By An irrational fear of the unknown is a more common reaction than we imagine. Learn to detect this phobia, how it originates and the strategies to deal with it, so that it does not limit your life.
Distrust of the unknown protects us from potential dangers, but when it becomes generalized, it prevents us from opening up to new experiences. This is known as neophobia or fear of the new, and it represents one of the most frequent and widespread fears among the population.
Learning to detect it and knowing its possible causes is essential to be able to confront it. For all these reasons, we will delve into the manifestations of this fear and its most common triggers. We will also see what you can do if you think you suffer from the fear of facing what you do not know.
What is neophobia and how does it manifest?
Fear of the new is a psychopathological disorder characterized by an irrational and disproportionate fear of any novel situation or stimulus. The origin of this word is Greek, and it is composed of neos (new) and phobos (fear).
In general, humans prefer scenarios that they know, to the point that we show a certain discomfort when faced with what is strange or new to us. Consequently, the fear of the unknown makes us react in an exaggerated way and causes limitations in everyday life.
Any type of action that causes a
change in routine will generate overwhelming anxiety. For example: the first day of work, moving or starting an activity are impossible situations for a person with this phobia.
It can occur at any time during the life cycle, although what one is afraid of depends on the demands of each stage. That is, during childhood fears are related to school, food and hobbies; while in old age fear shifts to new technologies, for example.
Symptoms
In principle, the types of anxiety can be broken down into three areas: bodily, cognitive and motor. This is known as the triple response system . The first refers to how the emotion is felt in the body. The second, the cognitive, is the thoughts that anxiety generates. Finally, the motor component is the behaviors or what is observable.
Based on this approach, let’s see what the symptoms of fear of the new are:
- Body : tachycardia, feeling of tightness in the chest, muscle tension, sweating, headache, tremors, feeling a knot in the stomach, etc.
- Cognitive: catastrophic beliefs, negative thoughts, rumination loops or feeling of mental block.
- Behavioral: avoiding new situations, showing reassurance behaviors and dependence on other people or superstitious behaviors.
Origin of neophobia
In psychology, it is not possible to establish a single trigger that explains the origin of any behavior. Instead, we have several theories from the behavioral model that help us understand how any phobia originates and is maintained. We will review the main ones.
Classical or Pavlovian conditioning
These are the experiments that Pavlov carried out at the beginning of the 20th century with dogs that allowed him to formulate classical conditioning . According to this, when a neutral stimulus is accompanied by an emotionally charged stimulus, the neutral stimulus, which initially meant nothing, will provoke the same response as the emotional one.
If a sound is accompanied by an electric shock, the emotional response of fear will occur when the sound is presented alone. This happens because the sound-shock association is stored in the emotional memory, so that fear appears as soon as the sound is heard. This conditioning is a very fast and powerful process.
In the case of neophobia, it could be stated in the following way: being rejected by a coworker on the first day of work would cause the aversive experience to be transferred to the harmless one, and being afraid of starting another job, even if it is unknown.
Mowrer’s two-factor theory
This theory attempts to explain why irrational fears arise and why they persist. According to it, these are created through a process of classical conditioning, as we have seen previously. In addition, it adds that phobias go through a process of operant conditioning.
It occurs when someone avoids new situations or stimuli that cause anxiety. When a person avoids such stimuli, they feel relief in the short term, but in the long term, their fear increases. Therefore, the main treatment for phobias is exposure.
Seligman’s theory of preparation
This criticism claims that all stimuli are equally susceptible to conditioning. Seligman argued that in anxiety, being a biological response, there are certain agents that are more prone to the formation of a phobia.
Why is the phobia of snakes more common than teddy bears? Because snakes were a danger to our ancestors. We are therefore predisposed to develop a fear of things that in the past represented a threat. This helped us protect ourselves, not expose ourselves to harm and thus ensure the survival of the species.
Bandura’s observational learning proposal
Albert Bandura developed one of the most important concepts in psychology: observational or vicarious learning. Learning through what we observe in others, even if we have not had direct experience.
Many phobias arise from witnessing something bad. For example, if we see a dog attacking a person, we are likely to be terrified of these animals. The same principle applies to neophobia: if a small child sees his older brother reject a food, he is likely to be repulsed by it, even if he has never tried it.
Examples of fear of unknown experiences
Within this phobia there are two closely related experiences, which are surely familiar to you: the fear of success and the fear of failure. Both share the fact that anxiety revolves around the outcome of an unknown circumstance.
It also becomes present in situations where we feel evaluated. We may panic about not knowing how to manage success, or about disappointing others or ourselves if we fail.
Sport is a very conducive environment for developing the fear of failure . Many athletes at all levels of performance suffer from it; especially those who are used to winning, since losing is something unknown.
Food neophobia, a prevalent problem in the child population
On the other hand, covering the development of this fear, we would like to mention food neophobia, since it is a frequently consulted topic in pediatrics and has attracted the attention of researchers in recent years.
This is the anxiety caused by unfamiliar foods and, consequently, the refusal to eat them . Many parents are frustrated by the subject of food with their children, and this is understandable. According to an article published in the Journal of Hospital Nutrition , this phobia is associated with less nutritious diets and a higher percentage of childhood obesity.
The same article points out that, for treatment, the main strategy is to expose the child to new foods. This can be done by involving the child in the preparation of meals, or also through the parents. In other words, if parents increase the variety in their diet, it is more likely that the child will be in contact with foods that they normally reject.
What can be done about it?
No matter how intense or debilitating phobias are, the good news is that there are ways to treat them. In the case of fear of the new, the first thing to do is learn to recognize it, and not just the symptoms, but also what triggers it. To do this, you will need to develop greater self-awareness and pay more attention to what is going on inside you.
The next step is to confront anxiety. For this purpose, cognitive-behavioral therapy is the most studied and most effective; within this therapy, the exposure technique stands out.
Exposure means being in direct or imagined contact with that which one is afraid of. It is one of the most effective techniques, as it allows one to become accustomed to anxiety, while at the same time the person can see for themselves that the negative thing they anticipate does not occur. However, for it to be effective, it must be applied continuously and for a long period of time.
For some years now, the application of exposure through technological means, such as virtual reality, has gained relevance. This modality is interesting for the creation of situations that are difficult to be exposed to in person.
According to a study conducted by the University of Concepción , the use of virtual reality in the treatment of anxiety disorders would be effective, with a dose-response relationship: the more sessions, the more benefits would be achieved.
Overcome neophobia to live without so much worry
It is normal for novelty to cause us a certain degree of uncertainty or discomfort. In fact, this behavior does not necessarily have to be neophobia. To talk about this entity, certain criteria must be met; for example, the anxiety must last for at least six months.
A phobia is a mental health problem that causes limitations. Therefore, we should not normalize it, but rather the opposite: try to seek help to overcome it.
In this regard, it is advisable to contact a professional in the field. With their support you will be able to leave behind the fear of what you do not know and free yourself from this heavy burden. The sooner you put yourself in their hands, the easier the process will be