What is “neophobia”?
Despite the fact that a modern person has many opportunities to gain new experience in those areas that are of greatest interest to him, he often experiences fear, which may indicate neophobia. This phenomenon is observed in both women and men of all ages, regardless of social status. In order to feel the fullness of life, approaching unknown, but desirable events, one should understand the causes of pathological fear and overcome it.
Key characteristics of neophobia that have a negative impact
Neophobia refers to the fear of everything new, which is expressed in the excessive fear of change, previously unknown situations, strangers. In a mild form, such a problem does not cause severe discomfort and you can even get along with it, but in a severe case, neophobia greatly impairs the quality of life. At the same time, the fear of coming face to face with something new can have completely different manifestations, but a person will definitely need to think about the presence of such a problem if he:
– Prefer to stay in a toxic relationship or experience an unhappy marriage;
– Continues to go to work that does not bring proper emotional satisfaction;
– Is limited to friendship with specific people, flatly refusing to get involved in the search for new acquaintances;
– Desires to stick to a certain set of interests, rejecting other unexplored things in life;
– Follows a list of places visited and tends to return there again, avoiding visiting new territories.
The complete rejection of opportunities that can bring significant benefits, improving the quality of life, is a characteristic sign of neophobia. At the same time, a person with such a psychological problem always shows irritation, taking a defensive position when other people make a proposal to revise stable beliefs.
Varieties of neophobia and its causes
Both in a moderate form and in a severe stage, fear of a new life experience can be presented in different forms. The most common types of problems are situations in which a person inevitably misses out on excellent chances to improve their standard of living.
1. In the case of ideophobia , there is ardent resistance to fresh ideas that carry the possibility of improving the future.
2. With technophobia, there is a dislike for all kinds of elements of advanced technologies.
3. Epistemophobia is an exaggerated fear of unknown information.
4. Food phobia, often found in children, is expressed in the categorical refusal of food that has not been tried before.
5. During futurophobia , there is a strong anxiety about a vague future.
6. Ergasiophobia implies an abnormal avoidance of finding a job.
7. Anthropophobia is a pathological fear of making acquaintances, expanding the circle of friends.
Often in the modern world there is a fear of advanced vaccinations, vaccines. Hostility to youth cultures is also considered one of the subspecies of neophobia. The triggers leading to the development of a problem that can develop into a real psychological illness are factors such as:
– anxiety about the unknown;
– fear of defeat;
– self-condemnation;
– panic in front of society’s assessments;
– fear of death.
Instead of a happy anticipation of changes that can improve life, a person becomes immobilized by a stream of negative experiences.
Symptoms and troubleshooting
Neophobia is usually classified as an anxiety disorder, which is why the patient may experience a whole bunch of symptoms that indicate the presence of a psychological problem. Often signs of malfunctions in the nervous system are:
– hot flashes, sudden chills;
– difficulty breathing;
– numbness of the limbs, tingling in the body;
– the presence of ringing in the ears;
– feeling of hopelessness;
– inability to concentrate;
– severe mood swings.
It is quite possible to overcome the problem that prevents you from living a full life if you focus on planning your own future and take responsibility for your subsequent actions. Staying conscious and not having false expectations will be helpful guides along the way to moving towards the goal. In the event that it is difficult to implement a plan to get rid of neophobia on your own, you can seek help from a psychologist who will definitely point you in the right direction by developing an effective plan from a professional point of view. Such steps are guaranteed to help everyone move forward without unnecessary worries and rash actions, achieving positive results.