Nomophobia is the fear of being without or losing our phone. It is a very recent type of phobia caused by the growing population of phone users worldwide unlike many other phobias was gotten from two English words; NOMobilePHOBIA in full.
Causes of the fear of being without a mobile phone phobia
One of the major causes of this addiction and also having had a bad experience of being left without a phone where it was most needed. Other causes of this phobia just basically fall into that category.
How do I know if you have nomophobia? Figuring out if you have this phobia is not too hard. However, while losing one’s phone can be heartbreaking or phone battery dying out just when your crush is about replying your text, fear of not being without a phone is quite different from such feelings. During a nomophobia test, here are a few questions asked of the patients so they have a view of what the phobia entails;
- Do you feel uneasy after being offline for a while?
- Are you absent-minded when you are on your phone?
- Do you prefer talking online even to people in the same room as you?
- Do you feel like heaven has fallen when you misplace your phone?
- Do you have several power banks you often use
I’m sure by now you should also have a clue whether or not you have this phobia.
Symptoms
So if you think you may be having nomophobia, it can cause a victim various mental and physical symptoms and these symptoms range depending on how severe the case is. A few among these symptoms of this phobia are as follows;
- Anxiety and increased heart rate when you’re without your phone.
- You reach for your phone first thing in the morning and last thing before you sleep not even for alarm purposes.
- Overprotection of your phone and battery level. You would rather give $1000 than spare a friend your dying battery bar.
- Use of phone anywhere, anyhow, no matter how inappropriate it is.
- You just wondered if a phone is ever inappropriate to use.
- Anxiety over not being online for a while.
How to cure nomophobia
Does nomophobia have a cure? Yes, it can be cured! An effective way of curing the fear of being without a phone is by first understanding the dangers we put ourselves by letting ourselves be bested by it.
Effects Of The Fear Of being Without A Phone Phobia
A few among the consequences of this phobia include;
You’re wasting time
A lot of times we think we can multitask, how well has that worked out for you? We also grow the habit of procrastination “I’ll go prepare dinner in 5 minutes”. 30 minutes later we’re still saying the same phrase.
You are not sleeping well
Nomophobia can cause sleepless nights. The excessive blue light emitted from our phones has been shown to alter time spent in deep sleep and this persists even on days that we are unable to use our phones before bedtime.
Your health is at risk
Bad sleeping habits can cause illnesses ranging from cold and catarrh to obesity, diabetes and even cancer, beware! This phobia causes anxiety now and then and the more frequent these anxieties, the more you’re likely having higher blood pressure.
Nomophobia Treatment
Finally, having known the dangers, here are a few self-devoted ways to cure the fear of being without a phone;
Turn off your phone before bedtime
Reading a book can do the trick and ensure the phone is completely off and not in silence as the blinking light or vibrations are distractions on their own.
Establish a No-Phone period
Dedicate a few hours of the days to put your phone aside and do something productive. Sounds easy? Well, that’s because it is and you are doing yourself a lot of good too.
Have more real conversations
Talk to people around you and give exceptional attention to everything they say while simultaneously making good remarks.
Enjoy nature
Take a walk, take a hike or cycle around the town, enjoy the view and commit it to memory alone. Do not take pictures with your phone, just enjoy what you see.
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