New technologies trigger fears of the novelty and, therefore, the unknown. But it’s not just about new technologies, but about anything we have to do for the first time. The neofobia is the fear of the new and curious to fear both all these new things that actually are those that can change our life for the better. Have you ever been terrified of living unknown experiences ? Have you experienced fear of change? If you want to know more about neophobia, we will tell you about it in our dictionary of phobias .
What is neophobia?
Neophobia is the fear of the new. New clothes? Brand new? No, although in the most serious cases it can also include this aspect. Neophobia is observed especially in the adult population when they have to face new technologies , always changing and always with something new. Smartphones, computers, making a video call, social networks …
But there are more cases in which neophobia occurs. For example when you face a new job . Neophobia (if you suffer from this disorder) is added to the obvious nerves of starting a different job, in a different place, and it can prevent you from reaching the position you want.
New job, new house or moving, living in another city or in another country, starting a new relationship, meeting new people, changing habits, learning to swim, going to the gym for the first time and, be careful with this variant of neophobia eating, trying new foods .
In all these situations the fear of the new is combined with the fear of change or the fear of the unknown. If something is new, it is unknown to you and insecurities enter, will I be able to …? The emotional tension that all people feel when faced with a novelty, some transform it into illusion and curiosity and others transform it into authentic panic.
Main symptoms of neophobia
You have to distinguish between that vertigo that causes you to do something new and the symptoms of neophobia, which are the same as those of anxiety . Palpitations, sweats, dizziness, shortness of breath , numbness in limbs, stomach pain, muscle tension … A state well known to people who suffer from anxiety and that can lead to a panic attack.
The natural reaction to this symptom picture is flight or avoidance. Imagine the consequences of constantly avoiding everything that is new to you. Sometimes you can do it, but with important consequences that reduce your quality of life. But other times you won’t be able to escape, you won’t be able to avoid it in any way.
To the physical symptoms of neophobia are added emotional symptoms such as anguish, frustration, low self-esteem for not seeing yourself capable of doing new things, sadness or helplessness. But there is more, because you will also have to suffer a series of cognitive symptoms, including irrational and catastrophic thoughts and, in the most serious cases, the terrible feeling of losing control or going crazy.
Why are we afraid of the new?
And what causes neophobia? We generally go to conditioning by traumatic experience to find the cause of phobias, but in this case and given the high number of stimuli that can cause fear, it is difficult to attribute this cause. And yet we have no lack of reasons to understand why fear of a new situation shoots up to become a phobic disorder.
The new, the unknown or the change, which are the three factors that go together in neophobia, move in feelings of uncertainty, lack of control and fear of failure . Three sensations that are very often at the root of anxiety disorders and that it is not difficult for them to lead you to an emotional overflow in which the phobia appears.
Doing something new implies leaving the comfort zone to a greater or lesser extent. There is a resistance to doing it because it takes us directly out of comfort (even if it is a comfort that we do not like or make us happy), there is a fear that the change will go wrong (with the low self-esteem that this implies) and there is a resistance generalized towards uncertainty (as natural and adaptive in its proper measure, as harmful when it is excessive).
Parenting style and personality development can also be at the origin of neophobia. People with an excess of perfectionism, people who have grown up with a lot of demand and pressure, with an excess of responsibilities and with low self-esteem are prone to suffer this type of phobia that implies facing something new.
And, of course, we cannot forget about anxiety. When you suffer from a previous anxiety disorder , phobias of all kinds are common. The impossibility of managing emotions , the fear of uncertainty, the blockage caused by anxiety over time and the imperative but impossible need to have everything under control means that you have to avoid exposing yourself to new situations at all costs.
The treatment of neophobia that you should know
Given the wide range of stimuli that this phobia has, it is necessary to seek treatment as soon as possible. The consequences of not treating neophobia can be terrible, with the destruction of both mental and physical health. The social isolation reaches sooner or later and probably also the loss of employment.
It must be remembered that any therapy to treat a phobia is accompanied by relaxation techniques , breathing exercises and that you can also include meditation among the best allies. Because in addition to being effective resources to overcome a phobia, they become an internal baggage to use in cases of anxiety.
What therapy is the most appropriate to treat neophobia? As in all phobic disorders, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is shown to be the most effective . It takes a while, maybe longer than you imagine, but it is about walking safer than fast on the path that will lead you to overcome your phobia.
The Therapy Cognitive Behavioral comes first distorted thoughts related to novelty. An attempt is made to reduce the perception of danger in the face of the new, since it is irrational thoughts. Once we have managed to generate rational thoughts about the stimuli that cause fear, it is time to move to action or behavior.
The goal is to eliminate avoidance behavior so that we can do new things. This is achieved step by step with gradual Exposure Therapy in which it is discovered that when you face simple new things, nothing bad happens. It is the important thing, to verify that when doing something new the world does not end. And keep trying the cognitive aspect to see the situation in a different way.