Contents
Hello, dear readers of the site! Hippotomonstrosesquipedalophobia (sesquippedalophobia, hypomonstersquipedalophobia) is a pathological fear of long words. And today we will deal with the main causes of the appearance and methods of treating this fear.
What is it like?
Scientists decided to have fun, which is why the fear of long words was called so that you literally break your tongue.
That is, the term itself causes a panic attack. At least because it consists of 33 letters. It, by the way, is not only almost impossible to pronounce, but also to read.
It turns out that an attempt to pronounce it out loud can provoke the development of a phobia.
About 3% of the world’s population suffers from hippotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia. And this, I want to tell you, is quite a lot.
Almost every 20th person on earth avoids the use of long, incomprehensible words in their speech. Which, by the way, are not even able to hear, as they begin to get nervous.
In principle, the presence of this disorder does not bring significant problems. The only thing that is difficult for them is teachers, doctors, lawyers, in general, everyone who, on duty, has to deal with complex terminology.
Most often manifested among adolescents and children of primary school age. Since they have a fear of embarrassing themselves in front of the class while answering at the blackboard, or reading a report, an abstract.
Because the teacher will swear, put a low mark, tell the parents. And what’s even worse — peers will scoff, give a funny nickname and stop being «friends».
Symptoms
Individuals who suffer from phobic disorders, regardless of variety, experience the same symptoms.
Basically, when they think about the object of fear, or if they had to face it “face to face”, the pressure rises and the pulse rises.
Breathing becomes so frequent that the body is saturated with oxygen. Why dizzy, up to fainting and it seems that the air is actually not enough.
In such cases, you should breathe into your palms or a paper bag, if you have it at hand. By inhaling the carbon dioxide we give off, the oxygen levels in the blood will be restored and the panic attack will subside.
Shortness of breath also appears, hands and chin tremble, legs give way and the voice changes, it becomes higher, thinner.
In some cases, when the disorder is completely running, vomiting, diarrhea, nausea and hysteria may make itself felt.
Yes, after uttering or hearing a long word, a person begins to cry and scream loudly, trying to escape to a safe place, where people try to be brief and not frighten with terminology, sentences that cannot be spoken.
The manifestation of hypomonstersquipedalophobia is easy to notice by how the interlocutor’s well-being changes, one has only to say, for example, misanthropy or to substantionalize.
If he starts to gasp for air and round his eyes in horror — and a doctor is not needed to make a diagnosis.
Negative consequences
- Depression. Due to strong experiences, a person risks losing interest in life. She seems to «fixate» on her fear. For more information about what depression is and how to recover from it, you will learn from this article.
- Complexes. This phobia makes me feel different from other people, normal people. What forms the development of complexes. Self-esteem decreases, a person ceases to believe in himself. He does not dare to take the first step towards the fulfillment of his desires, because he thinks that he is not worthy of being happy, which in any case will lose.
- Rejection. Usually people around do not perceive hippopotamusmonstrosesquipedaliophobia as something serious that requires attention. Why devalue the anxieties of the person who shared his problem with them. He may begin to be considered not quite normal, or too suspicious, and so on. In the end, they will simply begin to avoid it, which will cause pain due to rejection, which will only aggravate the general condition.
- And the most terrible thing is that the constant living of fear and anxiety leads to a significant deterioration in health. Chronic diseases appear, and sometimes extremely dangerous, bringing a lot of inconvenience and pain. For example, against the background of stress, diabetes, psoriasis, stomach ulcers, and so on can appear.
Causes
parenting style
This refers to the authoritarian style of education, with the use of depreciation, criticism and unreasonable, unfair punishments.
The child is afraid to say an extra word, because he understands that it will not end well for him. Therefore, when he grows up, he expects condemnation from the people around him.
Why does he strive not to make mistakes, so as not to give reason to consider that he is not educated and stupid, does not deserve love and respect.
Negative experience
If one day a person, speaking to the public, misspoke, mispronounced a word, then because of the shame that arose for this reason, he may well acquire hippopotatomonstrosesquipedaliophobia.
Since in subsequent times he will worry and worry that the situation will happen again. Why any hard-to-pronounce word can provoke a panic attack.
Problems with articulation
Individuals who experience difficulties with diction find it difficult to pronounce difficult and long words.
Speech defects do not really motivate to be sociable, and then there are terms that a person with good articulation is not able to pronounce correctly and clearly.
By the way, if someone in the family had speech defects, the child may subsequently worry that he will also begin to speak so incomprehensibly.
Worried about this from an early age, if at the same time he is suspicious and sensitive, he, growing up, becomes a hippopotamus-monstrosesquipedaliophobe.
Treatment
The longest phobia requires treatment, despite the fact that it seems completely insignificant compared to, for example, the fear of death or the fear of going crazy.
She, like other types of disorders, requires a mandatory visit to a psychotherapist, and in extreme cases, a psychiatrist. Who will prescribe medication to reduce anxiety levels.
This will restore sleep, along with other body resources that were wasted due to obsessive thoughts about the subject of the phobia.
In the process of therapy, a person will be able to discover both the causes of the disorder itself and the ways that will help him stop reacting with anxiety to difficult-to-pronounce words.
And also, importantly, raise self-esteem and explore your resources and advantages. This will allow you to believe that it is quite possible to achieve your goals, despite the difficulties.
Practicing breathing techniques can help you reduce stress and gain peace of mind. Try to pronounce tongue twisters, practice your speech in front of a mirror, mastering the skills of oratory.
Gradually, if you make an effort, you will be able to bring seskippedalaphobia under control.
Completion
And that’s all for today, dear readers! Stay with us by subscribing to updates, and then you will learn a lot of interesting and useful things. For example, what is the name of the fear of touching or why there is a fear of flowers in pots.
Take care of yourself and, of course, be happy!
The material was prepared by a psychologist, Gestalt therapist, Zhuravina Alina