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Beliefs

Russophobia — Fear of Russians

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Comrade, Let’s Discuss Russophobia

Do you have negative sentiments toward the Russian regime? Does anything related to the political sphere of Russia cause you an incomprehensible fear and sense of dread?

Do you fear Russians or worry that Russian officials might do something aggressive to disturb the sanctity of another country?

Have you also observed the buildup of anxiety and distress within you at the mere mention of Russia? Have you grown to find Russia, its people, its government, and its culture intolerable?

It is likely that you suffer from a fear of Russians. This fear, also known as Russophobia, stems from the Cold War that happened between Russia and the United States and its allies during World War II.

The good news is that it is possible to overcome this fear. Continue reading this article to learn more about this irrational phobia and the steps to deal with it.

What Does Russophobia Mean?

Aversion to or irrational fear of Russia or Russian things is known as Russophobia. A Russophobe is a person who detests Russia or anything related to Russia.

Most of the time, the fear is of the political system that Russia follows or a custom that Russia, previously known as the Soviet Union, observes.

Something as simple as reading an article on Russia in the newspaper may fill a Russophobe with dread. Watching Russian content online or something that is based in Russia on television can also be triggers.

The word Russophobia is a mix of two words: Russo, which means Russia, and phobia, which means fear.

Russophobia Causes

The Cold War occurred between 1947 to 1991. During this time, there was geopolitical tension between the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (now Russia) and the United States, along with their respective allies. This gave birth to Russophobia.

The critical analysis and reproval of the Russian political system published by various news and media outlets in the Western countries could also be a reason behind an intolerance toward Russians.

Someone who has had a past traumatic experience that involved Russia can grow up to develop Russophobia. This might include being a part of the Cold War or escaping from any war started by Russia that directly affected them and their family.

People with a family history of mental illnesses, anxiety issues, or depression can also be prone to Russophobia.

Sometimes, children are conditioned to develop hatred towards Russia from a very young age. This leads to their developing Russophobia over time.

What Is Russophobia Like?

Russophobia is like any other irrational fear. People become self-conscious and avoid being part of social groups fearing they may encounter someone who might discuss Russian politics.

Most often, with a phobia like Russophobia, which is against a group of a specific category of people, there comes hatred and contempt. Some who suffer from Russophobia resort to hateful rhetoric. Due to this, they may end up at the receiving end of shame and condemnation.

The symptoms of Russophobia such as anxiety, panic attacks, stress, and lack of concentration can adversely affect your routine life as well. You may be unable to finish small tasks without growing uneasy and distracted. The phobia affects you both mentally and physically.

Symptoms of Russophobia

Most symptoms of Russophobia are similar to those of other phobias and fears. Based on the severity of your fear of Russians, your symptoms may vary. Let us have a look at the psychological and physical symptoms that concern Russophobia.

Psychological Symptoms

  • Avoidance of Russian people, their culture, and customs
  • Lack of concentration and focus
  • Escaping from social situations
  • Avoidance of newspapers, television, and other sources of information

Physical Symptoms

  • Severe anxiety
  • Panic attacks
  • Breathlessness
  • Shivers
  • Excessive sweating
  • Chills and tremors

Some Ways to Deal with Russophobia

When you are dealing with a phobia, there are a variety of symptoms that may hinder your activities on an everyday basis. To prevent your phobia or your symptoms from getting out of hand, try the following:

  • Avoid drinking caffeine-infused beverages that can increase your feelings of anxiety.
  • Take up a new hobby, practice mindfulness, eat healthily, and include plenty of exercise in your routine.
  • Acknowledge your fears. Try to encounter your source of fear as much as possible. After doing so, work to educate yourself on why the fear is irrational. This will help to ease it.
  • Learn breathing exercises that you can implement when feeling anxious or are at a loss of breath.
  • Don’t shy away from seeking professional help as and when required.

Russophobia Treatment

If you want to reduce the symptoms associated with Russophobia, administering timely treatment is the best course. The quicker you seek treatment for your phobia, the easier it will be to get over your fears before they become too intense.

Therapists may treat the fear through different methods such as cognitive behavioral therapy, exposure therapy, or mindfulness-based stress reduction.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
Through cognitive behavioral therapy, your therapist will target the source of your fears. They will delve into the root cause of your phobia and help you gain comfort in discussing the reasons that led to it. Once you are able to identify the source of your fear, you will be able to counteract and control those sources from getting the better of you.

Exposure Therapy
Exposure therapy helps desensitize people to their fears. The therapist slowly and gradually exposes the patients to the source of their fear over a series of sessions. This treatment option eventually helps the patient feel more comfortable facing their fears. The sessions may progress quickly or slowly, depending on the patient’s convenience and comfort.

Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction
Stress, anxiety, panic, and overthinking all are prevalent and distinguishable symptoms of Russophobia. Through this form of treatment, a patient will learn a few techniques and methods that can help them tackle their extreme emotions and cope with their symptoms. These treatment sessions usually include multiple meditation courses and teach different skills for dealing with stress and anxiety.

How to Cope with Russophobia?

As mentioned above, it is essential to note that living with Russophobia will come with its fair share of hatred from people who are followers of Russian politics. Such comments can be painful and cause a lot of stress. They can trigger negative emotions and make you question your self-worth too.

The most important part is to educate yourself about Russia, its government, its allies, and any other feature of the country that you fear. Remember to make educated comments on a country or its people.  This will help you avoid hurting the sentiments of a group of people based on false narratives.

Discuss your fears and concerns with informed people who can help you get through your fears without passing judgment.

Final Words
Living with a phobia can be difficult. But living without taking measures to work on the phobia and improve your symptoms is all the more harmful. You are responsible for how you feel, and if your fears do not make you feel the best version of yourself, it is time to work towards self-improvement. You will not only feel free of fear, but you’ll also begin to enjoy life more.

FearAZ.com is looking for personal stories of any 'fear of' or phobia. If you have an interesting story you'd like to share, we welcome your submission. If the story fits with our content and guidelines, we'll add it to our site.
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Your Fear Goes Up and Down

Are you someone who would rather climb the stairs than take the elevator? You call it squeezing in a workout after being sedentary the whole morning. Or perhaps you claim it's a faster route. These are both typical, normal, and acceptable reasons. But what if you need to be in the conference room on the eleventh floor in five minutes, and you're wearing your business suit and wingtips? Would you still prefer to take the stairs? If your answer is yes, then maybe it's time to take a closer look at your reasons for avoiding elevators. Elevators stir all sorts of emotions in passengers. From the discomfort of closeness to strangers to the sensations in our gut, elevators can be a source of the heebie-jeebies for many, but for some, they can also be a source of terror. Let's dig a little deeper into the latter, and see what this terror is all about and what can be done to manage it. To begin with, does being inside an elevator give you chills or the sweats? Or does it trigger an unpleasant memory? Perhaps you remember movies you've watched where something terrible happens inside an elevator. From Silence of the Lambs, The Shining, Final Destination 2, or the king of all elevator horror films, 2010’s Devil, the elevator becomes witness to something sinister and horrible. And you want nothing to do with any of it. You know that you're not claustrophobic. You can deal with heights just fine, too. And you know that you're not going to be trapped inside. All of these contribute to a fear of elevators—but they don't apply to you. Yet being inside one does something to you. It's hard to explain.

What is the Fear of Elevators Called?

What you have is a fear of elevators, which is called elevatophobia. It is most commonly triggered by an experience of getting stuck inside either due to a power outage or technical maintenance. Hearing about other people's experiences or watching a movie about similar circumstances can prompt a fear of elevators getting stuck with you inside. Usually, claustrophobics and agoraphobics may also develop elevatophobia because the triggers and objects of these fears are related. Claustrophobia is the fear of closed and cramped spaces, while agoraphobia is the fear of being trapped without any means of escape. Put the two together, and the elevator becomes the perfect combination of both phobias. The space is limited and closed, with only one means of entry and exit. You can add another point of access if you consider climbing the cables like they do in the movies, but that certainly isn't ideal.

Symptoms of Elevatophobia

If for some reason an elevator stops due to an outage or some technical difficulty, passengers with elevatophobia may go into full panic mode. Even if the maintenance team advises that it will just be a matter of minutes, by then, the person's mind has become irrational with the fear of the elevator falling, being stuck for hours, or other unpleasant thoughts. You would expect a person to exhibit the following physical symptoms: Additionally, you would be filled with that overwhelming anxiety where you feel that you have zero control over the situation. You start fearing the unknown and are filled with negative thoughts about death and imminent doom. You become irrational and unresponsive.

Possible Complications of Elevatophobia

When the panic sets in, the possibility of emergencies related to pre-existing conditions may make themselves known. This might include serious health crises like heart attacks or asthma attacks. When this happens, fear becomes a medical emergency. Elevator rides do not last long; it's just a matter of minutes or even less. But the fact that a person can escalate from panic to a near fatal medical situation classifies the fear of elevators as a 'hard phobia.'

Trying Some Self-Help Methods

Your fear of elevators can likely interfere with your social and work life and relationships. Not everyone understands that elevatophobia, like most phobias, can be crippling. But don't be disheartened. Depending on the level of your fear and level of control, you can gradually face and manage your phobia. Here are some recommendations you can try:
  1. Make a List of Everything that Entails Riding in an Elevator This is a systematic approach to getting over your anxiety. By following a step-by-step process, you can identify where the fear kicks in at its strongest. You can write a list of steps like pressing the topmost button and waiting to arrive on that floor, watching as the door closes and opens, being alone inside the elevator, or having delays with the doors opening. Now try doing the opposite. For example, face away from the door or occupy yourself with your phone so that you are distracted.
  2. Create Your Fear Ladder Although the name says fear of elevators, it is not the whole process that scares you. There are just phases and parts of the elevator riding experience that cause you to panic. So go back to the list you initially created and label the fear level you feel. You can do it numerically, too, like ten being 'really scary,' six, 'manageable scary,' and one, 'not scary at all.' You can put the corresponding fear levels so you can focus more time and effort into activities that are more scary to you.
  3. Face Your Fear By now, you have identified what scares you the most. You can try repetitive action to minimize your fear and increase your sense of ‘normalcy’. Remember that the longer you expose yourself to your fear, the better you get at handling your emotions. If you are feeling overwhelmed, stop. Pushing yourself too fast and too soon can backfire. Modify your pace and go slower instead.
  4. Talk About Your Fear People by nature, unfortunately, are not quick to offer understanding and support. You need to tell them what's wrong before they can empathize. Talk to someone who you trust and ask for their support, especially in the initial phase of overcoming your fear. If you are too afraid to ride the elevator alone, you can ask them to go with you, and before you realize it, you are on your floor, and there was no indication of panic.
  5. Learn To Be Patient Be patient with yourself and your predicament. This is, after all, your fight against fear. It might take hundreds of elevator ride practices before the fear gets under control. Even then, there might be some hesitations and episodes of nervousness. These are acceptable and expected, so cut yourself some slack and congratulate yourself for every progress.

Seeking Professional Help

Along with self-help, you can always enlist a medical professional's aid to support you with your elevatophobia. Talking to someone who has experience with similar cases can be comforting, because you know that you are not alone, and this situation can get better. Talk to your doctor about the severity of your fears and the symptoms that you experience. Explain how you deal with it in an attempt to control it. An exam and a health history are made to ensure that there are no unrelated or underlying problems that your symptoms might mask. Usually, phobias like this are approached with a combination of psychotherapy and medication. Your doctor will talk about these options with you, and it's entirely up to you, with your doctor's recommendation, what you want to pursue. For psychotherapy, the most common type is cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), which aims to help you find different ways of behaving, thinking, and reacting when about to step inside an elevator or when already inside it. With medications, there are beta blockers and benzodiazepines, but note that these can have side effects. Whatever these side effects are, you should promptly share it with your doctor.

Simple Tips to Overcome Elevatophobia

Elevators are not perfect, but their likelihood to malfunction, fall, or get stuck is very low. If you are not fully confident with this information, you can help overcome your elevatophobia by learning common elevator safety tips and basic elevator operations. These should help curb your mild fear until you become more self-assured. In addition to that, here are some of the things that you can do to gradually overcome your fear of elevators—both in getting on and riding one.

Conclusion

Yes, elevatophobia can be a challenge in today's world, but don't allow the elevator to win. Don't let it stop you from taking a job on the top floor or attending a social gathering on the rooftop. Sure, you can take the stairs if you insist and arrive winded and sweaty, with the party about to wrap up. But is this the quality of life you seek? Elevators are designed to make life easier. There are guaranteed ways to help you overcome elevatophobia. Take the first step and seek help. Soon, you’ll see yourself breezing through the floors with those arduous stair climbs little more than a memory.
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