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Beliefs

Judeophobia – Fear of Jews

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Is Judeophobia (the Fear of Jews) Real?

Judeophobia is a very real phobia which exists in every corner of the world. Judeophobia is also known as a fear of Jews.

But what is a “Jew?”

A Jew is a person of Jewish descent and/or religion. A Jew or Jewish person is just that: a person. But there are those who have an excessive or unreasonable fear of Jewish people.

Could you have judeophobia?

When you hear the term “Jew,” do you feel nervous? Do you go out of your way to avoid people of Jewish origin or places you might encounter Jewish people? Do you even avoid watching movies or reading books that feature Jews?

If you are experiencing this, you might have a fear of Jews.

If you’re ready to better understand or even overcome this irrational fear of Jewish people, read on.

Judeophobia Causes

Like other types of profound psychological fear, judeophobia is most likely to develop under certain circumstances, but these circumstances themselves don’t cause the fear.

This fear can be socioeconomic based, religious based or based on experience.

Like other anxiety-based phobias, judeophobia spreads its fear and hatred to others. You may have developed it while growing up seeing your family members or friends fearing Jews.

Judeophobia and prejudice as a whole are just now becoming the focus of researchers. In a pioneering study led by Hugo Spiers, researchers at University College London identified activity in the brain’s anterior temporal lobe that promotes negative preconceptions.

Judeophobia often exists within a culture of fear. Such cultures change with time and place. Because of this, Jewish communities have historically been subjected to harsh or inhumane treatment. They have been isolated in ghettos, subjects of intense investigation, and been victims of genocide, all spurred by judeophobia.

Some Things You Need to Know about Judeophobia

Though many view judeophobia and antisemitism as the same, they began quite differently. Antisemitism was originally coined only a century ago to distinguish the religious from the political and social fears. Judeophobia stretches back thousands of years.

In order to track the history of judeophobia, we need to go back to when Jesus was born and lived as a Jew. After the death of Jesus, Christianity was born. Some early Christians even thought of themselves as Jews, but eventually they separated themselves from Judaism to avoid Roman persecution.

After the rise of Christianity, some sacred texts had an enormous impact on the birth of judeophobia. For example, some texts suggest that some of Pontius Pilate’s Jewish group called for the death of Jesus. In another text, Jesus tells his fellow Jews, “You are of your father, the Devil,” so this text may be thought to falsely associate Jews with the Devil.

From the middle ages to the early modern period, religious antagonism toward Europe’s Jews resulted in anti-Jewish legislation and, on many occasions, violence. In the Nazi era, the anti-Jewish sentiment built up due to centuries of religious, economic, and political prejudice. People saw the Jews as a separate and dangerous “race” that would never be assimilated into Europe.

Judeophobia Symptoms

Judeophobia is not like other fears; it becomes an extreme and irrational fear often sparking hatred within an individual. It can sometimes be hard to determine if you have a phobia or just a negative perspective of Jews.

If you have a mild form of judeophobia, educating yourself about your fears may help resolve them. But if you think your phobia is more deeply rooted, you should check for the following symptoms:

Physical Symptoms

  • Violent behavior or aggression
  • Rapid heartbeat
  • Sweating
  • Tremors
  • Flushed skin
  • Fainting
  • Nausea or vomiting
  • Hyperventilating

Psychological Symptoms

  • Paranoia
  • Distorted thinking
  • Panic attack
  • Fantasies of evil conspiracies
  • Anxiety
  • Constant fear
  • Continuously thinking about Jews

People who fear Jews may experience one or all of the symptoms mentioned above, depending on how severe the phobia is.

How Do You Deal with Judeophobia?

As said earlier, judeophobia is not like any other phobia. Treatment for judeophobia involves different techniques and options.

Self-Help: How Can You Help Yourself?

Before chosing a treatment option, you could start by trying to help yourself. As a sufferer, you know exactly how you feel, and you can express those feelings to yourself without fear of being judged. It might help to understand that this is an irrational fear. Jews are not harmful. They are human beings just like others.

Educate Yourself
The perceptions of others affect your thinking when it comes to this fear. Research can help you defeat this irrational fear and help you overcome personal prejudice and social discrimination. Confronting conditions of intolerance and ignorance that promote judeophobia may also help as you work to overcome your phobia.

Build a Sense of Global Citizenship
To tackle your fear of Jews, first try building a sense of global citizenship, a sense of unity, and a respect and appreciation for diversity. This will help you to live peacefully without fear as an active global citizen.

Write Down Your Thoughts
A written record of your thoughts can be beneficial. In this way, you will better understand your situation and find out what led to it. It will also be easier for you to focus on the positive rather than the negative.

Meditate
Meditating helps you clear your mind and think rationally. Taking a moment to think about your feelings and fears can help you organize your thoughts. This will allow you to better cope with and understand your phobia.

Engage in Conversations
Have discussions with people on topics like gender identity, ethnicity, religion, and race. The point of these conversations should be to understand their views and try to see where you stand. It may further help to discuss the topic with someone who is aware of its history, in this case, fear of Jews or simply Jews. This will help you learn how other people perceive the topic and may help you develop a different perspective.

Professional Help for Fear of Jews

Consider seeking help for your phobia from a professional therapist or counselor. These professionals may be able to help you using techniques like cognitive behavioral therapy and hypnotherapy. Even though no judeophobia treatment option guarantees complete recovery, it will ease your symptoms to the point where you are able to carry on with a sense of tolerance and peace.

When Should You Seek Professional Help?

  • If you are not able to deal with this fear.
  • If your symptoms are getting worse every day.
  • If the phobia is affecting your social life.
  • If you are not able to stop thinking about it.
  • If you are having frequent anxiety attacks.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
The way we perceive things will affect how they affect us emotionally. And in turn, this affects our behavior. Cognitive behavioral therapy aims to help you cope with your fear by focusing on your current thinking patterns, communication, and behavior.

Learning to Cope with Judeophobia
Dealing with judeophobia can be difficult. You may fear being unable to express yourself and feel judged when you talk about your fear.

Educating yourself, having conversations about your fear, and looking at others’ perspectives are some things that can help you cope with your fear. You may feel that others are undermining your opinions or feelings, but you can achieve a more healthy state of mind using some of the techniques mentioned above.

Wrapping Up
You can lead a peaceful life free of judeophobia by learning to manage and understand your fear. Why not start today?

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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