What is Atychiphobia?
Atychiphobia is a persistent and irrational fear of failure. People with this condition get anxious about falling short of expectations. Atychiphobia paralyzes people and serves as a hindrance in the way of a person’s academic, personal, and professional growth. Furthermore, individuals who have Atychiphobia stopped trying things because of the fear of failure. Moreover, Atychiphobia causes significant problems in a person’s daily life. People intentionally avoid new opportunities just because of the possibility of failure.
What is the Difference Between Atychiphobia and Atelophobia?
Both are phobias that cause irrational fear, but they differ in focus. Atychiphobia is a fear of failure in general. It is limited to completing tasks, achieving goals, and making rational decisions. It is an inability to achieve desired outcomes. For example; a person is not appearing in competitive exams because of the fear of failure, even if he is prepared well. On the contrary, atelophobia is a fear of imperfection, or not meeting ideal standards people set for themselves. People with atelophobia fear deviation from flawlessness. They need the feel to be flawless, therefore; it leads to anxiety and depression. For instance, a student constantly proofreads his assignment, even after making it completely, because he feels it is not perfect enough or flawless.
How Common is Atychiphobia?
It is a relatively common disorder. A lot of people have Atychiphobia, but psychologists across the globe have not given the exact ratio of the people with Atychiphobia. However, it happens more commonly to individuals under excessive societal, familial, or professional pressures. Moreover, many people do not recognize it or admit it.
How Do I Know If I Have Atelophobia?
Signs you may have atelophobia include,
Excessive anxiety
Excessive anxiety over making minor mistakes.
Making unrealistic goals:
You set high self-standards that are often unattainable.
Self-criticism:
You make harsh judgments about yourself. You criticize yourself and feel frustrated when you do not meet your goals.
Avoid situations where you have a fear that you will not perform perfectly.
When you are confronted with the possibility of imperfection, you will feel intense anxiety, excessive panic, and stress.
Somatic Reaction:
Your fear can be seen in somatic responses like rapid heartbeat, shortness of breath, nausea, irritation, or dizziness when thinking about imperfection.
Fear of judgment for not meeting expectations.
Ruminating over past mistakes:
People frequently replay past mistakes in their minds and get upset about them.
If you are experiencing these kinds of symptoms, you should consult a mental health professional.
What are the Causes of Atychiphobia?
Atychiphobia can arise from various factors, such as;
Family history: First, if you have a family history of certain disorders like phobias, depression, or anxiety, you might have Atychiphobia in the future.
Learned Behavior: Second, it can also be caused by the environment you are living in, for instance; an environment where there is no room for failure, everyone praises perfection, and imperfection is unacceptable.
Early childhood experiences: Third, when children get too much punished for their mistakes in childhood it can turn into the phobia of failure. Family pressures are one of the most important aspects that causes Atychiphobia.
Perfectionism: Last, it can also be caused by setting unrealistic goals for oneself, and having rigid beliefs about success.
What are the Symptoms of Atychiphobia?
Following are some common symptoms of Atychiphobia,
- Procrastination while performing simple tasks.
- Avoidance of challenging tasks.
- Excessive anxiety over being judged by others.
- Self-criticism is common.
- Low self-esteem.
- Pessimism (looking negatively at life).
It can also cause physical symptoms like increased heart rate, trembling or shaking, chills, dizziness, excessive sweating, etc.
Treatment of Atychiphobia in Pakistan
Treatment of Atychiphobia in Pakistan includes the following techniques.
CBT (cognitive behavioral therapy): it is a form of psychotherapy that helps people change their irrational and pessimistic thoughts about the future.
Systematic desensitization: it is a technique of behavioral therapy used to treat phobias and anxiety. It is a gradual therapeutic process. It uses relaxation techniques (deep breathing, meditation, and muscle relaxation) along with exposure to anxiety-provoking stimuli in a hierarchical order. For example; a person will be exposed to anxiety-producing stimuli in a stepwise manner from least threatening to more challenging situations.
Exposure therapy: This technique involves the process of directly confronting fearful situations, thoughts, or objects to tackle anxiety and reduce avoidance. It helps individuals learn that their fear is not catastrophic. It includes repeated and prolonged exposure to make people desensitized naturally as anxiety reduces over time.
Medications: medications could be used to manage the symptoms of anxiety or depression with the consultation of a mental health professional.
Support groups: sharing experiences with people having the same situation produces relaxation. Also, listening to others can produce a sense of community.
Is There a Way to Prevent Atychiphobia?
Prevention of Atychiphobia includes
- Creating strong support systems of friends and family.
- Building resilience by helping people learn coping skills to deal with failure.
- Setting realistic goals.
Encouragement: producing a growth mindset that failure is a part of life and everyone goes through it. Through failure, people learn new things.
How will SehatYab be Helpful in the Treatment of Atychiphobia?
SehatYab is an online health platform in Pakistan. It gives access to online qualified therapists, psychologists, psychiatrists, and affordable treatment plans. In addition, it also provides confidentiality. SehatYab can be a valuable resource to help individuals with Atychiphobia.