Autophobia: symptoms, causes and treatment

Have you ever heard of the extreme fear of being alone? If we take into account the society in which we live, where so little self-acceptance has been worked on, it is not such a rare disorder.

In this article we will reflect on the concept of loneliness and its implications, and also, We will see what autophobia consists of, what are some of its symptoms, its possible causes and treatments.

• Related article: "Types of Phobias: Exploring Fear Disorders"

Autophobia: a specific phobia

The word autophobia comes from the Greek “auto” (meaning “by itself”), and from the word “phobia” (meaning “fear”). Thus, autophobia literally means "fear of oneself".

However, in psychology this term does not mean exactly this, but rather a fear of being alone with oneself (physically speaking). Specifically, autophobia is a rare phobia, which consists of intense, irrational and disproportionate fear of the possibility of being alone or physically alone. Other names that autophobia receives are: monophobia or isolophobia.

This irrational fear is mainly due to an intense fear of being ignored, of feeling unloved, or of suffering some kind of threat from an intruder. In short, people with autophobia are terrified of being alone.

Like any specific phobia, where the stimulus is being physically alone, it is an anxiety disorder. The symptoms produced by autophobia are diverse in nature: psychological, physical and emotional.

Beyond feeling alone

We have all felt alone at some point in our lives, either because we are really physically alone in a given moment, or because we feel unloved or without anyone to turn to (that is, a loneliness that is more emotional than physical).

However, autophobia goes beyond this simple fact, since the person comes to feel real anxiety at the possibility or the actual fact of being physically alone. That is, you feel panic at loneliness. So, the symptoms appear when the individual is physically alone or when he believes that this situation may occur soon.

In short, it is not the same to feel alone (which is a common symptom in many people, and does not imply a major pathology) than to suffer from autophobia, a real, specific and disabling phobia. Its intensity is much higher.

Low tolerance for loneliness

It is curious how the society in which we live “sells” us the idea that we must be autonomous, empower ourselves, use ourselves for ourselves, etc., and yet, the same culture shows increasing difficulties to face the loneliness.

We see this in couples who cannot live without each other, in highly toxic dependency relationships, etc. They have made us believe, especially as a couple, that we need someone to "complete" us, when in We don't really need anyone, we simply have the option of enjoying life with someone who loves us. complement.

All this ends up generating in the person a feeling of anguish in the face of loneliness, of constant need to look for the another, to "connect" with others through the networks, the telephone... It is as if we were afraid to put up with ourselves themselves. This, taken to the extreme and added to other factors, can trigger a disorder such as autophobia.

Symptoms

Now that we have briefly known the concept of autophobia, we are going to know its most frequent symptoms. Thus, autophobia involves a series of symptoms on a physical, psychological and emotional level, such as the following.

1. Unsafety

One of the typical symptoms of autophobia is great personal insecurity. This insecurity translates into Difficulty (or inability to) be alone with yourself.

Many times, in these types of patients, a low self-esteem and the constant need for the approval of others. There may also be (and in fact is frequent) a great emotional dependency. The person "cannot" do things alone, by themselves and without the help or approval of others.

2. irrational ideas

Associated with autophobia, irrational ideas or thoughts of the type “I am going to die” or “they are going to hurt me” may also appear when the person is alone. so this You may even fear for your life, in extreme cases.

3. elevated anxiety or fear

Anxiety, in fact, is the main symptom of autophobia, which is triggered by the possibility or the fact of being alone physically and leads to a situation of loss of control over the body.

4. physical symptoms

Physical symptoms, as in any specific phobia, also appear. These can vary greatly from person to person, but generally include: palpitations, dizziness, nausea, vomiting, excessive sweating, hypertension, tachycardia… In a certain way, the person somatizes that intense fear, and this is translated through the body.

• You may be interested in: "Types of Anxiety Disorders and their characteristics"

Causes

The causes of autophobia, as in any specific phobia, can be very varied, and in a certain way, they are unknown. However, we can hypothesize some; mainly, in its origin we find a traumatic event related to loneliness; for example, the fact of having suffered a situation of abuse, of not having been able to get help, of having been robbed or robbed, etc. That is, the fact of having experienced a negative and traumatic situation while being alone. Besides, if these negative experiences have been lived in childhood, the psychological repercussions can be even greater.

On the other hand, and in a certain way, autophobia may also have been "learned" by observing other people with autophobia, or having heard on the news people who have suffered a traumatic or violent situation while being alone, etc Also, also there may be a certain biological predisposition (vulnerability) to suffering from an anxiety disorder, which, together with other factors, ends up causing this specific phobia.

In addition, it is a somewhat particular phobia, since in a certain way, the feared stimulus "is oneself" (even if the person is not feared, but the absence of others). That is to say, one is afraid of what can happen when one is alone, and one is afraid of one's own loneliness. It is paradoxical.

Treatment

The treatment par excellence of specific phobias is treatment by exposure. In the case of autophobia, we would proceed to expose the patient to remain alone in certain spaces (for example, his house), and that time of solitude would be increased, through a hierarchy of items.

On the other hand also the self-esteem and emotional dependence of the patient should be worked on through exercises that empower him and highlight his strengths and abilities. Irrational and negative thoughts should also be addressed so that they can be replaced by more optimistic, realistic and adaptive thoughts.

The goal of all these techniques is that the patient "understands" and sees for himself that nothing bad happens because he is alone (through exposure and cognitive therapy), and that you can even have very positive experiences while doing it. In addition, loneliness is also a source of wealth and learning, and opens the door to new ways of tolerating oneself, knowing oneself and loving oneself.

to the root of the problem

It is also important to note that it will be of vital importance analyze each specific case, and this implies studying in depth the causes (or causes) that have originated autophobiato be able to work on them.

That is, treat the experience and trauma of the traumatic event (with the relevant psychological techniques) if it has been the cause of the phobia, dysfunctional thoughts, dependent personality, poor self-esteem, etc

Bibliographic references:

• American Psychiatric Association –APA- (2014). DSM-5. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. Madrid: Pan American.
• Horse (2002). Manual for the cognitive-behavioral treatment of psychological disorders. Vol. 1 and 2. Madrid. XXI century.
• Lopez, a. (2005). Specific phobias. Faculty of Psychology. Department of Personality, Assessment and Psychological Treatment.