sought help at the hospital not long ago. According to his own description, more than ten years ago, while living in the countryside, he had a severe heatstroke experience. Since then, he has been extremely afraid of summer. When it gets hot, he begins to feel palpitations, chest tightness, and feels like he's about to suffocate. As a result, he cannot work normally and spends every summer hiding in a nearby cold storage, otherwise, he feels as if life is not worth living.
It is understood that conditions where an irrational intense fear or anxiety towards certain specific objects or situations arises, affecting one’s work, study, daily life, or social interactions, are known as phobic neuroses, commonly referred to as "phobias."
Psychologist Dr. Mou Xiaodong introduced that once people have fear towards specific environments, they should seek medical attention in time to avoid prolonging the disease course, which would lead to poorer prognosis. (Cui Yuyan)