Do You Need a Treatment? Four Phobias that Came with the New Millennium

Live HealthyFebruary 23, 2023

The 21st century has brought many improvements into our lives – better tech, more comfort, easier access to knowledge, simpler communications… But, unfortunately, the pressure of these modern days has also brought new irrational fears. Is a fear the same as a phobia? Well, not exactly. As defined by the dictionary, a phobia is

“an extreme or irrational fear of or aversion to something, such as situations, objects, activities, or persons. The main symptom of this disorder is the excessive, unreasonable desire to avoid the feared subject.”

Read this text carefully and check – maybe you already have one of these phobias.

Historyphobia

This is the fear of someone using the history function on your browser to see what you have been doing online. Nowadays, when the limits don’t exist, this little fear turns into a nightmare for some. What if your partner or colleague looks up your history and sees all the nasty sites you visited, all the strange stuff you googled, and all the things you looked up on Wikipedia?

People who have this phobia tend to give up using the Internet altogether because, in time, they become confident that someone is always looking through their history. If no one else, then Google itself is stalking them. If this is your nightmare, you might need to visit a specialist. You will need to get more relaxed with new technologies and learn to let go of your data.

Projectophobia

Most people describe themselves as workaholics, so it’s no wonder that work projects come with a lot of stress. Your boss might not be the worst in the world, but you have the feeling like you are always the one getting the toughest projects, shortest deadlines, and the one who has to show most results. In time, you start being afraid of getting projects, attending weekly meetings, and even going to work. When you feel that this kind of stress is setting in, and becoming a part of your everyday life, you need to pull the brake. Talk to your boss about relieving some of the pressure, making your workload easier for some time so that you could catch your breath. Take more time for yourself, and when you leave from work, erase it from your mind.

“When you explore your fears then you set yourself free.”
― Stephen Richards

PDAphobia

Everything seems so public these days, doesn’t it? And somehow you have a feeling everybody’s watching, judging, talking about you and your choices? If you think about it too much, you might develop a fear of Public Display of Affection. Remember when you were a teen, and make-out sessions were so cool? Now, they are not, and you feel anxious when your partner wants to hold your hand, hug you, or even kiss you. It’s a beginning of a phobia, and you need to work on your own desensitization. It might freak you out, but your partner needs your affection outside the bedroom. Therefore, start with small steps – give him/her a kiss on the cheek while you two are outside.

Nomophobia

We are all so connected these days that we have no idea what would we do if we were to be left without mobile phone coverage. When you come to think about it, you realize that everything is on your phone – memories, contacts, passwords, emails, work related files… So, as time goes, you start getting more and more upset, wondering what would happen if you didn’t have mobile phone coverage. You even start being afraid of losing signal in advance. Running out of battery freaks you out. Even losing sight of your phone makes you uneasy. This uneasiness is acceptable since we are all a bit addicted to our phones. However, when you panic at the idea of being unavailable, it is a sign you need to spend some time away from the phone. Try switching off your phone when you go out to the park, or while you watch the TV. Slowly, 5, 10, 15 minutes at first. We promise the anxiety attacks will gradually subside.