FEAR OF WOMEN: TYPES, CAUSES AND HOW TO OVERCOME IT - ARTE - 2025

The fear of women can avoid having personal relationships with the opposite sex and develop a family. The causes can be: low self-esteem, bad experiences with women, lack of experience or limiting beliefs (believing that women are bad).

However, there is good news for you. There are techniques that you can use to overcome this fear, fight against your shyness and gradually lose the fear of approaching a woman.

Symptoms and characteristics

In most cases, the men who are “afraid” of women what they actually have is great shyness, fear of rejection, insecurity and low self-esteem. Not knowing exactly what to say or how to get their attention creates anxiety.

You simply don't know how to approach her, or how to talk to her, especially if it is a woman you don't know much about, like a neighbor or a coworker. Let's not even talk if she's a complete stranger.

Surely it has happened to you more than once. Not knowing what to say or what to do, for fear of rejection. In fact, nobody likes to be told no.

But it is one thing that it takes a lot for you to encourage yourself to talk to a woman you do not know and that you are always thinking that she will reject you, and it is quite another thing to have a phobia of women.

The Islamic gynophobia or ginecofobia is defined as an intense fear of women, unreasoning, unjustified and prolonged in time.

Men who suffer from this disorder feel great anxiety or panic simply when looking at a woman. They also have physical symptoms, such as tachycardia or profuse sweating in the palms of the hands.

There is also a variant of this phobia, called ventrophobia or lyceum complex. It is called in this way the phobia of beautiful women.

Causes

The causes are mainly related to psychological aspects. There are also certain psychiatric disorders that can include fear or rejection of women among their symptoms.

The main causes are:

• Low self-esteem: consider yourself of less value than the women with whom the man is related. This includes excessive fear of rejection.
• Limiting beliefs: having wrong beliefs about women. For example, believing that they are all bad.

In other cases, some men who experience this type of phobia have had conflicting relationships with important women in their lives.

The type of relationship with these women does not necessarily correspond to a sexual origin. A bad relationship with her mother or a grandmother, for example, may be more than enough reasons for the person to find it difficult to relate to the female sex.

When a mother does not show any kind of affection towards her child, is too protective or even when there is physical punishment, they can be ideal scenarios for the development of this type of phobias.

The patient transfers his suspicion and shyness to the whole gender. The suffering he experienced is stimulated and activated every time a woman is around him.

6 Steps to Overcome Fear of Women

The phobia of women, as with other types of phobias, has a remedy. However, the cure is a long and difficult process, so you have to be very patient. Here are the main techniques you can use to cure your fear of women.

Note: keep in mind that you will need some time to adapt to the changes and see results. If you practice, after a week you will see changes and after a month even more profound changes. The more stable the practice is over time, the more stable the changes will be.

Progressive exposure technique

It consists of a type of treatment in which the person suffering from the phobia is exposed to the stimulus that causes their great fear. Although this technique is sometimes used with a coach or therapist, you can practice it yourself.

This exposure takes place gradually. It begins with a light and rapid exposure, in which the stimulus lasts for a short time.

For example:

• Week 1: ask the time of 5 unknown women a day.
• Week 2: ask the time and have a short conversation.
• Week 3: ask time and try to have a long conversation.

The flood technique can also be applied. That is, you suddenly start a conversation with an unknown woman. Although flooding can work, gradual exposure works best and is sustained over the long term.

As you gain confidence and security, the therapist increases the intensity of the stimulus (exposing you to the woman). At first, when you must approach a woman, you will naturally have a sense of anxiety and fear.

But little by little you will learn to control that fear, because there is really no danger, the irrational fear will gradually disappear and you will overcome your phobia.

For this reason, it is important that you continue your exposure to the stimulus, despite your anxiety. It is recommended that the exposure be approximately 1 hour.

Reaffirming the success of this technique, the psychologist Sebastián Mera concludes that it is critical for the phobic person to face the situation that generates phobia, and immediately. "The more you avoid a problem, the bigger it becomes," says the professional.

In the particular case of gynecophobia, at the beginning the therapist accompanies the patient. The circumstance of an encounter with a woman is generated, and the professional is an important support for the picture of fear and anguish that the patient experiences.

Gradually, the psychologist begins to leave the patient alone, as he begins to control his fears.

Changing negative irrational thoughts

One of the great difficulties that phobias present at the time of their treatment is that the stimulus does not necessarily have to be present for the symptoms to be triggered.

What does this mean? That whoever is afraid of snakes, for example, may begin to experience fear and anguish just by thinking of one of them. If your friends, for example, invite you to go camping, just thinking that a snake could enter your tent terrifies you.

When these types of phobias appear, one of the techniques to overcome them may be to work on these negative irrational thoughts to transform them into positive, more realistic thoughts.

How? When such a thought comes to mind, then immediately you should say: "STOP." Put up a mental barrier to not let these thoughts continue.

In turn, replace this negative thought with a positive one. For example, following the example of snakes, you may think something like "no snake will get into my tent", "I can control this situation", "nothing bad can happen to me" or "I can handle my anxiety, I I will reassure ”.

In the case of women, instead of thinking "he will surely reject me", you might think that "there are no reasons for him to like me so badly."

Other irrational thoughts that men with panic about women often have are of the type:

• Women are all bad.
• All women are crazy.
• All women are promiscuous.
• I don't like women.

Much more positive thoughts that help to get closer to women could be:

• Most women are good.
• Some women like me and others don't.
• Almost all women are loyal.

Increase self esteem

As long as you have a good image of yourself, and a good concept, shyness and fear of approaching a woman will weaken. In reality, without having a good self-esteem it is difficult to approach a woman, much less attract him.

If you feel confident about yourself, you will have no doubt that your appearance or personality could be attractive to a woman and you will trust more in your ability to start a conversation and to like a member of the opposite sex.

Talk to all women, including those who don't interest you

This is something very simple but very effective at the same time. It is a way of "demystifying" women as something unattainable.

When you interact with those girls who do not interest you to go out or to start a relationship, you will not have the pressure to overcome your fears. And at the same time you can get to know them better.

However, it is also important to reach out and talk to those who also cause you anxiety. Remember that women may also feel scared or anxious to speak to some men. They are also people!

Learn to communicate better

While all women are different, of course, there are generalities that will help you understand them better.

Most women will like you to start the conversation with something that brings back fond memories. You can tell him about a vacation you had or ask him for advice on something to give to your nephews.

However, the best conversation starters are:

• The ones that interest her.
• The ones that interest you both.
• Shared experiences or values.

Overcome the fear of rejection

Take a bit of drama out of the situation if a girl doesn't accept your invitation to go out, for example. Take her off the pedestal, she is not the only attractive girl in the world, and if she said no, then there will be another girl who will say yes.

You do not know how many other boys have also been rejected, surely you are not the only one. Also, not everyone has to have the same tastes or the same desires.

Here you need to understand this: you can't fit in with all women. Normally, the more similar you are (age, physique, values, tastes…) the more likely you are to attract her.

It is completely normal to be rejected, in fact it is a way of dismissing women who do not fit you.

Other tips to lose your fear of women:

• Do not associate with women who are not nice, who act rude or disinterested.
• Don't interact with women who are unkind or full of problems.
• Never let them disrespect you.
• Put barriers between yourself and others.

In short, to lose your fear of the female sex you must eradicate your negative thoughts, improve your self-esteem and begin to approach women, little by little.

If despite following these tips your fear does not weaken and prevent you from approaching a woman, then perhaps you need professional help, do not hesitate to seek it.