ANTHROPOPHOBIA – THE FEAR OF PEOPLE

Living around people, some people are still afraid of people! Strange! Right? Big NO! This fear is not about any particular type of people or any threat of terrorist. This fear is for the people in general. It can be an individual or a group of people.

Some people just start to feel uneasy with the thought of an encounter with people outside the family. This might sound strange for those who are extremely extroverted & love to gel with people & experts at it in any given condition.

While this is true that some people just do not have to worry or even plan about meeting someone or a group of people, some other group of people is there whose discomfort level turns into fear & detachment while they think about meeting people. This fear or phobia is known as anthropophobia.

In this blog, we will ascertain the most common five reasons of anthropophobia & easiest ways to overcome it.

 

IS ANTHROPOPHOBIA ANOTHER NAME OF SOCIAL PHOBIA?

This is not exactly social phobia because in social phobia, the fear takes over thinking of being exposed to or meeting unknown or strangers. In case of anthropophobia, the fear is for both known & unknown persons and persons. Social phobia or sociophobe scares people when they need to meet people in any random setting. In anthropophobia, people tend to avoid seeing a loved person in extreme cases. The similarity between both social phobia & anthropophobia is that both concern human beings.

 

TOP 5 REASONS BEHIND ANTHROPOPHOBIA

Something that starts with a little uneasiness gradually turns into a phobia. What causes this anthropophobia, let’s reveal-

LOW SELF-ESTEEM

Low self-esteem is one of the basic trigger points behind this phobia. When one has a very low self regard & habit of undermining thyself, that person is likely to make a distance from people. This happens because; he or she believes that there is nothing good or striking within his or her personality or list of achievement. When there is a strong dissatisfaction about one’s own merit & talent, there is always a fear of getting exposed for that.

Well, it’s all perceived & not totally true because, nobody is perfect! It’s a thought process that empowers others & makes one powerless. This feeling is so strong that people love to stay away from people at any cost.

 

FEAR OF NEGATIVE COMMENTS

There are people who just have to pass negative comments on others. These comments put off the positive vibe & the person said to feel extremely shattered inside. For example – if Mr. X gains a few kilos of weight as side-effects of any medication process, Mr. X will himself be the first conscious one about his new look & appearance. In this condition, if every time he meets someone of his acquaintances asks him ->

“Hey! Look what happened to you?”

“What the hell is wrong with you?”

“Seems like you have no time to look into a mirror, right?” or

“You know something X, You are looking horrible! Truly you are!!”

Mr. X will be completely dreadful while coming out in public or meeting anyone he is not meeting for the last few days (since he started gaining weight.)

Negative comments actually kill our confidence. Some of us can deal with it well by giving it a try & taking it in a constructive manner while some other people just can’t absorb it & try their best to stay away from the crowd or people of any kind.

 

BITTER EXPERIENCE

Sometimes people form anthropophobia because they have gone through some awful bitter experience in the past & that too repeatedly. Someone with low self esteem might have faced people being not nice on the first meet & talk about only topics that are sensitive to him or her. This experience when repeated from all sorts of circles like personal & professional, a person succumbs to anthropophobia.

Some people think in a different way & give it a chance to every new meeting with people. They believe that the next person I am going to meet or talk to will not repeat my bitter past experience. But people with anthropophobia can’t let this hope work & choose to stay away as much as possible from people.

 

FEAR OF BEING JUDGED

Judgment is an act we perform quickly. We often pass judgmental comments on others. This process of judging others limits our perception about others. For example, if after the first meeting with my new neighbor, I say – “Oh! So you are not familiar with technology that much?” or “I see you don’t keep up with the current trends!” it will give her a negative vibe about me as I was so quick to judge her.

The true fact might be – she might not be updated for a few days because of her prep for the exam! But people’s shortsightedness & tendency to judge quickly without analyzing facts & situations, make some people afraid of people.

 

DISLIKING FOR TRADITIONAL CONVERSATION

Fear of people or anthropophobia also sets in where some people have tremendous disliking for typical conversation that erupts when people meet. Typically the topics include –

-> Criticism of political parties

-> Recent tournaments

-> Weather forecast

-> Trendy gadgets & technology etc.

There are people who love to think beyond these. They want to start a conversation with other things like ->

-> Personal struggle

-> Dealing with past

-> Aspiration &

-> Taboo etc.

But no matter how much they want conversation to start & carry forward on these topics, they do not find the opponents interested in these in the same way. End of it, the conversation revolves around the typical issues. This difference in thoughts & visions gradually creates distance among people.

 

SO, HOW TO OVERCOME ANTHROPOPHOBIA?

As this phobia makes people secluded & detached from the dynamic energy of human beings, it is crucial to work on it. Some easy thoughts or mental exercise tips are shared here:

•         One has to view every meeting with a new person as an immense opportunity to learn something new instead of resentment.
•         It is required to believe that nobody is 100% in this world.  And shying away with any lacking will only increase it.
•         Negative comments should not be empowered this much to spoil our peace of mind. We need to remember, peoples’ comments reflect their perception. It’s abstract & volatile.
•         Conversation should be heartfelt & honest. It can be on any topic. Topics of conversation will not always click with others. But one needs to give it a try with others if there is scope to learn from other’s experiences.

 

THE FINAL WORDS

Anthropophobia is an issue with some people & as it impacts heavily on someone’s wellbeing, there should be talk around it. People fearing other people must realize that – avoiding the company of people for whatsoever is not going to bestow peace for long. So, it is important to take measures to get over it.

Once you start to view each person as an unlimited source of possibility, your perception will change & you will be able to enrich your life in many ways because people carry stories. Stories that offer us lessons to make our life better. In this way, fear of people or anthropophobia will start to lose its existence.