Skip to content Skip to sidebar Skip to footer
3K
3K
740
3K
Menu
Menu
static-img
Situational Phobias

Deipnophobia – Fear of Dining/Dinner Conversations

Share This Article
Share Post

Deipnophobia: Fear of Dining or Dinner Conversations

Food is a necessity and even a passion for some. Aside from acquiring nutrition for our bodies, it’s a way to bond and share experiences with others. However, a few of us suffer from a fear of social dining or mealtime conversations.

These individuals often prefer to eat alone because they feel more comfortable and safer that way. They might make excuses not to be part of a social dining event. Even a simple dinner with family and friends can trigger their mealtime phobia, which can negatively affect their social lives.

If your life is characterized by an extreme avoidance of social dining, you may fail to enjoy mealtimes like others. This could mean you have deipnophobia. But what exactly is this fear and how can you address it?

Symptoms of Deipnophobia

Your fear of group dining can manifest in many unique ways. The mere mention of having lunch together or attending an event with a group of people can trigger uncontrollable emotions. In severe cases, even looking at pictures of people eating together can cause panic.

The symptoms of this phobia vary from one person to another. The severity and how long each symptom lasts is also unique for each person. Most of the time, it manifests as physical or mental/emotional symptoms.

Physical Symptoms

  • Chest pain or tightness
  • Cold (or hot) flashes
  • Difficulty breathing
  • Dizziness
  • Racing heart
  • Trembling
  • Sweating
  • Upset stomach

Mental/Emotional Symptoms

  • An urgent need to escape or be alone
  • Feeling detached from yourself
  • Loss of control
  • Overwhelming apprehension
  • Strong feelings of powerlessness

 

Causes of Deipnophobia

Like all phobias, deipnophobia doesn’t have any specific root cause. Oftentimes, this phobia develops due to negative and traumatic experiences that occurred during childhood or early adulthood.

For instance, while eating with family and friends as a child, you may have witnessed something terrible or something tragic happened while dining out.

Aside from traumatic events in the past, growing up with family and friends who have extreme anxiety or anti-social behaviors can also make you more susceptible to developing this phobia.

 

Treatment of Deipnophobia

Those who suffer from phobias are usually aware that something is off. This realization helps in the diagnosis and treatment of phobias like deipnophobia.

Phobias are treatable. Treatment options can be in the form of self-help options, professional therapy, or a combination of the two.

Self-Help Options for Deipnophobia

Here are some self-help options you can try.

#1. Take the Initiative to Learn About Your Phobia

Having a deeper understanding of your fear can empower you and eventually help you realize there’s nothing to be afraid of. Note down your thoughts and feelings in a journal and write down what it is exactly that’s making you feel scared. Finally, jot down your goal to be in better control of your phobia and the steps you need to take to achieve it.

#2. Make Some Lifestyle Changes

Making simple lifestyle adjustments can help you manage your phobia and reduce its symptoms. For instance, you can cut back on your caffeine intake, make sure to always get enough sleep, and engage in physical exercises.

#3. Learn Relaxation Techniques

Breathing exercises and activities that help you control your breathing are helpful when you’re about to have a panic attack. Exhaling the negativity out of your body and calming your mind can help you better react to your phobia.

Professional Treatments for Deipnophobia

Speaking to a medical professional such as a psychiatrist or psychologist is useful when you want to treat your phobia with a more structured approach. Based on the severity of your phobia as well as the assessment by your doctor, you may be encouraged to try one or several of these therapies:

#1. Desensitization Therapy

Also referred to as exposure therapy, these sessions aim to change your reaction to the situation you fear. You will be gradually exposed to your phobia in increments and always in a controlled environment. This is done regularly until you can better manage your panic triggers and react to them better.

#2. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

Cognitive behavioral therapy is almost always included in treating any form of phobia. The goal of these sessions is to help you determine the root cause of your anxiety. Eventually, CBT will help you replace your fears with more grounded and realistic thoughts. During your sessions, you’ll learn different coping techniques and alternative perspectives regarding your fear.

More often than not, CBT is paired with breathing techniques like meditation and yoga.

#3. Prescription Drugs

Your mental health professional may also prescribe medication to help you control your panic and anxiety. Note that medications are not usually the first course of action and are only given as needed. Beta-blockers, antidepressants, and sedatives are examples of commonly prescribed drugs.

 

Living with Deipnophobia

Deipnophobia is a type of social anxiety disorder that is complex and can negatively influence your social ties. After all, almost all social events involve food that is enjoyed together. This can lead you to miss out on important celebrations and daily events that are often important for forming healthy relationships. Lunches, anniversaries, birthdays, weddings, and more—life can get quite lonely if you can’t eat with other people.

But you don’t have to live with your phobia forever. You can overcome it and begin enjoying social dining experiences again. With patience, the right treatment, and a strong determination to get rid of deipnophobia, you can move past this chapter of your life and forge stronger social connections.

 

Conclusion

Enjoy food, enjoy the company of your friends, and enjoy life. Although it’s a tough battle, you can prevail. Deipnophobia might be overpowering you today but it doesn’t always have to be that way. As you can see, there are different therapies you can try. With self-help and professional guidance, you can learn to enjoy food and the people around you simultaneously.

 

 

Sources:

https://www.eatingdisorderhope.com/blog/deipnophobia-food-and-eating-anxiety-in-public

https://www.helpguide.org/articles/anxiety/phobias-and-irrational-fears.htm

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.
0LikesShare Post

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.
This Pop-up Is Included in the Theme
Best Choice for Creatives
Purchase Now