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Body Phobias

Amnesiphobia – The Fear of Amnesia

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Don’t Forget: Amnesiphobia Is Serious

Does the fear of being forgetful plague your daytime thoughts? Do you find yourself unable to shake off the panic that arises every time you think of amnesia?

Do you find it difficult to maintain and live a normal life due to symptoms of panic, anxiety, or depression? Is this because of a nagging fear that you may one day have amnesia and not be able to do everyday things?

If you answered these questions with an emphatic yes!, then you might have a fear of amnesia. What is fear of amnesia called? It is also known as amnesiphobia.

A common phobia in the irrational fears list, amnesiphobia and your experience with it can be difficult to explain to those around you.

But that doesn’t mean there’s no way out of it. By acknowledging the fear, you’re already on the path to recovery. Keep reading to learn more about the subject of your fear and how to overcome it.

Amnesiphobia Causes

The causes of amnesiphobia are never direct and can involve many factors. Some people might have a higher risk due to a genetic predisposition, environment, or an existing mental illness.

However, people with or without exposure to these factors and conditions can still develop amnesiphobia.

The phobia usually develops when the person undergoes a traumatic event that has a direct or indirect relation to the subject of fear. In this case, the subject of fear is being forgetful, or amnesia.

 

Some Things You Need to Know about Amnesiphobia

Amnesiphobia, like all other phobias, lies pretty much undetected unless and until a triggering thought or event occurs. These triggering events and thoughts are often related to the subject of fear, or remind the person of a traumatic event from their past.

Triggers are unique for every person and can be tangible or intangible.

Unlike disgust phobias, amnesiphobia is a fear-based phobia that centers around irrational feelings and thoughts about the subject of fear.

Most people suffering from amnesiphobia know that their fears around amnesia are unfounded and excessive. However, this doesn’t help them in overcoming the fear.

Note that amnesiphobia is not the fear of forgetting memories, also known as athazagoraphobia. That is a different type of phobia that often develops after caring for someone with Alzheimer’s disease or dementia.

A person with athazagoraphobia might also develop a fear of being forgotten. However, the symptoms arising from both phobias might appear similar.

Is amnesia scary? Yes, it is, as it can disrupt your life. Amnesiphobia or the fear of amnesia is also genuine and terrifying to those with the phobia.

Symptoms of Amnesiphobia

Amnesiphobia can manifest as physical or psychological symptoms, and sometimes, both.

Here are some of them:

Physical Symptoms

  • Dry mouth
  • Dizziness, shaking, or palpitations
  • Excessive sweating
  • Accelerated heart rate
  • Hot or cold flashes
  • Feeling of choking
  • Shortness of breath
  • Nausea or digestive issues
  • Chest pain, tightness, or discomfort
  • Numbness or tingling sensations

Psychological Symptoms

  • Obsessive thoughts about the fear
  • Uncontrollable anxiety
  • Fear of fainting
  • Fear of losing control
  • A sense of unreality
  • Anticipatory anxiety about upcoming events involving the fear
  • Feelings of anger, guilt, sadness, and hurt over past episodes
  • Panic attacks
  • Withdrawing from others
  • Depression

If you have one or more of these symptoms, you likely have amnesiphobia.

Depending on the cause of the fear of amnesia, its progression, and other factors, you may show some of these symptoms or several.

 

How Do You Deal with Amnesiphobia?

Most people who experience phobias and their symptoms usually start avoiding the subject of their fear. This further pushes them to restrict their engagement with others and avoid attending important events to escape any possible unpleasant situations.

Ultimately, having a phobia can put a lot of strain on your health, lifestyle, and relationships. Left unchecked, the risk of developing serious psychological disorders, such as depression, is high.

But the good news is:

You can get things under control. Here are some impactful amnesiphobia treatment options that can help.

Self-Help: What Steps Can You Take to Help Yourself

Finding the strength to face your fears can seem impossible to most amnesiphobes.

Some may benefit greatly from an amnesiphobia treatment that centers around self-help.

Self-help involves making small changes to your lifestyle to better cope with the fear and its symptoms. It reduces risk factors and their impact on the condition’s progression.

Best of all:

Self-help measures can also help prepare the person to seek professional treatment later on.

Here are some popular self-help suggestions that amnesiphobes can try:

  • Eat a nutritious diet
  • Engage in some form of aerobic exercise regularly
  • Get seven to eight hours of peaceful sleep
  • Incorporate mindful meditation into your everyday routine
  • Avoid or reduce your caffeine consumption

 

Professional Help for the Fear of Amnesiphobia

Working with a mental health professional can help in several ways. It encourages one to address and face their fears in a controlled environment. It can also help them understand the root cause of the phobia.

The individual can receive additional guidance from a professional on how to manage and perhaps even overcome their fear entirely. It is also reassuring to talk with a professional who understands your dilemma when those around you can’t.

Mental health professionals may use many techniques to get to the root of the phobia and help clients recover. Some such techniques include:

  • Exposure therapies
  • Cognitive behavioral therapies (CBT)
  • Hypnotherapy
  • Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT)
  • Neuro-linguistic programming (NLP)

The method employed is largely determined by the therapist’s observations of your symptoms.

 

Learning to Cope with Amnesiphobia

While all phobias are treatable, there is no guarantee which approach and amnesiphobia treatment will provide results. That is why most treatment strategies focus on helping the individual cope with the condition in their everyday lives.

While learning self-help strategies and seeking professional help can make a huge difference, support from loved ones is also important. Along with all of these, you can also try to incorporate the following tips to cope with the condition while seeking treatment:

  • Maintain a positive mindset
  • Research and educate yourself about amnesiphobia
  • Attend discussion groups
  • Practice relaxation techniques

 

Conclusion

You’ve taken the first step toward overcoming your amnesiphobia by reading this article.

We hope that this information will help you make an informed decision about taking the next step in your amnesia treatment.

With consistent effort, amnesiphobia will one day become a thing of the past.

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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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