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Environmental Phobias

Sinophobia – Fear of China

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Sinophobia – More than Fear; Political Fear for Some

Do you get anxious when even thinking about China? Do you avoid “made in China” items? Does seeing on television anything related to China or Chinese culture make your heart beat faster, forcing you to shut down the screen?

If the sight of someone with Chinese features brings on a panic attack, you may have sinophobia, the fear of China.

With today’s political and cable news environment it can be easy for some to develop the deep-rooted fear of China and the Chinese people.

Explaining yourself must be difficult. How do you make people realize the terror that grips you at the sight of all things Chinese?

However, don’t lose hope. There are different kinds of phobias, and you can treat almost all with a combination of self-help and professional therapy.

What is sinophobia, its causes, and treatments? Keep reading to find out.

Sinophobia Definition

What does sinophobia mean? It is defined as contempt or fear of China, its culture, and its people. The fear also includes the fear of goods made in China or labeled “Made in China.”

Sinophobia is not a new thing. However, the outbreak of coronavirus has amplified the fear.

It’s important to note that sinophobia is a fear people have of China and things related to it. It is not a disgust. This phobia stems strictly from fear.

Sinophobia is an irrational fear that may intensify to a point where one may experience anxiety or panic attacks when thinking about anything Chinese.

Most times, individuals may try to self-remedy the situation by avoiding things that may expose them to the object of their fear. In the case of sinophobia, they’ll avoid travel to China or watching shows or movies that may have Chinese characters in them. They’ll also avoid Chinese products or food.

However, in a world that is no longer limited by boundaries, people of all races can be found throughout the globe. And as such, avoiding is a technique that simply doesn’t work.

Avoidance also tends to worsen the phobia, as it is a justification of the feelings of dread. It makes one even more fearful, which plays out when they come face-to-face with the object of their fear.

Cause of Sinophobia

The definitive cause of phobias like sinophobia is primarily unknown; however, certain factors can individually or in combination cause the development of the phobia.

  1. Genetic predisposition: If someone has a history of mental illness, especially anxiety disorders, the risk of developing sinophobia increases.
  2. Experience: If someone had a terrible experience with something related to China or read or watched some bad news, they may develop sinophobia.
  3. Covid pandemic: The pandemic has played a leading role in fueling sinophobia. People associated the virus with China, which led to worldwide discrimination and violence against the Chinese.

Symptoms of Sinophobia

Symptoms vary from one individual to another and depend on the severity of the phobia.

People with mild cases of sinophobia may experience symptoms like shakiness and sweating, while those with extreme cases may experience panic attacks.

Other symptoms are listed below:

Physical Symptoms

  • Muscle tension
  • Increased heart rate
  • Palpitations
  • Lightheadedness
  • Nausea

Psychological Symptoms

  • Extreme anxiety when thinking of anything related to China
  • Panic attacks
  • Constantly avoiding things related to China
  • Incapacity to cope with the anxiety

Sinophobia Treatment

Like most other phobias, there is no particular treatment for sinophobia. However, educating and training the mind can treat this irrational fear and relieve the symptoms of sinophobia.

Self-Help

If you’re facing mild symptoms, it makes sense to try helping yourself first.

  • Try to focus on how the fear is irrational and does not pose real threat. Working on this thought will help improve your mental condition.
  • Expose yourself to the object of your fear. Do this gradually and be consistent in your effort. Eventually, the fear will not hold the same power, and you will overcome your fear.
  • Try relaxation techniques like yoga, meditation, and exercises. These techniques are highly beneficial for someone suffering from anxiety, as it helps divert the mind to more meaningful tasks. Exercise helps release good hormones like endorphins, which help reduce stress and anxiety.
  • Maintain a diary detailing your fear and your reaction to it. Try to find the cues and signals that led to the development of your fear. Note your progression, shortcomings, and areas to work on. This will help you get a clearer picture that will help overcome your fear.

Professional Help

If you are unable to cope with your fear, reach out for professional help. A therapist can employ various treatment techniques to help you overcome your fear of China.

Most commonly, a therapist will try exposure therapy. Here, you are exposed to the object of your fear in a controlled environment in the presence of a professional.

The therapist may also try cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), which will help you uncover the cause of your fear and help you replace your negative thoughts with positive ones.

For extreme cases, a mental health practitioner may prescribe anti-anxiety and antidepressant drugs for symptomatic relief. Once the client starts responding to therapy, medication will be reduced.

Learning to Cope with Sinophobia

Sinophobia can be limiting because those who struggle with it often try to avoid the object of their fear. This can prove impossible. You’re bound to pick up a product made in China at the grocery store or meet a Chinese national on the commute.

Trying to avoid the situation can affect your social life, limiting you and further fueling the fear.

Therapy will help relieve your symptoms, so you can cope with the fear. It is possible to overcome or manage your phobia.

Conclusion
Sinophobia can lead you away from normalcy. Reach out for help. Learn how you can overcome your fear and enjoy life to the fullest.

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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