NEOPHOBIA: SYMPTOMS, CAUSES, TREATMENTS - ARTE - 2024

The neofobia is an anxiety disorder that is defined by the presentation of excessive unjustified fear and I did it again. The person suffering from this psychopathology presents a high fear of new things or experiences.

Neophobia is a specific type of phobia, so that the individual who suffers from it is not that he or she has dislike for the new, but rather a high fear of these elements and a marked anxiety response when exposed.

In addition, the subject with neophobia experiences these sensations in an uncontrollable and irrational way. So in some cases you may want or have some intention to experience new things, but your heightened fear prevents it.

Fortunately, this alteration currently has effective treatments that are able to reverse and eliminate the phobic fear of the new.

Characteristics of neophobia

Neophobia is a peculiar type of specific phobia in which the feared element is any stimulus that is novel for the person. It differs from more known specific phobias such as blood phobia or animal phobia by its variability of the feared elements.

That is, while in blood phobia the feared element is clear, objective and measurable (blood), in neophobia the feared stimuli are much more variable and unpredictable. In fact, individuals with neophobia can fear anything to which novel qualities are attributed.

In other words, in this type of specific phobia, any element that is new to the individual is feared, be it material things, situations or activities.

Symptoms

Fearing new things phobically affects the person in two main ways. First of all, neophobia directly affects the behavior of the person. Second, the disorder causes anxiety disorders whenever the individual is exposed to new elements.

-Behavioral alteration

The conduct disorder condition can be remarkably serious. That is, the functioning of a person with neophobia can be highly limited and modified by psychopathology.

In general, the disorder prevents the individual from being exposed to new situations and activities. The person with neophobia can lead a completely monotonous and routine lifestyle.

Meeting people, starting a job, acquiring or buying new things, visiting places they have never been to, doing an activity that has not been practiced before… All these elements are examples of things that a person with neophobia is limited. That is, the individual will not expose himself or perform any of the activities mentioned above due to the fear they cause him.

This fact translates into a high restriction of rewarding elements. All people require a greater or lesser degree of novelty to experience pleasant sensations and rewarding experiences.

In this way, neophobia can affect many other spheres beyond the anxiety caused by fear. Limiting behavior to routine and absolute monotony can lead to mood disturbances or personal dissatisfaction.

-Alteration of anxiety

On the other hand, neophobia is explained and characterized by the manifestations of anxiety that the person experiences. These appear when the individual is exposed to their feared elements. That is, when it comes into contact with new stimuli.

The anxiety response in these situations is serious and motivates the avoidance of new elements and behavioral alteration. Mainly, anxiety symptoms are manifested through two main components: physical and cognitive.

Physical symptoms refer to all those bodily alterations that the individual experiences when they come into contact with "the new."

The physical anxiety response can vary in each case, but it always refers to a high increase in the central nervous system. A person with neophobia may experience some of the following bodily symptoms:

1. Increased heart rate.

2. Increased respiratory rate.

3. Hyperventilation.

4. Feeling of suffocation.

5. Tachycardias.

6. Increased sweating.

7. Muscle tension.

8. Pupillary dilation.

9. Headaches.

10. Feeling of unreality.

These physical manifestations are accompanied by a series of cognitive symptoms. These thoughts are characterized by attributing negative aspects to all these new elements. They are the cause of fear of the new and feed back with physical manifestations to generate the feeling of anxiety.

Causes of neophobia

The etiological study of neophobia is based on the way in which people learn and acquire fear responses. Today it is agreed that there is no single cause that gives rise to neophobia. Rather, it is the combination of different factors that causes the development of this psychopathology.

The main factors that have been linked to neophobia are:

Classical conditioning

Having experienced aversive and unpleasant situations and experiences in relation to new things can condition the experience of fear towards the new.

For example, breaking your foot the first time you play soccer, being teased on the first day of school, or experiencing stomach aches and vomiting when trying a new food are all factors that can contribute to the development of neophobia.

Verbal conditioning

On the other hand, receiving educational styles during childhood in which the realization of new things is rejected or a high sense of danger is attributed to the new elements can also contribute to the conditioning of this type of fear.

Genetic factors

Although they are not very well established, several currents of research suggest that genetic factors may be involved in the etiology of neophobia.

Having family members with anxiety disorders and conservative personality styles would be a risk factor for this psychopathology.

Cognitive factors

Unrealistic beliefs about the harm that could be received if exposed to the feared stimulus, attentional biases towards threats related to phobia, low perceptions of self-efficacy and exaggerated perceptions of danger are elements that are related to the maintenance of neophobia.

Treatments

Neophobia can be properly treated through psychotherapy. Specifically, cognitive behavioral treatment is the psychological intervention that has shown the greatest efficacy.

These interventions are based on treating the three components that the phobia affects: the behavioral component, the physical component and the cognitive component.

The behavioral component is addressed through exposure. The individual is exposed to his feared stimuli in a controlled way in order to get used to them and overcome fear.

The physical component is treated through relaxation techniques that reduce the level of anxiety. Finally, the cognitive component is covered by cognitive techniques that allow correcting dysfunctional thoughts about the new.

References

1. American Psychiatric Association (1994). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association.
2. Antony, MM and Barlow, DH (1997). Specific phobia. In VE Caballo (dir.), Manual for the cognitive-behavioral treatment of psychological disorders, vol. 1 (pp. 3-24). Madrid: XXI century.
3. Becker E, Rinck M, Tu ¨rke V, et al. Epidemiology of specific phobia types: findings from the Dresden Mental Health Study. Eur Psychiatry 2007; 22: 69–7.
4. Hekmat, H. (1987). Origins and development of human fear reactions. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 1, 197-218.
5. Peurifoy, RZ (2007). Overcome your fears. Anxiety, phobias and panic. Barcelona: Robin Book.
6. Silverman, WK and Moreno, J. (2005). Specific Phobia. Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Clinics of North America, 14, 819-843.