We are glad to welcome you, dear readers of the site! Allodoxophobia is a panicky irrational fear of a person to hear what other people think about him. Let’s see why it occurs and how you can deal with it.
What is it like?
It is a phobia, the fear of public opinion, that is a rather rare mental illness. Not to be confused with self-doubt, which is present in the majority of the world’s population.
So, with allodoxphobia, a person is isolated from society. Because they are unable to cope with anxiety and horror at the slightest casual glance of a person passing by.
Suddenly he decides to speak out about what he thinks? So there can be no talk of any work or friendly, partnership relations.
And although she understands the irrationality and meaninglessness of her experiences, she cannot do anything with her reactions. How to influence thoughts.
Symptoms
Behavioral
People who have this kind of phobia tend to avoid situations where it is necessary to express their opinion, communicate with others and listen, accept their point of view.
Therefore, it turns out that they isolate themselves from society. They lead a reclusive lifestyle and even delete profiles from social networks.
This allows them to be in their comfort zone. Attempts by friends and close people to socialize them, to bring them back are usually crowned with failure. And they also worsen their health.
But it happens that allodoxophobia manifests itself in a completely opposite way. A person takes an active position, suppressing not himself and his impulses, but those people who are unfortunate to be around.
That is, he aggressively defends his opinion, even if he was not asked about it. He categorically rejects any ideas that contradict or even slightly differ from his worldview.
He conflicts with those who do not have time to open their mouths. All this is done precisely in order to prevent others from saying what he is afraid to hear.
In general, as you understand, in both cases, the main mechanism is suppression. The difference is in the direction, who suppresses himself, and who prefers to feel an advantage over the interlocutors.
Somatic
- The pressure rises, the heartbeat quickens. This is a reaction to the release of adrenaline in the body when a feeling of fear occurs. The body is preparing to resist the danger, or rather, to flee;
- Sweating increases, despite the weather. That is, there may be frost on the street, and a person “throws into heat” and he becomes wet in an instant;
- Sometimes there is nausea, vomiting, stomach pain and even diarrhea. Thus, the so-called ballast discharge occurs. To become lighter and faster to run a long distance;
- Dizzy, if the panic reaches a peak — a person loses consciousness from an overabundance of feelings. The fact is that when these physiological signs occur, he is visited by thoughts of imminent death. After all, the heart hurts, there is not enough air, it literally drives him crazy. Therefore, at some point, the nervous system seems to “turn off” and he loses consciousness;
- Loss of control over one’s behavior, tunnel consciousness is when a person is unable to adequately perceive reality and concentrates, notices only what worries him at the moment, completely ignoring other stimuli.
The phobia of public opinion is actively developing due to the fact that a person experiences intense, toxic shame after experiencing a panic attack. It seems to him that he behaved completely inadequately and now everyone only thinks about how insignificant and ridiculous he is.
And in the age of digital technology, they could generally film it, put it on the Internet so that the whole world could see its fiasco.
This causes the condition to worsen. After all, it is not clear at what point the attack will repeat again. Why it seems the only right solution is to avoid people. When you go crazy in a closed room and pray for help, at least you are not ashamed.
Causes
Most often, the development of allodoxophobia begins after receiving a traumatic experience. For example, someone made a sharp remark, devalued the efforts, or in general, with a large number of people, humiliated, disgraced.
Often a phobia of the opinions of others occurs in adolescents. During puberty, they already have a hard time, any remark can be taken with hostility.
Attempts to win recognition among their peers sometimes push them to commit crazy acts. And if an adult speaks aggressively in front of witnesses about their recklessness, this can hurt emotionally.
And so much so that, as a defense, such a teenager decides to «close» so as not to get into such situations again. As a result, he will expect with horror what others will say about him and will not be able to dare to express his opinion, especially if it differs from the opinion of others.
Critical parents who have never been able to please provoke not only the emergence of extremely low self-esteem, but also a distorted perception of the words of others.
Any interlocutor seems to be in a zone of increased danger, because, completely unwilling to offend, injure such a person, he will do it and will not even understand how, and at what moment.
Because a person with this phobia is already initially set up to receive condemnation, criticism, and similar negative assessments.
A common reaction among victims of domestic violence when the tyrant is angry is the fear of being seen. Otherwise, there is a risk of angering him more. Therefore, silence sometimes, as it seems to them, helps to survive in dangerous moments.
They get used to keeping their feelings, thoughts in themselves, as they can pay for their attempts to be open and honest.
Gradually, this style of behavior becomes the leading one, and constant anxiety due to the expectation of danger sometimes leads to the formation of any mental disorders. In this case, allodoxophobia.
Treatment
When the first symptoms of a phobia occur, it is recommended to go for a consultation with a psychologist or psychiatrist.
Then you will be able to deal with the reasons that caused this mental disorder. And also get medical treatment if necessary.
For example, for insomnia, the doctor prescribes sedatives along with sleeping pills. When mood changes often, or a depressed emotional state is mostly present, antidepressants help.
If a person is overly aggressive, tranquilizers are prescribed to him, they relax the nervous system, which, in turn, allows you to achieve calmness.
As a preventive practice, practice meditation, use breathing techniques and alpha visualization (you will learn what it is here). This will help relieve excess stress and restore peace of mind after experienced stress.
Completion
And that’s all for today, dear readers!
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The material was prepared by a psychologist, Gestalt therapist, Zhuravina Alina