Anthropophobia

One of the most unusual phobic disorders in psychiatry is anthropophobia - a condition in which a patient is afraid of people - either absolutely everyone and everyone, or people of a certain category. In most cases, the phobia concerns any passing person, regardless of his appearance, gender, social status or age.

One should not confuse anthropophobia with a similar social phobia - a fear of society. Sociophobes are afraid of groups and clusters of people, and anthropophobes negatively relate to even one individual.

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Epidemiology

Anthropophobia can suffer equally, both male and female.

Most often, pathology is found in adolescents - this age is considered the most phobically vulnerable. In most cases, parents notice that their child becomes withdrawn and depressed in the event that someone approaches him, and also in any way violates his personal space. The patient prefers loneliness and does not hide it, but at any contact with other people expresses all signs of discomfort.

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Causes of the anthropophobia

Psychologists can not yet give an intelligible answer to the question of the causes of the development of anthropophobia. All the explanations offered by specialists have the form of theories, according to which the reason lies deep enough in the subconscious, and is born there in the early childhood.

There can be many options for the development of anthropophobia. This may be the result of some strong childish insult, the facts of violence against the child, severe fright or other shocks, which are sharply perceived by the vulnerable child's psyche.

As a result, the child begins to behave in isolation, and this behavior with age is only aggravated, acquiring the status of a character trait.

An adult who has grown up can not bring himself to trust other people, it is much more comfortable for him to spend time alone, he is indecisive and always tries to maintain a safe distance for himself from people.

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Risk factors

Despite the fact that anthropophobia, in the opinion of knowledgeable people, is born at an early age, clinically it can manifest itself much later. Such factors can contribute to this:

• a powerful stress load;
• chronic fatigue;
• depressive state;
• nervous shocks (for example, a person witnesses a crime or is himself attacked).

The inhabitants of large cities are especially susceptible to the development of anthropophobia. Their psyche is daily subjected to quite a lot of stress: it's urban fuss, noise, constant crowds of people and the practical impossibility of creating a quality personal space.

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Pathogenesis

It is believed that such a disturbance of the psyche as anthropology, in the first place, affects those patients who previously had a low self-esteem. These people often took on a flurry of criticism from others; bosses or other authoritative persons for them have always pressed and forced to take unconventional decisions, or deprived them of their own opinions.

Because of low self-esteem and lack of self-confidence, the anthropophobe becomes a hostage to one's own sensations and is constantly in tension - he unconsciously searches for moments that will give him a new wave of discomfort.

Sometimes anthropophobia develops due to other disorders of the psyche. For example, a person could previously have a fear of publicity, or a fear that he will be laughed at in some situation. Such people have a large number of complexes that relate not only to their skills and abilities, but also to external features.

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Symptoms of the anthropophobia

Anthropophobia is not always the same, because the degree of mental disorder in different people can also be different. However, there are some common signs of the disease, for which it can be recognized:

• fear that occurs before any people (it can manifest itself in the form of disgust for people: while the patient irritates any tactile touch, looks and phrases in his direction);
• a special sense of fear of strangers, complete rejection of communication with them;
• the unacceptability of certain features of the character or appearance (for example, a phobia can manifest itself only in relation to drunken, fat, bald people, or to persons with a dark eye color, a beard, etc.).

When forced communication with unpleasant for the sick people develops a panic attack, the first signs of which can be as follows:

• increased heart rate;
• increased sweating;
• dyspnea;
• tremor of fingers or hands;
• stupor;
• abdominal pain, upset of the stool;
• dizziness, etc.

The patient usually feels the onset of an attack and can take steps to prevent it and complacency. Such measures often look like compulsive signs: stroking yourself, tapping with your fingers, shifting from foot to foot, etc.

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Stages

Anthropophobia can take place in a mild form, when it is enough for a patient to make some volitional efforts to overcome the feeling of fear. In such a situation, the patient, although feeling uncomfortable, but still, as necessary, communicates with other people and does not shun society.

However, at a progressive stage, controlling your emotions and behavior becomes more difficult. The patient with time can generally refuse from any communication with strangers. If suddenly there is an accidental contact, this can result in a fit of irritability, aggression, with excessive sweating, tremors and tachycardia.

In neglected situations, the patient leads a hermitic way of life, not allowing almost anyone, even those who openly want to help him.

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Forms

Anthropophobia can take the form of:

• monophobia (when there is one object causing a panic attack);
• polyphobia (when there are many objects provoking an attack).

In addition, the phobia can be direct (fear of people in general) and the so-called phobia of consequences (fear of any negative consequences after communicating with people). As for the phobia of the consequences, the patient may be afraid of being ridiculed, doing something ridiculous, or saying something out of place.

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Complications and consequences

Anthropophobia is dangerous only because it completely limits the patient in terms of his social participation and development.

Anthropophobia always has problems with work, with studies, with the establishment of personal relationships, etc.

From any difficult situation, he tries to get out on his own without resorting to outside help, even to solve serious problems with his own health. All attempts to offer help to the patient remain rejected. A sick anthropophobia often represents that when communicating with other people with him, something irreparably bad happens.

In some cases an attack of anthropophobia can lead a patient into a state of aggression - this can be dangerous, both for the surrounding people, and for the patient himself.

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Diagnostics of the anthropophobia

To establish the diagnosis of anthropophobia, only a competent and experienced specialist is capable of taking into account certain characteristics and criteria of the disease. If a person avoids communication, this does not always mean that he suffers from anthropophobia. Sometimes the propensity for loneliness becomes a manifestation of seasonal depression, or is a temporary sign of a difficult period in life.

For the correct diagnosis, the doctor communicates not only with the patient, but also with his environment - close ones, friends. The specialist need to know not only the finer points of the patient's behavior, but also the conditions for his residence, study or work.

Typically, blood and urine tests for the diagnosis of a disease such as anthropophobia are not prescribed: such studies can demonstrate only the overall health of the patient.

Instrumental diagnosis will help determine the degree of panic state in an uncomfortable situation. For example, an electrocardiogram can detect an increase in heart rate. Computer and magnetic resonance imaging will make it possible to assess the state of cerebral vessels.

The main diagnostic method for determining anthropophobia is direct examination and examination by a psychiatrist.

Differential diagnosis is usually performed with other anxiety and phobic disorders - for example, with social phobia, with generalized anxiety disorder, with panic disorder or post-traumatic stress disorder - that is, with pathologies in which similar reactions to certain objects or situations are found. Considering this, the doctor should have the opportunity to assess the patient's condition qualitatively and draw up a scheme for his treatment.

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Treatment of the anthropophobia

How to cope with anthropophobia? Perhaps, this will help the following table, which reflects the main treatment options for pathology.

Actions	What can make a patient?	What can relatives do?
Emotional unloading	The patient should think that society is not dangerous.	Close people should inspire confidence in the patient, trust and believe in him.
Breathing exercises	The patient is recommended to practice abdominal breathing during an attack. Exhalation should be twice as long as inhalation.	A nearby native person can duplicate with the patient the right breathing.
Physiotherapeutic procedures	The patient is recommended to take a contrast shower, massage the ears, fingers and toes.	A close person during an anxious state can massage the patient's shoulders, back, make tea with mint or chamomile.
Distracting methods	For complacency, the patient can consider passers-by, cars, objects.	A close person can distract a patient from the situation by any means. Help tingle, stroking. You can take together with the patient to consider cars or windows in the house.
Phyto-drugs	You can take: valerian drops, tincture of motherwort or pion, valocordin (10-15 drops in 200 ml of water).
Medications	The patient takes medication prescribed by the doctor. Most often, these are tranquilizers (eg, phenazepam or sibazone), nootropic drugs (mexidol, glycide) and antidepressants (fluoxetine, pyrazidol). The dosage of such medications is prescribed individually by the attending physician.

In addition, a patient with anthropophobia is prescribed diet food with the exception of alcohol, stimulating drinks (coffee, strong tea), chocolate, spicy spices.

Yoga and respiratory gymnastics are considered useful. Additionally assigned:

• counseling therapist;
• sessions of psychoanalysis;
• sessions of hypnosis (ordinary or Ericksonian);
• sessions of neurolinguistic programming.

Prevention

Prevention of anthropophobia can be literate education self-sufficient, self-confident personality, with a normal self-esteem and attitude to others. Parents should explain to the child from a young age what can wait for him in life, what dangers can trap him, so that as he grows up, a small man is ready to bravely endure all adversity.

In addition, from an early age it is advisable to protect the baby from stress, such as serious illnesses, funerals, tragic situations, etc.

Especially do not expose the child to violence, nor can it be frightened - small children have too sensitive and sensitive psyche that absorbs the negative like a sponge.

If the child suffers from any fear, it is necessary to talk gently with him, explain to him that there is no need to be afraid - but: in no case should you laugh at the baby and tease him.

Games and trust of close people can serve as an excellent substitute for psychotherapy. However, if the child's fear becomes pathological, if it does not have a clear basis and is not psychologically conditioned, then it is necessary to consult a child psychiatrist.

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Forecast

Anthropophobia can be cured if you seek help from a psychotherapist - and the sooner this is done, the better. A well-considered and competent medical approach, with the assistance of the patient, necessarily leads to the patient becoming calm, and even feels some need for human communication.

It is possible to get rid of pathology independently only at the initial stages of the disease, but it is better to carry out the treatment under the supervision of an experienced specialist.

If you ignore the symptoms of the disease, then in the future anthropophobia is transformed into an absolute isolation of a person from society, as well as to other additional disorders of the psyche.

Validity for military service in anthropophobia

Most often, anthropophobia does not become a hindrance to recruiting a young man to the army. The bottom line is that this pathology does not always reveal structural disturbances in the human body. For example, if a patient undergoes an examination outside of an attack, then the doctors will not detect any abnormalities. And sometimes an attack of anthropophobia can be perceived as an attempt to avoid recruitment.

Thus, if the draftee is sick with anthropophobia, then he must have an appropriate conclusion in the medical history. In this case, the record should reflect not only the symptoms of mental disorders, but also the somatic disorders that arise at the time of psychological discomfort. Such disorders can be malfunctions with the work of the heart, blood vessels, changes in blood pressure, loss of control over emotions and actions, etc. All such moments should be documented by a psychiatrist and confirmed diagnostically. Only under such circumstances the recruit can count on the fact that the medical commission will seriously take the diagnosis.

Most often anthropophobia is an indication for receiving a delay, during which the patient is given the opportunity to treat the disease.