What Is Philophobia?
Philosophically speaking, there are two types of fear: phobias and phobia. Phobic fears are those that cause one to avoid something or experience extreme anxiety if exposed to it. For example, a person might have a fear of heights because they feel like they could fall out of the sky. A person suffering from panic disorder would not go near a crowded place even though she feels safe there.
Phobia is a term used to refer to a specific type of fear. An individual may suffer from several different types of phobias at any given time. Some common phobias include:
Fear of public speaking (e.g., fear of public speaking) Fear of flying (e.g., fear of flying airplanes) Fear of heights (e.g., fear of heights) Fear of spiders (e.g.
fear of spiders) Fear of germs (e.g., fear of germs) Fear of snakes (e.g., fear of snakes)
The first three examples are fairly obvious, while the last two are less so. However, some individuals will suffer from all four phobias simultaneously.
People with different types of phobias can experience a range of symptoms when confronted with their fear. These include, but are not limited to:
An increase of adrenaline and cortisol
Increased heart rate
Blood pressure spikes
Shaking
Nausea
Dizziness
Fear of Falling in Love and Getting Hurt
Your friends say that you’ve been falling behind lately. You miss their events. You always seem to have an excuse. Sometimes you even lie about your whereabouts. You do not want to go out with them anymore.
You do not want to leave your house.
Why is this happening?
You might have fallen in love recently. You are scared of getting close to someone. You think that maybe something bad will happen. You have been hurt before, so you feel like it will happen again. Maybe you are seeing a pattern here: you’re scared of getting close to someone and then losing them.
So what do you do?
You avoid getting close to anyone.
Does this sound familiar?
If so, then you may be dealing with what is known as the fear of falling in love or a related term called philophobia. This condition is also known as eromenophobia. You may feel comfortable around one person, but you’re reluctant to start a relationship and enter into a deeper level of intimacy with them. This is because he or she may get hurt once again.
The term “philophobia” means “fear of love.” It is a common condition that affects millions of people around the world. While many people suffer from this condition, not many acknowledge it. Instead, they try to cover it up, or worse, they do not know that there is even a name for what they are going through. It’s like an epidemic that no one wants to talk about.
Even those who have been hurt before want to give love another chance. They believe that this time will be different. The funny thing is, they’re usually right. They just have to learn how to deal with their condition first.
The interesting thing about this fear is that many sufferers also want to find love. They just do not know how to go about it. Instead of finding love, they end up pushing it away. They do this by isolating themselves from the rest of the world. Many people do this because they are afraid to try again.
More often than not, these individuals have low self-esteem. They have a warped view of themselves, so it is no surprise that they think that no one could ever love them. This is a very dangerous mindset, and it should be changed as soon as possible. When you think about it, it is not really living. You are just going through the motions of existing rather than truly living your life to the fullest.
If you are constantly thinking negative thoughts, then you are only hurting yourself. It is important to change your mindset so that you can finally move on with your life. There is a saying that you are in control of your own destiny. You might as well take control of it and live the life that you want rather than drifting in uncertainty at sea. When you reach this point, then you will have conquered your fear and will be ready to move on with your life.
Of course, this may take a while. Some people have had bad experiences in the past, so it takes a while before they can fully trust other people again. The important thing is that you are aware that fear and mistrust are preventing you from having a normal life. Once you acknowledge it, then you are halfway to solving the problem. You just need to strengthen your resolve in order to completely eliminate the problem from your life.
Sources & references used in this article:
Why are we afraid to love? by M Gisbourne
The psychology of tickling, laughing, and the comic by R Tavormina – Psychiatria Danubina, 2014 – psychiatria-danubina.com
The Metaphysics of Fear in Saul Bellow’s Henderson the Rain King by GS Hall, A Alliń – The American Journal of Psychology, 1897 – JSTOR
Crazy English by T Rhea – Saul Bellow Journal, 2006 – questia.com
Being Abbas el Abd by R Lederer – 2010 – books.google.com
Cope. by A Alaidy – 2006 – books.google.com
Making love: Sexuality and the construction of British modernism by VTC Press – books.google.com
