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

Sedatephobia – Fear of Silence

Share This Article
Share Post

The Sound of Silence. Does It Scare You?

 

“Silence speaks louder than words.” – J.R. Rain

Silence can be both appreciated and feared. Most would enjoy a moment of silence without the noise of crying babies, loud televisions, blaring music, or horns blowing. This stillness provides the time we need to think and come to terms with reality. But not all of us appreciate these moments of silence.

What is the phobia of silence called? Sedatephobia.

In some, silence triggers fear. It may give rise to negative thoughts about death, traumatic experiences, a disturbing childhood, or any life-changing episode that causes anxiety and dread.

Those who have an unexplainable fear of silence often have difficulty understanding why that is so. People around them may also struggle to understand why their friend or loved one fears silence.

It’s difficult to explain why the silence of libraries is deafening and why walking home in the stillness of the night can cause you terror.

Though these feelings are valid, it’s not too late to let go of that fear. The good news is there are proven treatments you can consider to gradually overcome your phobia of silence.

Acknowledging and learning about your fear is one of the most challenging but liberating steps to take control of your situation. One day you may no longer have to tell people, “Silence causes me anxiety.”

Defining the Phobia of Silence

Silence is the absence of sound—specifically, intentional sounds like your television, radio, the noise of work tools, or conversations.

People who find silence unsettling may have a condition called sedatephobia or the fear of silence. Silence may cause anxiety attacks in the affected individual. When you have sedatephobia, you have an irrational fear of silence. During periods of silence, your mind goes into overdrive. It creates illogical conclusions and promotes unfounded anxieties.

It doesn’t matter where you are or what time of the day it is. When your fear of silence kicks in, you are consumed with the fear of the unknown. You assume you may die, get hurt, or any other number of imaginable crises may happen causing you to act rashly.

Today’s generation is born with and lives with noise every single day. It’s hard to escape even if you wanted to. But those struggling with sedatephobia crave the noise—the absence of it can lead to feelings of panic. And the number of people who are likely to develop this in the future is on an upward trend.

Sedatephobia Causes

Most, if not all, phobias stem from a traumatic experience in a particular phase of life. In the case of sedatephobia, the sound of silence may be associated with the specific trauma.

Some who suffer from the fear of silence may have been locked up inside closets or basements where no sound could reach them. Others might have been abused at some point in their past, then forced into silence.

Experiences like these, especially if they occured in childhood, can cause psychological harm.

Another example would be receiving tragic news followed by a period of silence, such as with the death of a loved one.

It is thought that today’s generation is not familiar with the idea of silence. Meditations are now often done with music in the background, and even while sitting in a quiet room, phones, TV, or sounds from outside are heard.

From another perspective, fear of silence can also be rooted in other phobias. Sedatephobia can directly affect other anxieties such as monophobia (the fear of being alone) or even the fear of ghosts, since silence is often associated with ghosts and supernatural creatures.

Other factors that can cause fear of silence are hormonal imbalances, depression, adrenal insufficiencies, and delusional paranoia.

Sedatephobia Symptoms

Too much noise is debilitating and can lead to headaches, but what symptoms might silence cause? For those suffering from sedatephobia, silence causes more than the temporary headache.

The symptoms can be both physical and psychological, with the individual often experiencing one or more symptoms at a time.

Here are some common symptoms of sedatephobia:

Physical Symptoms

  • Chills
  • Difficulty in breathing
  • Gastrointestinal distress
  • Dry mouth and/or sweaty palms
  • Increased blood pressure
  • Lightheadedness
  • Nausea
  • Rapid heartbeat
  • Shivering

Psychological Symptoms

  • Feeling detached from reality
  • Wanting to flee or cry
  • Inability to speak or think rationally
  • Varying levels of panic
  • Paranoia that something bad will happen

How to Overcome Fear of Silence

If your silence anxiety is already negatively impacting your life as well as your mental health, then it’s time for you to overcome the fear.

Being irrationally scared can lead to unhappiness, and that constant worry over nothing can be tiring and frustrating.

Why not start now learning methods to cope with your fear of silence? There are several treatments options available including self-help remedies as well as professional therapy. Either way, isn’t it better to seek treatment now rather than remain locked up in silence?

Sedatephobia Self Treatment

A strong support system makes a significant difference in acknowledging what you are going through. Try to find the courage to talk about your fear of silence, not necessarily to the entire family but trusted people you can rely on.

This not only provides you with a level of relief, but it can also make you feel less alone when the silence anxiety strikes. As you go through learning more about sedatephobia, you can also slowly expose yourself to silence.

Being alone in complete silence, first for a few seconds, then gradually prolonging it to minutes, is a way for you to start facing your fear. You can ask a family member or a friend to stay around to provide immediate support.

And while you’re at it, remind yourself that there’s nothing to fear and that you are okay despite the irrational fear beginning to creep in. Slowly build your confidence until you believe that silence is nothing to fear.

Sedatephobia Professional Treatment

Psychiatrists and hypnotherapists can also become your ally to help you slowly overcome your fear of silence.

Modern therapies like neurolinguistics programming, cognitive behavioral therapy, and systematic desensitization therapies are some treatments that your doctor might recommend.

Your doctor may even prescribe medications if deemed necessary. This is not to treat your phobia but more to control your anxiety.

Knowing your options and being open to the possibilities is key to overcoming your fear.

Coping with Sedatephobia

As much as you want to be surrounded by noise, silence is a liberating opportunity. Of course, for someone with a fear of silence, you won’t be able to see and understand the concept of silence is good—at least not for now.

So as you wait for the self-help and professional treatments to make a difference, you have to empower yourself and create avenues to lessen your anxiety and curb your reaction to silence.

It’s a long journey, and there will be challenges, but knowing your goal and being stronger than your fear can help you keep going and stay motivated.

Conclusion
Listen to the silence. It has so much to say. – Rumi

Silence doesn’t have to mean fear, negativity, and anxiety. In silence, you can feel love, peace, and acceptance, too. Do not fear it, but instead, embrace the stillness.

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