Nomophobia: why it occurs and how to treat?

One of the youngest phobias is the pathological fear of losing a gadget, completely discharging a digital device’s battery, turning off the Internet, losing mobile communications, and the inability to communicate via instant messengers. To begin treatment, you need to understand the features of the disease and its causes.

Nomophobia is a fear of being left without a smartphone, tablet, computer, or being away from a digital device. The term appeared in 2008 based on the abbreviations of the English words no mobile phone phobia. Translated phrase looks like this: phobia caused by the absence of a mobile phone.

In the age of information technology, most people feel the need to be in constant communication with relatives and friends, to be able to periodically go online, enjoy music, watch movies, use various games.

An ordinary person dependent on a mobile phone has nothing to do, no place to put his hands. A phobic patient experiences tremendous psychological discomfort, accompanied by characteristic symptoms. A person is subjected to severe stress when you need to turn off the smartphone at an important event, meeting, in the temple, theater, airport, hospital.

The phone is always nearby. Even while taking a bath, the iPhone should be located in a prominent place nearby. After waking up, the person first sees the screen of the gadget and only then everything else. Before going to sleep, the phone screen is the last nomophob seen in a day.

Some are afraid of getting your smartphone dirty, as the screen may stop responding to your fingertips.. Prevention of this fear is usually the screen covering with a protective film or special glass. A panic fear of getting your phone dirty, losing it, and not having a charger on hand in case of a complete discharge of a mobile device indicates the presence of a clinical picture of the disease.

A man is willing to spend huge money on the acquisition of the newest model, various accessories to it. Some in the event of a failure of a mobile device acquire another. With two phones, the person feels completely safe.

The desire to own a computer, tablet, several gadgets leads some people to large financial debts, numerous loans that cause a lot of problems.

It should be noted that some are afraid of losing the phone due to secret information or too personal information. Others fear that in the absence of mobile communications will not be able to call an ambulance and other assistance in case of emergency. Such fears often develop into a phobia. Dependent people do not let go of a mobile phone or endlessly take it out of a handbag or pocket.

A person can always check for his own dependence on a smartphone by turning it off for exactly a day. If he feels just uncomfortable, as with a power outage, then this state is not an addiction. This dependence is characterized by the substitution of a real life gadget, a painful reaction to the lack of mobile communication. In this case, it is not the person who controls the digital device, but it controls the person.

The disease is observed not only among residents of large cities, industrial centers, but also among rural residents of sparsely populated areas. Some manage to respond to comments on social networks while doing some everyday actions. It is not at all pleasant to communicate with a person whose nose is constantly buried in a gadget.

Phobias associated with phone loss are especially dangerous for children and adolescents. An unstable nervous system can lead to serious mental problems.

Phobia fear of being left without a mobile phone may appear for various reasons.

• The life of modern man is inextricably linked with the gadgetin which photos, favorite books, videos, songs, working papers are stored. Special reminders will prompt the birthdays of relatives and acquaintances, they will notify you in time about the planned meetings, will signal before the necessity of taking the drug. Trusting in a universal mobile device, a person can not keep in mind a lot of unnecessary information, so the loss of a smartphone is perceived so painfully.
• Virtual life relegates reality to the background. Spending a lot of time on social networks, viewing and evaluating photos of friends and even strangers, comments, continuous correspondence, replies to messages from fans and female fans turn life without a smartphone even for one hour into tragedy.
• Opportunity for indecisive and shy people to have a lot of friends and buddies on social networks. The gadget helps to create the illusion of their wide circle of communication. Fear of being alone in the real world contributes to the formation of a phobia.
• Often unresolved personal problems and failure to find ways to solve them lead to the desire to live in a virtual world. In addition, there is an opportunity to impersonate a completely different person, to hide behind a pseudonym.
• Desire to gain popularity, to feel like a star encourages some to keep their blogs, upload videos, photos.
• Sense of self worth It appears due to receiving frequent messages, calls. Lost feelings in real life are compensated in the virtual plane by means of a phone, tablet, computer and other digital devices.
• Low self-esteem in the absence of comments on social networks provokes a feeling of uselessness and worthlessness, contributes to the formation of fear of falling out of virtual communication.
• Getting any help through the mobile device causes a feeling of calm. The search engine gives you the opportunity to get an answer to any question. Through the phone you can buy the necessary thing, pay for utilities and other services. The absence of such insurance causes horror and contributes to the appearance of a phobia.
• Hard work schedule the need to be always in touch contributes to a painful response to a lack of communication, which ultimately leads to anxiety disorder.
• The possibility of increasing social status in the presence of a digital device. The high price of a gadget sometimes exceeds the wages of a person, so the loss of an expensive device can trigger a phobia.
• Intrusive adware forms a representation of immature people about the impossibility to exist without a mobile phone.
• Adolescents often succumb to the herd instinct. They do not want to fall behind fashion. Incorrect alignment of values ​​sometimes makes children and teenagers consider the new-fangled iPhone a symbol of prosperity. The absence of a smartphone creates a feeling of own inferiority.
• Negative experience associated with lack of mobile communication at a crucial moment or a dangerous moment for a person, he can form a lifelong phobia for him.

More details about the causes of nomophobia tell the following video.

Sometimes a person has a panic attack only from one thought that he will have to remain without a mobile connection for a long time, for example, as a result of a long hike, climbing to the top of a mountain or going to the forest for several days or even weeks. When a gadget is lost in the workplace, an employee is looking for a lost phone. excessive fussiness and loss of control over their behavior, it scatters documentation and creates complete destruction.

Anxiety disorder is characterized by the following physiological symptoms:

• trembling hands;
• chills;
• feeling short of breath, fast breathing;
• increased sweating;
• cardiopalmus;
• chest discomfort;
• confusion of thoughts;
• dizziness;
• respiratory impairment.

Psychological symptoms:

• growing excitement;
• strong emotional arousal;
• distraction, lack of concentration;
• irresistible anguish;
• sense of irreparable loss;
• desire to immediately rush to search for a mobile phone;
• depression;
• poor sleep;
• panic attacks.

There are indirect signs of a phobia:

• advance payment of cellular communication;
• regular testing of the smartphone;
• increased anxiety while reducing the battery charge level;
• unreasonable systematic email verification;
• the need for regular viewing of the news feed;
• dependence on social networks;
• the desire to keep abreast of all the innovations of world cellular technologies;
• loss of interest in other areas of life;
• fear of losing, stain, scratch or break the phone.

Fear of being left without a phone depletes the nervous system. Anxiety, suspicion of children and adolescents should alert the parents and become a reason for turning to a child psychologist..

According to surveys, it is children and adolescents who more than others suffer from the fear of the possible absence of a smartphone. They are followed by an age group of 25 to 34 years. The third place is occupied by people of pre-retirement and retirement age of 55 years and above.

Only a qualified specialist will help get rid of the disease. There are modern effective methods of treatment, combining cognitive-behavioral psychotherapy with medication.

If you find yourself dependent on the phone and the first signs of a phobia appear, you should try to get yourself back into the real world. You need to switch to your hobbies, find a suitable hobby, load yourself with work, make new friends, resume watching movies in cinemas, attend entertainment events.

Help yourself is to voluntarily give up the smartphone. It should gradually disaccustom to telephone addiction. First you need to remove the gadget for half an hour. If difficulties arise, you can ask your relatives to hide the phone. The next day, you can deprive yourself of using a smartphone for an hour or more.

And so increase the duration daily. Subsequently, you need to arrange a fully unloading day from the phone. Time without a gadget can be used for reading, drawing, sewing and other interesting things.. It is advisable to organize a walk in the park or visit the museum without a phone. Gymnastics, yoga, aerobics, dancing, swimming reduce mental stress, contribute to the deepening of breathing and calm the body as a whole.

Human life should not be focused on one mobile device. Photos can be stored on a flash card, the necessary contacts - to write in a notebook, to communicate on social networks - no more than two hours a day.

Psychologists recommend the following effective techniques:

• to wake up in the morning on time, it is advisable to buy a real alarm clock, and not to use a gadget for this purpose;
• need to abandon the habit of wearing a smartphone for themselves throughout the apartment;
• It is best to take a specific place for the phone in any box or basket;
• no need to take the phone to the bathroom or toilet;
• it would be good to leave the mobile device at night away from the bed, preferably in another room or turn it off;
• removing the gadget from a bag or jacket during working or school hours is necessary only if absolutely necessary;
• It is important to teach yourself to turn off the sound often for various notifications;
• once a week you need to visit the place where it is recommended to turn off the gadget;
• it is desirable to install only one game on a smartphone and spend no more than half an hour on it;
• It is highly recommended to reduce the number of applications.

In severe cases, you should contact a qualified technician. A psychotherapist can apply the approach to reality. The patient needs to focus on behavior without using a gadget.

During the sessions, the specialist contributes to a radical transformation of character and personality portrait. After a detailed study of the inner world of a person and the factors that provoked the onset of anxiety disorder, the specialist is working on transforming destructive thoughts and eliminating non-functional behaviors. Psychotherapeutic techniques are aimed at getting rid of internal complexes, increasing self-esteem, harmonious interaction in society, and finding healthy hobbies.

If the fear of losing the phone provokes hysterics, depression and the appearance of obsessive thoughts, The psychotherapist may prescribe medication:

• sedatives - to normalize sleep and reduce stress;
• tranquilizers - to eliminate anxiety, obsessive ideas, strong fear for a smartphone;
• antidepressants - to combat the growing depression;
• B vitamins - to strengthen the nervous system.