Neophobia (fear of the new): symptoms, causes and treatment

This disorder has been particularly harmful in recent decades, due to technological progress.

Facing the new, everything that is unknown to us always generates a certain feeling of tension and even some nervousness. This response can be completely natural as long as it is within certain limits, due to not knowing what we are going to find or if we are going to like it or not.

However, when this response becomes disproportionate and excessive, to the point of interfering with the person's daily life, we may be dealing with a case of neophobia.. In this article we will speak of the characteristics that define it as well as the existing relation with the food neophobia.

• Article related: "Types of phobias: exploring the disorders of the fear".

What is neophobia?

Within the long list of anxiety disorders or specific phobias, we find some conditions as curious as neophobia. This disorder is characterized by the experience of a disproportionate, persistent, irrational and uncontrollable fear of all those situations that are perceived as novel. all those situations that are perceived as novel..

For these people, events such as facing the first day at work or school, as well as having to go to an unfamiliar place or to undertake an experience they have never faced before is practically impossible since the anguish and torment suffered make it impossible to face such situations.

There are a large number of situations that can generate fear and anxiety in neophobic people. in neophobic people, including any kind of change in their life or usual routine.

Patients with neophobia are characterized by being very routine people, with very established life patterns and preferences for everything that is familiar to them. Therefore, this anxiety disorder becomes a protective shield for all those people who are afraid of breaking their routines. are afraid of breaking their routines.

On the other hand, nosophobia can manifest itself as a means to have control of what surrounds them, since a new situation necessarily implies a certain margin of uncertainty, which generates a fear of not being able to control the situation.

What about food neophobia?

Within the category of neophobia we find a special situation that, due to its high incidence, has its own denomination. This is food nosophobia. This type of disorder consists of the constant, insistent and accentuated resistance to try new foods..

That is, those people with food neophobia, avoid in every possible way to try or eat foods they have not tasted before. Although it does not always have to, in the most severe cases, food neophobia can become an eating disorder, specifically it is presented as a symptom of the disorder of avoidance / restriction of food intake.

This disorder occurs mainly in young childrenwho show a strong resistance to eating certain fruits or vegetables. In this particular case of infantile food neophobia, it is associated with certain personality factors such as irritability, sadness or discomfort and tends to be accentuated between two and 6 years of age.

After this stage, the symptoms of neophobia diminish although they can last until adulthood, being most of the times accompanied by other emotional symptoms such as anguish and anxiety.

What are the symptoms?

The main symptoms of neophobia are those of any specific anxiety disorderThese include experiencing high levels of anxiety when facing the feared situation or even just imagining it.

However, there are a large number of symptoms related to neophobia. These can be classified into physical symptoms, cognitive symptoms and behavioral symptoms. Although they do not necessarily arise in the same way and with the same intensity in everyone, you will need to experience signs of all three categories.

1. Physical symptoms

The experience of high levels of distress and anxiety brought on by a phobic fear often lead to a series of changes and alterations in the organism. This is due to the hyperactivity of the nervous system, which can cause the following symptoms:

• Increased Heart rate.
• Increase of the respiratory rate..
• Feeling of suffocation or shortness of breath.
• Increased sweating.
• Increased muscle tension.
• Headaches.
• Gastric alterations.
• Dizziness and sensation of dizziness.
• Nausea and/or vomiting.
• Fainting.

2. Cognitive symptoms

Along with the physical symptomatology, neophobia is characterized by a series of distorted beliefs and irrational thoughts. a series of distorted beliefs and irrational thoughts about the feared situation. about the feared situation. In this case, anything that is perceived as novel.

This cognitive symptomatology appears as follows:

• Intrusive and uncontrollable ideas about the supposed danger or risks of the phobic stimulus.
• Obsessive speculations.
• Catastrophic imagination.
• Fear of losing control and not being able to manage the situation effectively.

3. Behavioral symptoms

Finally, behavioral symptoms include the entire repertoire of behaviors that the person carries out with the intention of avoiding or escaping from the feared situation. These behaviors are known as avoidance behaviors or escape behaviors..

The first type, avoidance behaviors, includes all those acts aimed at avoiding the encounter with a novel situation. Following the daily routine in an inflexible manner or avoiding contact with anything unfamiliar enables the person to temporarily avoid experiencing the feelings of distress and anxiety associated with a phobia.

In contrast, escape behaviors appear when the person with neophobia has not been able to avoid the feared situation, so he/she will do everything possible to escape from the situation as quickly as possible.

What causes it?

The work of determining in a concise way the origin of a phobia can be highly complicated, since there is not always an event that triggers it. In any case, the existence of a genetic predisposition, together with the experience of highly traumatic the experience of highly traumatic experiences and events, can favor the appearance of a phobia.can favor the appearance of a specific phobia such as neophobia.

Likewise, there are many other factors that can predispose a person to develop a specific phobia. These include certain personality types, cognitive styles or the influence of vicarious learning.

Is there a treatment?

In cases where neophobia interferes significantly with the person's daily life, it is advisable to see a professional, it is advisable to consult a mental health professional.. Currently, different psychological interventions can be found that can favor the remission of symptoms until they disappear.

Psychological treatments of a cognitive-behavioral nature use cognitive restructuring techniques that can help eliminate irrational ideas and beliefs. use cognitive restructuring techniques that can help eliminate irrational ideas and beliefs, which often form the basis of this disorder.

This cognitive intervention is more effective if accompanied by treatments such as systematic desensitization or live exposure which expose the patient, gradually and accompanied by training in relaxation techniques, to the thoughts or situations that provoke this fear.