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Dipsophobia – The Fear of Drinking Alcohol
Situational Phobias

Catagelophobia – Fear of Being Bullied on Social Media

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Being Bullied Online Is a Serious Issue

Do you live in fear of being ridiculed or bullied on social media? Do you overthink your posts and worry that your pictures aren’t perfect?

Do you have low self-esteem, especially when it comes to your social media presence?

Do you take every negative comment personally? Every interaction online seems like a direct attack. You live in fear that people will mock or laugh at your social media posts.

You probably can’t wrap your head around this. But this fear has a name: catagelophobia. Catagelophobia is the fear of being bullied on social media. If you’ve experienced any of the things mentioned above, then you may suffer from this phobia.

It may seem impossible right now, but this phobia can be treated. The first step towards healing yourself is to understand why you have it and how you developed it.

Everything You Need to Know about Catagelophobia

Catagelophobia is the extreme fear of being bullied on social media. People who have this phobia often undergo panic attacks at the thought of being publicly ridiculed or criticized online.

Individuals with catagelophobia may also have similar phobias like agoraphobia, which is the fear of crowded places, or glossophobia, which is the fear of speaking publicly.
 

Catagelophobia Causes

This phobia can be traced to early childhood, when individuals are highly sensitive and impressionable. Children are easily influenced by harsh and unnecessary criticism, which can have a lasting effect on their mental health. A child who grows up in an environment that lacks love and kindness may withdraw from society.

What are the emotional consequences of being bullied on social media? Problems like anxiety, stress, low self-esteem, depression, and academic struggles are a few consequences of being bullied online. Cyberbullying can be more damaging because a child can be ridiculed publicly as well as privately, creating severe anxiety and stress.

Some studies also suggest that catagelophobia is genetic. This phobia may be passed down from parents, grandparents, or family members who suffer from severe anxiety or low self-confidence.
 

Symptoms of Catagelophobia

Every individual faces a different set of catagelophobia symptoms. The condition can become so severe that some individuals may end up withdrawing from society entirely. They believe that is the only method to protect themselves. Here are some other common signs of catagelophobia:

Mental/Emotional Symptoms

  • Constantly thinking about being bullied online
  • Having obsessive thoughts about the fear
  • Feeling detached and isolated from everything around you
  • Constant fear of losing control over yourself

Physical Symptoms

  • Dizziness
  • Inability to breathe properly
  • Accelerated heartbeats
  • Discomfort in the chest
  • Shaking
  • A sensation of being choked
  • Profuse sweating
  • Nausea
  • Tingling sensations all over the body

 

What Can I Do to Overcome Catagelophobia?

It’s not easy trying to overcome the fear of being ridiculed on social media, but it is possible. It’s a slow process, but with persistence and patience, you can overcome this irrational fear.

Self-Help for Catagelophobia

Before you consult a professional, why not try some self-help strategies? Acknowledge and try to understand how your thoughts work. This will slowly help to curb your fears.

Exercise is also an option, as that has been proven to help people with catagelophobia and other anxiety disorders. Cardiovascular exercises tend to relieve an individual’s stress. Weight training and other forms of exercise also relieve one’s stress and anxiety, but cardiovascular exercises have been proven to release more endorphins. These happy hormones can offset intense feelings of fear and worry.

There are a variety of cardiovascular exercises that you can try, including cycling, swimming, running, skipping, and skiing. You might even consider taking up a sport like basketball, soccer, and tennis.

Doing some sort of exercise helps relieve stress and calms the mind. Exercising is an important step in the self-help process and can make it easier to deal with catagelophobia. Phobias make the mind and body weaker. Engaging in exercises like yoga that strengthen the mind and body will help.

Discussing your phobia with a trusted friend or family member is another option. You can get a confidence boost when others validate your feelings. Some also choose to join self-help groups focusing on specific phobias.

Professional Help for Catagelophobia

In some cases, self-help isn’t enough to curb the fear of catagelophobia. That’s when seeking the help of a professional is advisable. Catagelophobia treatment involves managing symptoms using one or more of the treatment options mentioned below.

Exposure Therapy

Exposure therapy can prove to be beneficial for people suffering from catagelophobia and other phobias. You’ll be asked to face your fear in a controlled environment for a specific period. For example, a therapist may show a clip of someone else getting bullied or ridiculed. The therapist may even get permission to ridicule you for a set time.

The goal in this therapy is to get used to your fears. However, this method may lead to unwanted levels of stress and anxiety. It can be extra challenging for people who suffer from extreme cases of catagelophobia. That’s why it’s important to follow the guidance of your therapist.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

Cognitive behavioral therapy is often used to treat anxiety disorders and obsessive-compulsive disorder. The therapist helps you learn methods to cope with your fear. With this treatment, you can change the way you think about circumstances that trigger your phobia.

Mindfulness Therapy

Mindfulness therapy is known to benefit people suffering from catagelophobia. This method of stress reduction helps people who suffer from depression, anxiety, stress, and other mental health problems. A therapist helps you channel your attention on other things rather than focusing on your fears. When done properly, this can calm you.

The easiest method to do this is to focus on one’s breathing. It works because this act doesn’t have any emotional load attached to it. Therefore, you can distract yourself from mind-numbing anxiety and break an endless loop of negative thoughts.

Meditation

Like mindfulness therapy, meditation helps you focus on things that don’t have an emotional load. Those suffering from catagelophobia often have panic or anxiety attacks. Meditation allows you to calm down and breathe easier. You can focus on the way your muscles expand and contract when breathing.

And you don’t only have to focus on breathing. You can also pay attention to your other senses to calm down. This is a slow process and requires practice, but it will have a noticeable effect on anxiety associated with catagelophobia.
 

How to Avoid Catagelophobia

The first step in avoiding catagelophobia is to address and acknowledge your fear. You should also try and understand what is causing you to fear being ridiculed online. In some cases, it may help to “unplug” from social media for a few days to gain perspective.

You should address your fears directly. Live in the present and don’t dwell on things you have no control over. As mentioned earlier, exercise and meditation are known to help people calm down. Implement these methods in your daily life.
 

In Conclusion

It may seem impossible, but you can learn to face social media without having a panic attack. Start with baby steps. Address the fear and try and understand the cause behind it.

Slowly but surely, your fear of being bullied on social media will be replaced by self-acceptance and confidence. After all, most of the people you encounter online are strangers who have no say in how you live your life. Their opinions or criticism hold less value than those of your real-life social network.

Stories Submitted by Our Readers

Social Phobia

I am a teenager and should love going places with my friends, however, it is just the opposite for me. I have a small circle of friends and I enjoy being with them and even being the topic of discussion. My problem comes in when I meet new people. I cannot go to the mall, a ballgame, or a party unless I have someone with me that I know very well. I do see a counselor for my fear but I still fear being around new people, others judging me, feeling unaccepted by a group, and a huge fear of others leaving me. If I do not have a friend with me in a crowd or I lose sight of them, I actually freeze up. I go into a huge panic attack. I feel like I can’t breathe, and I cannot think straight. On top of this, I even worry that my friends will leave me as I am not worthy of being their friend. I only have a couple of friends because I have a very hard time making new friends because of my fear. i did have a counselor that I trusted at school, that was helping me work through the fear, but when I began middle school, the counselor changed and then it was like starting over again. This happened year after year and my fear of people leaving me became even more prominent as I would have to meet a new counselor and start over telling them my fears. I love going places and getting out of the house, but I must have someone I know with me. This is often very hard when my fears tell me that no one likes me or they are just faking and they will leave me as well.

I have lost the ability to fake it any longer. I do not have communication skills any longer. I have to keep it together inside just to be around people. I thought I was just having trouble with relationships with men, but I have found that I can’t talk to women either. I have always put on a fake smile and rolled with the flow, but that is not working any longer. Everyone else seems to be able to manipulate others and go on, but not me. In the back of my mind, I know they are talking bad about me. I have always been manipulated by others and couldn’t figure out why everyone else dislikes me. At first, I am find, but then it is like a switch goes off and I know everyone is looking at me. I feel worthless. I am not looking for a sexual partner, but I feel like a victim when it comes to relationships on all levels and I feel unworthy. I wonder if I put my feelings of myself on others and look at them as if I was looking in a mirror. I don’t trust anyone and that includes family and close friends that have hung through my emotional roller coaster trips. I just can’t control the thoughts any longer. I am now confused and weak. I truly am stuck. I can’t get ahead at work or find a dream job because I can’t carry on a professional conversation. I feel out of place. I can’t do small talk and wish someone would slap me and tell me to just shut up. I don’t want to get close to anyone coz I don’t want them to get to know me. I don’t want to be alone either. I do hope someone out there doesn’t feel alone like me and can open up and talk about this phobia.
Meredith Crosby

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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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