The world can be a really scary place, filled with a host of external factors capable of imparting fear to humans.
Index
WHAT IS AUTOPHOBIA?
There is a particular phobia that is not directly linked to those external factors mentioned above: autophobia .
Autophobia, also known as monophobia, refers to the inability to be physically alone.
SELF PHOBIA
Those who suffer from this disorder present extreme and uncontrolled restlessness in the face of finding only themselves .
In most cases, those affected associate loneliness with a lack of love, with feeling ignored or with threats from an intruder.
Experts say that autophobia is not only related to the fact of not being able to be alone, but also not being able to trust oneself when being in that situation.
This implies that those who suffer from this phobia are in constant need of having someone around them to take care of or protect them.
The severity of autophobia can vary widely , so in some cases the person may feel comfortable only having someone else in the same room, just as there are other cases in which they just need to know that they are not alone in a house or any site in general.
In some cases of autophobia, people are fully aware that being alone does not pose any threat to them, so they feel guilty for not being able to control the inexplicable feeling of anguish .
SYMPTOMS OF AUTOPHOBIA
The symptoms of autophobia can vary depending on the patient, but among the most prevalent we can find the constant feeling of danger and the fear of suffering a catastrophe at any time and that there is no one capable of helping.
Although experts have found a certain link of the fear of being alone of those who suffer from autophobia to natural disasters ( earthquakes, storms, being struck by lightning and others ), there is also a great tendency to feel in constant threat to be robbed or suffer any type of medical emergency such as a heart attack.
People with this disorder tend to be alarmed by any strange or unknown sound .
It is also quite common for an autophobic to force himself into co-dependent or toxic relationships with the simple purpose of moving away from loneliness. Although the phobia of loneliness is really monophobia.
TREATMENT TO OVERCOME AUTOPHOBIA
There are a number of therapeutic avenues that can be used in the treatment of autophobia.
Among them we could mention talk therapy, hypnosis, among others.
When it comes to cases in which the disorder has not developed in a less aggressive way, therapy can be resorted to through support groups that give rise to sharing the fundamentals of fear and listening to external experiences that help to address the process of overcoming.
Because autophobia must be viewed as a parallel phobia to an anxiety disorder , its treatment must be approached with great patience to discover its cause and later choose the appropriate technique for its resolution.
Alexa Clark specializes in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. She has experience in listening and welcoming in Individual Therapy and Couples Therapy. It meets demands such as generalized anxiety, professional, love and family conflicts, stress, depression, sexual dysfunction, grief, and adolescents from 15 years of age. Over the years, She felt the need to conduct the psychotherapy sessions with subtlety since She understands that the psychologist acts as a facilitator of self-understanding and self-acceptance, valuing each person's respect, uniqueness, and acceptance.
