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Watch Out — The fear of loneliness
How to free yourself from the fear of loneliness
A pathological fear of loneliness. This fear has several names: autophobia, monophobia, isolophobia or eremophobia.
Phobias are based on the fear of certain situations, places, objects. And for a person with monophobia, the worst thing is to be left alone.
For example, the family is unexpectedly going on vacation, and the eldest son remains at home because of the upcoming exam session at university. The awareness of impending loneliness, feelings of abandonment and one’s own insignificance cause anxiety in the young man.
The thought of an empty apartment and the absence of people nearby is terrifying and exhausting to the point that it is difficult to cope even with everyday chores. All resources are spent looking for crowded places, and instead of productively preparing for exams, the guy goes to parties and acquaintances — just so as not to be left alone at home. As a result, the psyche suffers, the body gets tired, and academic performance drops.
A phobia is not a simple dislike of something, but an irrational anxiety that interferes with life. Even thoughts of loneliness and unjustified feelings of abandonment are serious stress for an autophobe.
