Contents
We are glad to welcome you, dear readers of the site! Hypengiophobia is a pathological fear of being responsible for something.
And today we will explore why it occurs, as well as what methods exist to become more decisive and still let serious events into your life.
What is it like?
Hipengiophobia, another name for this disorder, is one of the most common phobias.
What person has not felt a chill in the back at the thought that they will have to take risks and take responsibility for some events, work issues, the lives of other people?
And if someone just has anxiety, they experience anxiety at such a moment, then the fob may well lose consciousness from horror. So right at the meeting, having learned that he has new tasks, he will simply faint or try to flee.
Human life already involves a lot of responsibilities. Starting with the fact that he needs to be responsible for his health, the quality of every day, relationships with other people and ending with the choice of clothes, a way to earn money for needs, and so on.
Why hypengiophobe is not enviable, he often develops depression due to dissatisfaction of needs, neurosis against the background of frequent stresses.
After all, the nervous system is constantly in tension, which depletes the body and provokes the development of chronic diseases. They are also called psychosomatic.
Symptoms
The fear of responsibility manifests itself when a person faces the need to make a decision, for which he will then be responsible. Or rather, for its consequences. At such moments, a panic attack occurs.
That is, the hypengiophobe begins to choke, grabs his heart, as thoughts arise about an upcoming heart attack due to stress.
He has a tremor of the limbs, even his voice and chin tremble. There are frequent cases of loss of consciousness and vomiting. Nausea and dizziness are more common.
Individuals with stomach problems may experience an urgent need to go to the toilet immediately.
The ability to adequately perceive the surrounding reality is lost, a person in a panic does not notice obstacles, and therefore risks getting injured.
For example, in horror, he tries to find a safe place where he can come to his senses. But he does not understand how to get out of the room, so he considers “going out the window” the best way to free himself.
Or he runs out onto the road and gets hit by a car, because he simply does not see it, his head only thinks about how to escape.
Hypengiophobe usually speaks quietly, tries to be invisible to others. It is difficult for him to formulate his thoughts, especially at times when new responsibilities are assigned to him.
Causes
Education
If parents in childhood deprived the baby of the opportunity to cope with something on their own, also, repeating at the same time that he would certainly not succeed, then he grows up, being deeply convinced of his own insolvency.
Therefore, trying to do some work for your child so that he does not get upset, or because he will not do it as well as an adult — in fact, can be safely called a disservice.
Psychological trauma
As is the case with the development of other types of phobias, mental trauma takes a leading place. Each person has his own bitter stories that he did not cope with.
Because they turned out to be too painful, traumatic, they arose at a time when the psyche did not have the resources to withstand stress, and so on.
A person could risk everything that he has, but he will not cope with the task. This, of course, may cause him to panic about ever repeating such an experience.
Why he will avoid any responsibility in every possible way. For example, if there was an accident due to his fault, also with the death of passengers, a person will be afraid to take an extra step in the future. And, even more so, get behind the wheel, give someone a lift.
Uncertainty
Uncertainty in oneself, one’s abilities and the future negatively affects the ability to make decisions and take responsibility. Moreover, absolutely any event can provoke a panic.
Let it be a marriage proposal or a promotion. A person, even realizing that this is a chance to improve the quality of his life, to realize his dreams and needs, will refuse or simply run away.
Because there is nothing you can do about your feelings. You never know how his choice will affect his future. Suddenly he will not master and disappoint the leader, parents and, in general, everyone around?
Hyperresponsibility
There are people for whom it is extremely important to control absolutely all the processes that occur around him. This is such a way to deal with anxiety.
Otherwise, realizing that in fact a person does not have much influence on other people, time, some natural phenomena, he lives powerlessness. And for him it is like death.
The psychology of the emergence of this way of life lies mainly in the injuries received due to situations when he was unable to influence any circumstances.
As a result, I had to face pain, horror. And now a person is trying to keep at least something under control, just not to live like this. For example, this happens if you happen to lose a loved one quite suddenly or for a frivolous reason.
A person realizes that he is finite and that at any moment his life can be interrupted. And it simply becomes too attentive to details, cautious and controlling.
Therefore, he gets scared if they want to put a new “burden” on him. It’s not easy for him anyway, because he has to be on the alert almost around the clock, to perform more tasks than the rest.
The body, the psyche can not withstand the load, and then hypengiophobia makes itself felt.
Treatment
If your loved one, or maybe just an acquaintance, is characterized by avoiding responsibility, you should not criticize him and call him lazy, cowardly. He is unable to defeat the phobia with just one effort of will.
So take it and force yourself to show courage by making an offer, agreeing to run the company, and so on. If only because he simply loses consciousness.
It is worth remembering that a phobia is a mental disorder that must be treated, and not left to chance, expecting that in one moment the horror will disappear on its own. Therefore address to the psychotherapist, the psychiatrist.
You should not be afraid of the words psychiatrist, you will not be locked up in a mental hospital. The doctor simply has the right to prescribe medications that are not freely available. And they need a prescription.
For example, antidepressants and sedatives. They are essential for a person with a phobic disorder. Since the body is in constant tension.
This depletes his resources and does not give him a chance to experience other emotions that are not associated with fear. Therefore, therapy and the simultaneous use of antidepressants will give faster expected results.
Sleeping pills will allow you to improve sleep, which will also only favorably affect the healing process.
You can choose any direction of psychotherapy that attracts you the most. The most effective today are cognitive behavioral therapy and gestalt. Hypnosis is also often and quite successfully used.
Methods
Awareness
Take a notepad and write down a few, let’s say, problems that require you to solve. And next to it, indicate your fears that appear as a reaction. Then try to figure out how you can easily deal with them.
Let’s say you’re afraid to get married. Experiences arise from the thought that you will disappoint your partner by failing to cope with the role of a wife. The solution is to clarify with the spouse the issues that do not suit him and look for compromises together.
In general, like this, gradually, step by step, “lay out” your phobia into small components. Nothing helps to overcome anxiety like rationalization.
Gradualness
Start with completely minor responsibilities, which, on a scale of 1 to 10 (where 1 is mild anxiety and 10 is terrible), are about 2 notches.
And so gradually increase the load, unless, of course, panic attacks and attacks of uncontrollable fear do not make themselves felt.
Be careful with yourself, praise for each, even a very small step towards recovery.
And also enlist the support of loved ones who do not condemn you for hypengiophobia and are sympathetic to your emotional state.
Positive experience
How to stop being afraid of responsibility if you think only about the negative consequences that lead to pain, and maybe even death? Indeed, almost nothing.
So better concentrate on a completely different task — remember when you nevertheless decided to take on additional responsibilities and successfully coped with them.
Reflect on what it was that forced you, despite your anxiety, to agree, to take a risk. What feelings did you have at the end? Were you proud of yourself?
Rely on your positive experience, this will allow you to see the other side of obligations — freedom and the realization of yourself, your needs.
Completion
Fight your fears and phobias. After all, hiding from responsibility, you lose your freedom, the opportunity to live the whole range of emotions, for example, joy, tenderness, happiness and excitement. And not just anxiety, tension and anxiety.
By the way, there is a disorder that is very similar to hypengiophobia, but lies in the fact that a person is terribly afraid to make decisions. About how it is called and how to deal with it, you will learn from this article.
Take care of yourself and be happy!
The material was prepared by a psychologist, Gestalt therapist, Zhuravina Alina