Some people are highly fearful of failure and it makes them avoid any type of activity that has the probability of failure. Today, we’ll discuss what is atychiphobia; its symptoms, causes, and treatment.
No one likes failing, and we all have worrisome feelings when we have to face negative consequences. But people with atychiphobic conditions, experience an extreme level of fear of failure. The extreme fear of failure would cause you anxiety and stop you from reaching your goals and objectives.
What is Atychiphobia?
Atychiphobia is the persistent, irrational, and intense fear of failing or failure. People with atychiphobic conditions would avoid any type of situation that has the potential and probability of failing like job interviews or exams. It results in the form of feeling disappointed in you and others, failed career, and bad and failed relationships.
Often, the fear of failing can become self-fulfilling. For instance, you would avoid participating in the test and exams because of the fear of failing, and you’ll end up failing in all the subjects and the whole class.
The fear of failing would cause to exhibit various types of symptoms like low self-esteem, panic attacks, anxiety, depression, shame, and other psychological and emotional issues. It would badly impact your performance in school and the workplace and how you treat your friends and family members.
Symptoms of Atychiphobia
The experiences of atychiphobic conditions are different for different people, and the severity of symptoms varies from a mile to an extreme. Any specific phobia like atychiphobia could become severely extreme and the anxiety episode would paralyze you. It would become highly difficult for you to perform various routines at home, school, or work. You keep on missing opportunities both in your personal and professional life.
The symptoms of the atychiphobic condition are the same as those of the other types of phobia. The experience of the symptoms could be physical or emotional. However, when you think of the failing situation, then it would trigger the episode. Sometimes, the episode of the symptoms would occur out of nowhere without any triggering factors. Some of the main physical symptoms are as follows;
- Sweating
- Cold/hot flashes
- Digestive distress
- Lightheadedness or dizziness
- Shaking or trembling sensation
- Pain in your chest or tightness
- Speedy heart rate
- Difficulty in breathing
Some of the emotional symptoms are as follows;
- Powerless feelings over your fear
- Thoughts of dying or passing out
- Feelings of losing control over the situation
- Detached feelings from yourself
- The overwhelming need to leave the situation that is causing fear
- Intense feelings of anxiety and panic
Atychiphobic condition implies that you handicap yourself. You skip opportunities and sabotage your efforts because you’re fearful of failing. For instance, you won’t work on the school project due to the failure fear, and you would fail resultantly because you haven’t tried. The idea they get is that it’s difficult to fail when you put a lot of effort into it than simply failing without even trying
Causes of Atychiphobia
Some of the possible causes of atychiphobia are as follows;
- Family History: if any the mental health condition like depression, anxiety, or phobia runs into your family, then you’re more likely to develop this condition
- Learned Behavior: your upbringing is such an environment where you have learned that failure isn’t acceptable, and anything that isn’t perfect fall under the category of failure
- Other Phobias: some types of specific phobias occur in combination. For instance, mysophobia (fear of dirt or germs) or scolionophobia (fear of school) amplify the probability of developing atychiphobia.
- Traumatic Experience: if a person has gone through a traumatic experience of severe punishment or abuse for failing, they’re likely to develop the fear of failure. It’s because you feel that the failure would lead you to terrible results like destruction or death.
Diagnosis of Atychiphobia
The diagnosis of fear of falling doesn’t have any precise tests. Your doctor would diagnose the atychiphobic condition based on the talking session with you.
- How it is disturbing your routine
- How long it has been happening
- The symptoms you’re experiencing
In order to gather more information, your doctor would ask you the following questions;
- How long have you had to experience this condition of fear of failing
- Impact of fear of failing on your personal and professional like work, school, or home
- Fear of failing stops you from performing various activities like enjoying, sleeping, or relaxing
- Causing other issues like hopelessness, anger, irritability, and depression feelings
- Avoiding tasks, projects, and activities out of the fear that you won’t be able to complete them on time
Treatment of Atychiphobia
Some of the main treatment plans for atychiphobic conditions are as follows;
Medication
Your doctor would prescribe antidepressant and antianxiety medicines to deal with the symptoms of fear. However, it’s important to mention here that medications aren’t the solution for the treatment of phobia.
Exposure Therapy
Your therapist would expose you to the fearful objects gradually to teach you to manage your fearful responses. For instance, your therapist would ask you to visualize a situation where you failed previously. You imagine such a difficult experience in a supportive and safe environment, and you realize that there is no danger in failing.
CBT
CBT is a type of psychotherapy that allows you to change your negative thinking pattern about the fear of failing. Your therapist would change your perception of failing as an opportunity for learning and growing.
Conclusion: What is Atychiphobia? Symptoms, Causes, Treatment
After an in-depth study of what is atychiphobia; its symptoms, causes, and treatment; we’ve realized that the fear of failure could badly impact your life. If you’re experiencing its symptoms, then you should consult with the healthcare provider in your area.
Ahsan is an accomplished researcher and has a deep insight in worldly life affairs. He goes Live 3 days a week on various social media platforms. Other than research writing, he’s a very interesting person.
