The fear of men is known has androphobia and the fear name itself was derived from two Greek words Andras meaning men and Phobos meaning fear. It can be defined as the psychological and irrational fear of men. Androphobia is a phobia that affects both males and females but it is mostly common in younger females. So if you have the fear of men or you know anyone who is androphobic, kindly grab a cup of coffee and read along.
Androphobia is the abnormal and persistent fear of men (Greek: Andras-man and phobos-fear). Like with all fears, the fear of men is also ingrained or pre-programmed as an ‘instinctual response to potential danger’. Such a phobia can afflict men and women, but is typically seen in younger females
Causes of Androphobia
Androphobia can be caused by various reasons but the most common reason why people mostly young females are afraid of men is due to emotional trauma. This trauma might be as a result of sexual or physical abuse that they have once experienced or heard of.
And as such, when they see or come across Men, they tend to feel uneasy for fear of being harmed again. Like with many other phobias, the fear of men phobia might continue into adulthood. The sufferers typically refuse to be left alone with a man, despite his being a close friend or relative. They might have nightmares about men.
This can greatly affect the quality of life, especially if they refuse to step outside, fearing an encounter with man. The brain of the phobic, mainly its parts like amygdala and hypothalamus “learn” to re-create the same fear response as that at the time of the event. These areas are also responsible for the physical responses to fear.
TV shows, movies, news reports of rape, kidnapping, or murder etc can also lead to fear of men phobia. The phobic may be depressed owing to the fear. S/he might have trouble sleeping and eating due to the phobia. Most stutter or stammer when talking to men. Younger individuals might cry, scream or run away when faced with men.
Symptoms of Androphobia
Just like every other type of phobia, one who has the fear of men or is suffering from androphobia might experience any one of these when they come in contact with men:
Sweaty Palms: this a common psychological symptoms for most phobia including androphobia,
Increase in Heart Bit: the pulse rate of people who are androphobia tend to increase when they come across Men
Trembling
Anxiety
Shortness of Breath
Overcoming Androphobia
They are several ways by which one can overcome androphobia. The most common treatment for androphobia is cognitive behavioral therapy.
This involves a gradual but systematic exposure of one who has androphobia to men. The therapy might start with checking out photos of Cool and gentle guys, then gradually to spending some time with guys. The time frame to be spent with guys might be increased gradually. A girl I knew overcame her fear of Men by making sure she talked to at least a man every day.
The length of discussion can vary from between 10 seconds and increased upwards every day. If you are androphic, you can start with greeting any cool looking guy you meet on the way, hold yourself back from Screaming or running away when you see them. One popular quotes says what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.
So start talking to men, you can also start with your family members and family friends and gradually move to strangers.