Anthropophobia: symptoms, causes and treatment

Anthropophobia is closely associated with fear of people, although it is not a formal clinical diagnosis. Many experts view the condition as a specific phobia. People with anthropophobia feel intense fear or anxiety when thinking about being around other people. Unlike other social anxiety disorders, Anthropophobia is the fear of people themselves, not social situations.

“Antro” means ‘people’ and “phobia” means ‘fear’. Although it is not a clinical disorder considered in the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), has many features of specific phobia.

In particular, it has been associated with Taijin Kyofusho, which is found in the DSM-5. This condition is a culture-specific concept of distress that has been observed in Japan and Korea. It has to do with the fear of interpersonal relationships, especially of offending others.

Anthropophobia: what is it

In Western culture, Anthropophobia is a phobia closely related to social anxiety disorderscopophobia (fear of being stared at), and an unspecified phobia of people (distinguished by overwhelming fear and anxiety surrounding interpersonal interactions).

Anthropophobia can affect people in ways that are difficult to understand. The symptoms of this disorder range from mild to severe.

Ten potential symptoms of anthropophobia are as follows:

Difficulty looking people in the eye and to talk to people. Fear of being judged or watched by others or anxiety about offending others.Feeling unworthy or inadequate for others.Significant levels of awareness regarding social interactions. Possible delusions or exaggerations surrounding an individual’s smell (olfactory) or the appearance of their body (dysmorphia).Negative thoughts or internal dialogueDepression. Anticipatory anxiety

The first indicators of anthropophobia often go unnoticed. The person avoids eye contact with others and feels intense anxiety when they sense that they are being watched.

The impact of these symptoms can significantly affect an individual’s ability to maintain relationships, work, train, engage in hobbies, or even perform general self-care.

Anthropophobia could be part of other clinical diagnoses. These may include post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), social anxiety disorder, or delusional disorder.

The difference with social anxiety

We know that People with social anxiety suffer from the possibility of not measuring up in certain situations. They fear being judged and evaluated negatively. Normally, this fear occurs with people outside the family environment or the most intimate circle of friends. Anthropophobia may be part of a social anxiety disorder, but the two terms are not exactly the same.

People with anthropophobia feel afraid of people, regardless of the environment. A person with social anxiety disorder may not feel anxious if they are in a crowd where no one knows them. But someone with anthropophobia feels anxious in any crowd. The fear of it is specific to people, not specific to social settings.

As we said, Anthropophobia is a deeper fear than that which can exist in social phobia. With social anxiety it is possible to feel comfortable in an anonymous social environment, where no one or almost no one knows us. With anthropophobia, the intensity of anxiety may be the same in an anonymous environment as in a non-anonymous environment.

Anthropophobia can even lead you to quit work or school to avoid social situations. It will be a considerable obstacle to satisfying the basic need for connection with other people, which will, in turn, be a source of conflict and tension.

Causes of anthropophobia

All phobias are often linked to trauma in a person’s history. In some cases, just one extremely bad experience is enough to cause anthropophobia. But it often arises after a series of bad experiences.

Betrayal by close loved ones can trigger this phobia. What begins as a betrayal can lead to a larger trust issue for a person. From there, it can develop into a complete fear of people and all social interactions.

Let’s imagine a girl abused by her parents whose case reaches Social Services. After several months of paperwork and two foster families, she obtained a permanent adoption. However, she never received any real love from her adoptive parents.

suffered bullying at school; The few friends she had ended up betraying her. Furthermore, her first sexual contacts were not positive at all.

After several years, this person is unable to tolerate the presence of someone around them for a long time. He takes beta blockers daily to cope with tachycardia, sweating and hand tremors, although the anxiety is still there, with strangers and loved ones. Really… Is this reaction so strange?

However, it is not always clear what causes a phobia. It may depend on the person and past experiences, but not as clearly as seen in this story. Sometimes there is no clear cause at all.

Symptoms of anthropophobia

Sometimes the first symptoms of anthropophobia are not recognized. They may begin with a person being unwilling to make eye contact with others and worrying about being watched. On top of that, the person is likely anxious about the possibility of being judged.

A clearer symptom is “anticipatory anxiety,” how a person becomes stressed about an upcoming social event. You may end up experiencing stomach problems, sleep disorders, and headaches as the date approaches.

Panic attacks are also common. They can arise when an anthropophobic person has to confront other people.

Treatment

Some types of therapy that may be helpful in treating anthropophobia include cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), and interpersonal therapy.

There is also a film-based virtual reality therapy that was made specifically for public speaking and generalized to anthropophobia. This plays an exposure role and allows people to practice public speaking or other situations that produce symptoms, monitoring themselves to reduce and cope with them, especially anticipatory anxiety.

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