Hello, dear readers of the site! Didaskaleinophobia is an irrational fear of going to school.
A person is horrified at the thought that it is necessary not only to enter such a frightening building, but also to sit at a desk, answer in class, and so on.
And today we will try to figure out what exactly provokes the development of this phobia, as well as by what symptoms it can be diagnosed and later cured.
What is it like?
Fear of school, which is also called schoolophobia or scolinophobia, is quite common among children.
What child happily runs in the morning to gain knowledge? Very rare, more characteristic is the reluctance to even come close to the building and just remember the need to do homework.
Overload of information, limited amount of free time, as well as the specifics of relations with teachers, who are completely different, ultimately cause persistent hostility and fear of the school.
Didaskaleinophobia is a complex type of phobia due to the fact that it is usually diagnosed in the last stages of its development.
After all, about 80% of children periodically complain that they no longer want to go to school. And in the head of adults, this is mainly the idea that their child is lazy, tired, or got into an unpleasant situation, because of which he refuses to show educational activity.
A phobic disorder at this time without treatment is gaining momentum. Somatic manifestations in the form of various diseases of the body increase, depression, nervous exhaustion and insomnia can be observed.
Especially if parents try to overcome laziness by using violence, both emotional and physical.
Symptoms
Behavioral
- Scattered attention. Fob is not able to concentrate on one task, he seems to be looking at a book, reading it, but does not understand the meaning of the words. Not because he is stupid, but because of absent-mindedness;
- Aimless walking from side to side. To relieve nervous tension, of which there is a lot in the body, it is necessary to move. Therefore, a student can stagger when standing, jerk his legs, walk back and forth, trying to somehow cope with anxiety;
- Sensitivity. Under the influence of a mental disorder, the character of a person changes. He becomes more emotionally vulnerable, impressionable. Adults sometimes confuse this feature with whims, because the child is offended for any reason, cries for a reason and without, or vice versa, reacts aggressively to the slightest irritant.
- Emotional stupor. Often there is an opposite reaction — numbness.
- Intrusive thoughts. The kid constantly thinks about the need to attend school, talks about his unwillingness, asks him to regret and allow him to stay at home. That is, one of the most cherished desires is distance learning.
Somatic
During a panic attack, changes occur in the body, such as:
- Trembling in the body, mainly a tremor of the limbs;
- Lack of air due to superficial frequent breathing, the level of oxygen in the blood becomes as high as possible, as a result of which the opposite effect occurs — asphyxia;
- Problems with the gastrointestinal tract, mainly diarrhea;
- Nausea, vomiting;
- High blood pressure, which can cause headaches
- Pulls and «shoots» in the chest area, which suggests thoughts of a heart attack;
- dizziness, loss of consciousness;
- Change in skin color. A person either becomes “deadly” pale, or vice versa, blushes;
- Increased sweating, regardless of the temperature indoors or outdoors. Phoba from fear throws into heat even in severe frost.
Causes
- Bullying. That is, the manifestation of emotional or physical abuse by peers, high school students. Most often, bullying is not done by one person, but by a whole group of children. Feeling himself in the position of a victim, a person usually experiences fear and powerlessness. The condition, of course, under such conditions worsens. Especially considering the fact that the baby does not receive support from parents, teachers, who sometimes may not even know what is happening. Or they simply ignore the situation that has arisen, believing that he himself must deal with the offenders, showing his character and willpower.
- Difficulty communicating with teachers. It happens that for some reason the student becomes not directly accepted by the teacher. Yes, they must maintain objectivity in relation to their students, but in practice, not everyone succeeds. People are different and sometimes not able to control themselves. Accordingly, feeling the hostility of the teacher, the student will have an underestimated motivation to attend his lessons. And one day the psyche will not withstand the stress to which it was daily subjected.
- Loads. Sometimes adults, wanting to develop their child to the maximum, occupy all his free time with circles, classes with tutors, homework, and so on. Experiencing pressure and stress, the baby at first begins to resist, to get sick. And if the parents do not listen to his requests for personal time. Considering that he is lazy and will not achieve anything with such an approach, then didaskaleinophobia may well arise. Psychological defense mechanisms will simply fail, wanting to protect the body from exhaustion.
- Authoritarian parenting style. Strict demands from parents to bring home only good grades. Both the use of only punishments for disobedience and the unjustified expectations cause a strong rejection of the learning process. The kid is terribly afraid to go to school, because he understands that when he comes home, dad or mom will scold him anyway, check his diary, notebooks, and so on.
Treatment
Phobic disorders must be treated. And not by intimidation, along with demands to pull themselves together, but from specialists who may well even prescribe medications.
For example, tranquilizers and sedatives to relieve anxiety. The child is able to experience several emotions that intersect with each other — this is fear and horror.
Accordingly, it is necessary, first of all, to provide him with the opportunity to relax, relieve stress.
If he has problems sleeping, then it will be useful to drink sleeping pills. For depression, antidepressants.
Didaskaleinophobia is a mental illness that threatens not only general health, but also the life of the baby. Who, trying to get rid of the constantly haunting tension, risks deciding on a radical method — suicide.
So, having noticed the first symptoms of a phobia, instead of scolding him and reproaching him for laziness, go to a psychotherapist together.
In any case, the qualified help of a specialist will not be useless, even if the diagnosis is not confirmed, the baby will receive support in other matters.
Completion
And that’s all for today, dear readers! Finally, we want to recommend an article about a disorder that is not just a fear of going to school, but in general, gaining knowledge, experience, and skills. This phobia is called sophophobia.
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The material was prepared by a psychologist, Gestalt therapist, Zhuravina Alina