Atazagoraphobia (fear of forgetfulness): symptoms, causes and treatment

The fear of forgetting or being forgotten can generate a lot of discomfort.

Atazagoraphobia is the excessive fear of forgetting, which includes both the fear of forgetting and the fear of being forgotten or replaced by others. fear of being forgotten or replaced by others.. Although it is a common sensation, atazagoraphobia has been little described in scientific language. In fact, it has been more pointed out by philosophers and writers who speak of atazagoraphobia as the fear of eternal anonymity.

In this article we will see what is atazagoraphobia and which are its main characteristics.

Atazagoraphobia: the fear of forgetting

The act of remembering is a central function for human beings. Among other things it allows us to maintain a sense of integrity. It also serves as an identification tool that makes it possible for us to respond to the demands of the present and the future.

The opposite act, that of forgettingis a process that occurs at the same time as memory consolidation. Neuroscience tells us that, from an adaptive point of view, forgetting allows the purging of unnecessary or irrelevant information, or allows us to block traumatic experiences and thus avoid certain discomfort.

Possible causes

At the basis of atazagoraphobia is the recognition that, just as it would be maladaptive to remember absolutely everything, it is also maladaptive to forget everything. We can quickly intuit that the latter would result in a significant loss of our own "self". We can also suspect that forgetting the most everyday things would seriously affect our links with others.. So much for the modification of our perception of the world and of ourselves, as well as of the closest beings.

The above intuitions can provoke fear, or not. We may evoke them and retain them as useful information without necessarily generating a physiological response or obsessive thoughts about the consequences of forgetting and being forgotten.

They may or may not produce fear, the perception that we have about the negative consequences of forgetting may have been generated by living with a person whose medical condition makes memory retention difficult or even prevents them from recalling memories of the past and everyday life.

However, excessive fear of forgetfulness may also be a consequence of how the media has too often portrayed its consequences and associated medical conditions (Staniloiu & Markowitsch, 2012). Rather than from research that makes us think of atazagoraphobia as a clinical fear of forgetting, this phobia has been rather spread and sometimes fed in a media way.

Symptoms: does it have clinical manifestations?

Any phobia can cause an experience of anxiety and accompanying organic activation. That is to say, hyperventilation or hypsarrhythmia, dyspnea, excessive sweating, nausea, tremors, tremors, among other manifestations.among other manifestations. However, atazagoraphobia is not a mental disorder recognized by any specialized association.

It is a phobia (a fear that is not rationally justified), which has been described in colloquial and informal language as referring to important discomforts related to forgetfulnessbut which are not necessarily clinically significant. That is, they do not affect the activities or responsibilities that are considered appropriate for the person in his or her cultural environment.

Therefore, we cannot formally speak of a series of clinical criteria that lead to a diagnosis of atazagoraphobia. What we can do is to analyze in which situations and contexts an experience of fear of forgetfulness is most likely to occur and why.

In what circumstances can it occur?

Going back to the topic of medical conditions related to memory loss, we can consider that atazagoraphobia can occur in two main circumstances (although it could occur in others as well): people who have received a diagnosis and their caregivers.

1. In the face of a diagnosis of a medical condition associated with memory loss

On the one hand, atazagoraphobia may manifest itself in people who have an early diagnosis of dementia or other medical conditions. It would be normal for them to feel fear of forgetting their own identity, other people or also everyday things. However, the diagnosis itself does not generate an irrational fear..

The latter can be produced by multiple factors, among which are the emotional and psychological resources of the person receiving the diagnosis; the support network he or she has; and also the quality of the information given by the physician, as well as his or her attitude.

In other words, if the diagnosis is accompanied by a detailed and truthful explanation of the medical condition and its possible consequences, it is very likely that there will not be an experience of irrational fear of forgetting. The same is true if the physician's attitude is empathetic. if the physician's attitude is empathetic and patient with the person being treated. to the person with whom he/she is dealing.

2. While caring for the person who has received the diagnosis.

On the other hand, atazagoraphobia may occur in caregivers of people who have received a diagnosis of dementia or another related medical condition. The latter may be related to the belief that the person they are caring for will eventually forget themThis may affect both the caregiver's identification mechanisms and their daily tasks.

Related to the latter, it may also happen that the caregiver generates the belief that he/she will be forgotten after the loss of memory of the diagnosed person occurs. This can also be worked with and accompanied by professionals and by the security provided by one's own support network.

Bibliographical references:

• Kangyj (2015). Athazagoraphobia: phobia of being forgotten or ignored? Retrieved July 31, 2018. Disponible en https://psych2go.net/athazagoraphobia-the-phobia-of-being-forgotten/.
• Fearof.net (2018). Fear of being forgotten phobia- athazagoraphobia. Recuperado 31 de julio de 2018. Disponible en https://www.fearof.net/fear-of-being-forgotten-phobia-athazagoraphobia/
• Staniloio, A. & Markowitsch, H. (2012). Towards solving the riddle of forgetting in functional amnesia: recent advances and current opinions. Frontiers in Psychology. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2012.00403.