Autophobia: signs and methods of struggle

Autophobia is a fairly common mental disorder today. It is based on obsessive fear of being alone. Obsessive thoughts about the need for a human society and an anxious state without people are experienced extremely hard.

Autophobia is characterized by anxiety, panic and discomfort while being alone or thinking about being alone. Phobic disorder is considered a serious problem, however, with timely treatment you can cope with it. The disease is dangerous not only obsessive anxiety, but also the risk of self-harm. According to statistics, the largest number of people who committed suicide is among the autophobes.

For many people, being alone with yourself is a delight - it allows you to take a break from the fast pace of life and city life, put your thoughts in order, make an informed important decision or, on the contrary, allow yourself to switch to pleasant hobbies. However, for others, loneliness brings discomfort. The problem is called phobia only in its extreme degree: if you just love noisy companies and miss people, this is not a pathology.

Fear of loneliness is often formed when a person is just thrown out of the social circle. Then he feels the danger of opposing himself to the majority. Loneliness causes the patient discomfort, because he does not feel self-confidence, but feels his dependence on others. Besides, such a phobia is supported by the natural desire of a person to be a part of any society.

It is very hard for autophobia in older people who feel left behind in life. Often, a phobia is formed in adolescents during the crisis of maturity: at a young age it is very important to be part of a certain social circle and establish oneself in society, and the non-acceptance of one's peers can be the beginning of a serious illness. Sometimes a phobia is formed from childhood, and in some situations it can also form in adulthood: everything will depend on the specific circumstances.

Often a phobia is formed in the first years of life, when we have a fear of being abandoned by our parents. Also, autophobia often occurs after a painful break with your loved ones: this happens in both women and men, most often in the age after 30 years. It is very difficult even for specialists to accurately determine why a particular individual became an autophobe, because in real life we ​​are affected by a combination of many factors.

But still there is an opportunity to find the most likely and basic reasons.

• Lack of support at an early age by adults. Parents often leave their children for a long time, relatives rarely talk with the child, he does not attend kindergarten and is deprived of communication with other children, the child is often threatened to leave him if he is naughty, ignore children's fears and tears. Such a distant education can lead to a phobia of solitude - social deprivation and a sense of vulnerability without parents increase the risk of panic rejection of one’s own loneliness.
• In childhood, adults around pay little attention to education., do not teach a son or daughter to stand for themselves, do not try to develop him intellectually and do not instill useful hobbies. From this, the child does not feel full-fledged, confident, he has few interests. In the future, this leads to a painful dependence on others.
• The little ones were often threatened to be left alone., throw on the street or give to strangers. So it is impossible to interact with the child, because it is precisely such threats that give rise to a phobia.
• Connectivity with unfavorable companies in teen years can also develop autophobia. This happens when a teenager is hardly accepted into that society, of which he wants to be a part. Thus a painful fear of rejection is formed.
• Teen crisis proceeding hard, the lack of an understanding companion can also be the causes of autophobia. Inability to share feelings with anyone is a serious psychological problem that leads to mental illness.
• Fear in an adult does not have time to start a family and have children - This is a common cause of the formation of autophobia in adulthood. For each person this age is different, but fear becomes the most obsessive after 30 years. It is especially difficult when it happens when relatives and acquaintances aggravate the situation.
• Dangerous and intimacy with unreliable people are dangerous. A person becomes dependent on them, but does not find mutual love and understanding. From this also arises panic fear of being completely without relatives. Systematic failures in love often precede autophobia, and failures themselves often arise precisely because the individual does not know how to choose the “right” people.
• Confrontation with the death of a loved one - Another frequent possible cause that leads to autophobia. The individual is aware of how fragile relationships with loved ones are and how short our lives are, he is afraid that loved ones can be lost very easily.
• Low self-esteem, communication difficulties, shyness also lead to a phobia of any solitude. Congenital predisposition in this case is combined with unfavorable accidents, which can easily be a trigger for the initiation of autophobia.
• Love failure extremely difficult and unexpected rupture, betrayal of a loved one - these are frequent causes of a dangerous phobia in both the fair sex and men at any age. If the separation is experienced very hard, sometimes it is necessary to seek help from a psychologist to avoid unpleasant consequences.
• For people who are prone to reflection, Even unpleasant memories of loneliness can provoke autophobia. Perhaps a person fell into a difficult situation in which he was alone with himself, and now the absence of people around him is associated with negative things.
• Rich life and huge employment of the person in our time (this is especially distinguished by large cities) can also become a problem. People simply do not have time for relationships and full-fledged communication, they are constantly in society, but they feel alone at the same time, because they cannot build a close connection with anyone.

It should be understood that since many factors affect a person from all sides, one reason is extremely difficult to establish: factors overlap one another and act together. An experienced psychologist can help identify the most significant cause and get rid of the disease, because each case is always individual.

Obsessive fear is a very unpleasant feeling that significantly reduces the quality of life. If this is a minor concern or a one-time panic attack, it’s too early to speak about the disease: The disorder is extremely systematic and comprehensive. However, a phobia can be very invisible, so that in some cases it is not possible to identify it on your own.

Symptoms of autophobia are as follows.

1. Inability to make decisions self-distrust, insecurity characterizes this disease. Such an individual feels constant and serious difficulties in adapting to the world, so all the time he is looking for support and approval from third parties. Fear of privacy, responsibility and independence - these are important and unpleasant problems that can characterize autophobia.
2. Strong desire to be part of any group. also characterizes the pathology. The patient painfully wants to feel a bit of society.
3. Attempts to concede to others in everything and at all costs to keep them testify to a strong fear of being left without these people. In the extreme, there is nothing good about it.
4. Panic attacks also characterize autophobia. This is another alarming signal that clearly demonstrates an obsessive and unconscious fear of loneliness. Panic in a patient occurs at the time of parting with people. Sometimes even the inability to contact a person via mobile communication gives rise to an attack.
5. Illogical behavior in relationships with others. Patients from the outside may seem very unintelligible in the matter of choosing their half. They tend to start short and non-binding relationships, can very quickly and thoughtlessly decide to marry. The main goal of autophobia is not to be left alone and not to be abandoned.

Fear is characterized by discomfort, panic, and sometimes can also manifest itself on the physical level. Rapid breathing, trembling, heart palpitations, pain, sweating - all this can be expressed in autophobia.

Autophobic mental disorder quite successfully may be amenable to qualified treatment. With the right approach and with the help of professionals, a person is able to get rid of the problem, start a life without daily stress.

How to deal with the disease? Self-treatment is better to leave, so as not to aggravate the situation. To win the disease will help literate and professional psychologists or psychiatrists. Of the measures of self-treatment, you should perhaps visit your relatives and friends more often, talk about problems, accept help and support.

Treat autophobia can be different. At the first, easy stages, psychologists apply various techniques, for example, the patient may be asked to speak or draw their fears, express their emotions in different ways, get rid of internal aggression. In the later stages of the course of illness, psychotherapists work more often: patients take antidepressants or other drugs prescribed by a doctor.

Well-known tips from experts will help overcome a phobia in its initial stages, partially relieve you of anxiety and will alleviate anxiety, but are not able to replace the visit to the doctor.

1. It is very important to realize that loneliness - this is a completely natural state of any person, we are all autonomous and individual personalities. Customize yourself for this installation. It is impossible to constantly stay close to anyone, and if they provide such conditions, they will only harm the psyche and personal development. It is important to learn to be independent and not to depend too much on external factors, including on the people around.
2. Take a break from your unpleasant thoughts and memories. with the help of a hobby or just a pleasant business, creativity, sports or other self-realization. Find your hobby, and if you don’t have one, take care of important housework or immerse yourself in work - it will distract from fear.
3. Do not let the routine completely absorb your time, be sure to relax and take care of yourself. Arrange shopping, going with friends to the cinema, get out of town, diversify your leisure time. The more your life will be saturated with bright joyful events, the faster you will be distracted from anxiety about loneliness.

A person is immersed in his anxiety and hopelessness, even more protected from society. In these cases, it is very important understanding from the relatives of the patient. Close people should gently push people to change, help fill the days with bright moments, gain confidence and new interests. You should definitely try to convince autophobes to visit a psychologist.

Psychology can now cope with almost any problem if you choose a professional in your field.

In some situations, you can get rid of the comprehensive uncontrolled anxiety with the help of hypnotic techniques: effective modern methods help to directly implant the necessary attitudes into your subconscious and replace the negative with a positive. The patient further ceases to feel solitude as a frightening phenomenon, begins to treat him completely indifferent, and even enjoy moments of solitude.

In particularly difficult situations, medications are used. These are anti-depressants, various sedatives. You can take them only on the recommendation of a doctor.

It is very important to seek qualified help as quickly as possible, do not allow the phobia to drift, otherwise the disease will progress. Having a balanced treatment, you will be able to completely recover from autophobia., improve your health, forget about the physiological unpleasant symptoms, as well as stabilize the psychological state. When you get rid of obsessive fears, you will significantly improve the quality of life, in particular, this concerns professional development and personal relationships.

To overcome a phobia independently is possible only in its early stages. It will also be effective as a prophylactic if you feel a predisposition to autophobia. The following measures will help to prevent the disease or stop its development in the early stages.

• Meditation and breathing exercises can help you to heal from any phobia, including from the pathological fear of any solitude. This is due to the fact that you calm down in the process and remove the accumulated stress. It is worthwhile to devote a few minutes of meditation every day, as well as remembering deep breathing directly in alarming situations - this will not allow you to panic, and calm will become a habit with time.
• You should develop and try newto get rid of your phobia. Look for new interests, overcome yourself, do interesting work. This will help you to establish contact with yourself - you will no longer be bored alone, you will gain confidence in your own abilities and you will no longer be afraid of the absence of other people.
• Sport and creativity They help to spill out negative energy and leave no time for anxiety or worry. Sign up for training, yoga, drawing or singing courses. You will have a good time, learn new things, as well as gain self-confidence and be inspired by the results of works.