The neophobia It is an anxiety disorder that is defined by the presentation of an excessive and unjustified fear of the new. The person suffering from this psychopathology has a high fear of new things or experiences.
Neophobia is a specific type of phobia, so the individual who suffers from it is not that he or she shows dislike for the new, but rather a high fear of these elements and a marked anxiety response when exposed.
In addition, the subject with neophobia experiences these sensations in an uncontrollable and irrational way. So in some cases you may want or have some intention to experience new things, but your high fear prevents it..
Fortunately, this alteration currently has effective treatments that are capable of reversing and eliminating the phobic fear of the new.
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Neophobia is a peculiar type of specific phobia in which the feared element is any stimulus that is novel for the person. It differs from more known specific phobias such as blood phobia or animal phobia due to its variability of the feared elements.
That is, while in blood phobia the feared element is clear, objective and measurable (blood), in neophobia the feared stimuli are much more variable and unpredictable. In fact, individuals with neophobia can fear anything to which novel qualities are attributed..
In other words, in this type of specific phobia, any element that is new to the individual is feared, be it material things, situations or activities..
Fearing novel things phobically affects the person in two main ways. First of all, neophobia directly affects the behavior of the person. Second, the disorder causes anxiety disorders whenever the individual is exposed to new elements.
The conduct disorder condition can be remarkably serious. That is, the functioning of a person with neophobia can be highly limited and modified by psychopathology..
In general, the disorder prevents the individual from being exposed to new situations and activities. The person with neophobia can carry out a totally monotonous and routine lifestyle.
Meeting people, starting a job, acquiring or buying new things, visiting places that have never been, do an activity that has not been practiced before ... All these elements are examples of things that a person with neophobia is limited. That is, the individual will not expose himself or carry out any of the activities mentioned above due to the fear that they provoke..
This fact translates into a high restriction of rewarding elements. All people require a greater or lesser degree of novelty to experience pleasant sensations and rewarding experiences.
In this way, neophobia can affect many other spheres beyond the anxiety caused by fear. Limiting behavior to routine and absolute monotony can lead to mood disturbances or personal dissatisfaction..
On the other hand, neophobia is explained and characterized by the manifestations of anxiety that the person experiences. These appear when the individual is exposed to their feared elements. That is, when it comes into contact with new stimuli.
The anxiety response in these situations is serious and motivates the avoidance of new elements and behavioral alteration. Mainly, anxiety symptoms are manifested through two main components: physical and cognitive.
Physical symptoms refer to all those bodily alterations that the individual experiences when they come into contact with "the new".
The physical anxiety response can vary in each case, but it always refers to a high increase in the central nervous system. A person with neophobia may experience some of the following bodily symptoms:
1. Increased heart rate.
2. Increased respiratory rate.
3. Hyperventilation.
4. Feeling of suffocation.
5. Tachycardias.
6. Increased sweating.
7. Muscle tension.
8. Pupillary dilation.
9. Headaches.
10. Feeling of unreality.
These physical manifestations are accompanied by a series of cognitive symptoms. These thoughts are characterized by attributing negative aspects to all these new elements. They are the cause of fear of the new and feed back with physical manifestations to generate the feeling of anxiety.
The etiological study of neophobia is based on the way in which people learn and acquire fear responses. Today it is agreed that there is no single cause that gives rise to neophobia. Rather, it is the combination of different factors that causes the development of this psychopathology..
The main factors that have been linked to neophobia are:
Having experienced aversive and unpleasant situations and experiences in relation to new things can condition the experience of fear towards the new.
For example, breaking your foot the first time you play soccer, being teased on the first day of school, or suffering from stomach aches and vomiting when trying a new food are factors that can contribute to the development of neophobia..
On the other hand, receiving educational styles during childhood in which the realization of new things is rejected or a high sense of danger is attributed to the new elements can also contribute to the conditioning of this type of fear.
Although they are not very well established, several currents of research suggest that genetic factors may be involved in the etiology of neophobia.
Having family members with anxiety disorders and conservative personality styles would be a risk factor for this psychopathology.
Unrealistic beliefs about the harm that could be received if exposed to the feared stimulus, attentional biases towards threats related to phobia, low perceptions of self-efficacy and exaggerated perceptions of danger are elements that are related to the maintenance of neophobia.
Neophobia can be properly treated through psychotherapy. Specifically, cognitive behavioral treatment is the psychological intervention that has shown the greatest efficacy.
These interventions are based on treating the three components on which the phobia affects: the behavioral component, the physical component and the cognitive component..
The behavioral component is addressed through exposure. The individual is exposed to their feared stimuli in a controlled way in order to get used to them and overcome fear.
The physical component is treated through relaxation techniques that reduce the level of anxiety. Finally, the cognitive component is covered by cognitive techniques that allow correcting dysfunctional thoughts about the new.
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