Autophobia is a fear of being alone and can also involve a lack of trust in oneself. It can cause extreme anxiety attacks and physical reactions. Treatment involves therapy and medication, and loved ones should be supportive during the process.
Sometimes referred to as monophobia, autophobia is a crippling fear of being left alone. People with this type of emotional condition are often unable to rest comfortably unless someone is relatively close, such as in another room in the house. In extreme conditions, a person suffering from this phobia must have someone in the same room during all waking hours or the individual will begin to experience extreme anxiety attacks, regurgitation, and other severe physical and emotional reactions.
A broader definition of autophobia involves not a fear of being physically alone but also a sense of inability to trust oneself in any environment. In the context of this understanding of phobia, an individual must always have a caretaker nearby. The second part functions as a guardian who, in the mind of the autophobic, will be able to compensate or correct any foolish or unpleasant actions that may take place. Without this guardian nearby, the autophobic feels lost and unable to function even in a public setting with many people around.
Common symptoms of autophobia include a constant sense of imminent danger whenever another trusted individual is not within easy reach. Often, the autophobic will also have an increased fear of experiencing a catastrophe with no one to save them from a terrible fate. This often includes fear of natural events ranging from being struck by lightning to being buried alive in an earthquake. It is not unusual for an individual suffering from this condition to also have an extreme fear of being burgled or suffering a heart attack when no one is around to help them through the crisis.
Effective treatment of autophobia often involves a combination of therapy and medication. Anti-anxiety medications can sometimes help ease the overwhelming sense of fear an autophobic faces during an episode. Therapy can help the sufferer explore the underlying causes of the phobia and defuse them over time. Therapeutic techniques such as cognitive behavioral therapy, or CBT, can also begin the process of changing behavioral responses to situations that trigger the extreme distress and fear experienced by people suffering from autophobia.
Because this type of phobia is normally the result of some kind of traumatic experience, it’s important for loved ones to be supportive as they begin treatments. As with many phobias, treating autophobics involves a process that sometimes seems to go on quickly and other times slowly until it crawls or even loses ground. Loved ones should keep in mind that successfully overcoming any phobia is different from healing a broken bone in that the rate of progress will vary from day to day. Patience, reassurance of one’s self-worth, and encouragement to pursue therapy can go a long way in helping the autophobic break free from the phobia.
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