Autophobia, also called monophobia, is the specific phobia of isolation; a
morbid fear of being egotistical, or a dread of being alone or isolated.
Sufferers need not be physically alone, but just to believe that they are being
ignored or unloved. Contrary to what would be implied by a literal reading of
the term, autophobia does not describe a "fear of oneself". The disorder
typically develops from and is associated with other anxiety disorders.
Autophobia can be associated with or accompanied by several other phobias
such as agoraphobia, and is generally considered to be a part of the
agoraphobic cluster. This means that Autophobia, or Monophobia has a lot of
the same characteristics as certain anxiety disorders, and hyperventilation
disorders. The main concern of people with phobias in the agoraphobic cluster
is getting help in case of emergency. This means people might be afraid of
going out in public, being caught in a crowd, being alone, or being stranded.
Autophobia is not to be confused with agoraphobia, self-hatred, or social
anxiety although it can be closely related to these things. It is it's own
phobia that tends to be accompanied by other anxiety disorders and phobias. It
can also be called monophobia, isolophobia, or eremophobia.
Definitions Autophobia, also called monophobia,
isolophobia, and eremophobia has many different definitions. They vary
slightly, however for the most part they mean the same thing. According to the
Merriam-Webster Medical Dictionary, the word "Eremphobia" is a morbid fear of
being isolated. According to The Practitioner's Medical
Dictionary, the definition of Autophobia is a morbid fear of solitude or one's
self. Background
Autophobia can be derived from social anxiety. When people with this phobia
are left alone, they will often experience panic attacks, which is a
common reaction in those suffering from social anxiety. This disease can also
stem from depression because when people become seriously autophobic, they start
to find certain tasks and activities almost impossible to complete. This
usually occurs when autophobes are faced with a possibility of going into a
public place where there are lots of people or simply a place that is
uncomfortable or unfamiliar to them. This phobia can also be closely related
to agoraphobia, which leads to lowered self confidence and uncertainty of their
ability to finish certain activities that need to be done alone. People
suffering from this phobia tend to imagine the worst possible scenario. For
example, they might have a panic attack and then think that they are going to
die from this event. Another experience that doctors believe
leads individuals to develop this phobia is children being abandoned, usually by
their parents, when they are very young. This first causes childhood trauma that
then persists to effect them as they grow up. This turns into Autophobia
because they are now afraid that all of the important people in their lives are
going to leave or abandon them. Therefore, this particular phobia can
come from behavior and experiences that these people have had when they were
growing up. However, abandonment does not necessarily mean being left alone
physically, this also includes being isolated financially or emotionally.
Having drastic, life-altering experiences, particularly causes more
trauma which makes this phobia worse. People that have very high anxiety and
in this case are more “high strung,” are more susceptible to this phobia.
Although this phobia is often developed at a young age, it can develop later in
life as well. Individuals sometimes develop this fear with the death of a
loved one or the ending of an important relationship. Autophobia can also be
described as the fear of being without a specific person. Tragic events in a
person's life may create this fear of being without one specific person, but
this often will eventually progress into a fear of being secluded in general.
Symptoms The symptoms of autophobia vary by case.
However, there are some symptoms that a multitude of people with this disease
suffer from. An intense amount of apprehension and anxiety when you are
alone or think about situations where you would be secluded is one of the most
common indications that a person is autophobic. People with this disorder
also commonly believe that there is an impending disaster waiting to occur
whenever they are left alone. For this reason, autophobes go to extreme lengths
to avoid being in isolation. However, people with this disease often to not
need to be in physical isolation to feel abandoned. Autophobes will often by in a
crowded area or group of people and feel as though they are completely secluded.
There has also been some connection to autophobia being diagnosed in people who
also suffer from Borderline Personality Disorders.
Below is a list of other symptoms that are sometimes associated with
autophobia: Mental Symptoms:
Fear of fainting A disability to concentrate on anything
other than the disease Fear of losing your mind
Failure to think clearly Emotional Symptoms:
Stress over up-coming times and places where you may be alone
Fear of being secluded Physical Symptoms:
Lightheadedness, dizziness Sweating
Shaking Nausea
Cold and hot flashes Numbness or tingling feelings
Dry mouth Increased heart rate
Treatments Autophobia is a form of anxiety that can
cause a minor to extreme feeling of danger or fear when alone. There is not
a specific treatment to cure autophobia as it affects each person differently.
Most sufferers are treated with psychotherapy in which the amount of
time that they are alone is slowly increased. There are no conclusive
studies currently that support any medications being used as treatment. If
the anxiety is too intense medications have been used to aid the patient in a
continuation of the therapy.I It is not uncommon for sufferers to be
unaware that they have this anxiety and to dismiss the idea of seeking help.
Much like substance abuse, autophobia is mental and physical and requires
assistance from a medical professional. Medication can be used to stabilize
symptoms and inhibit further substance abuse. Group and individual therapy is
used to help ease symptoms and treat the phobia.
In mild cases of autophobia, treatment can sometimes be very simple. Therapists
recommend many different remedies to make patients feel as though they are
not alone even when that is the case, such as listening to music when running
errands alone or turning on the television when at home, even if it is
just for background noise. Using noise to interrupt the silence of isolated
situations can often be a great help for people suffering from autophobia.
However, it is important to remember that just because a person may feel
alone at times does not mean that they have autophobia. Most people feel alone
and secluded at times; this is not an unusual phenomenon. Only when the fear
of being alone beings to interrupt how a person lives their daily life does the
idea of being autophobic become a possibility.
Research In an article called “Psychogenic
Hyperventilation and Death Anxiety” by Herbert R. Lazarus, M.D., and John J.
Kostan, Jr., M.S.W., autophobia or monophobia was referred to as being very
closely related to death anxiety, or a feeling of impending doom. A patient
might feel dread so strongly because of autophobia that they may hyperventilate
and feel like they may die because of it. It is also noted that patients with
hyperventilation and death anxiety might also develop or have autophobia because
they are so afraid of dying, getting seriously injured, or otherwise find
themselves in a dire situation, that they become deathly afraid of being
alone. Without somebody to help them in case they need it, autophobia-induced
anxiety may occur along with other anxieties or phobias included in the
agoraphobic cluster. New Media Influence
A comic was written on Tapastic.com called “Autophobia” in which a boy with
a rocky family life navagates high school. As of November 2015, the series
contains 46 episodes and 11 chapters. The series has been viewed 230.4k times,
and has 3.3k followers. A band by the name of “Agoraphobic
Nosebleed” from the United States formed in 1994 in the Grindcore genre with a
record label from Relapse Records. Current members include Jay Randall,
Katherine Katz, Richard Johnson, and Scott Hull.
See Also Agoraphobia
Fear of Abandonment Social Anxiety
Self-hatred Narcissism
References