Psychology Facts

▼ Philophobia ▼

》Philophobia is an overwhelming and unreasonable fear of falling in love, beyond just a typical apprehensiveness about it.

》Some psychiatrists and psychologists are still unsure of what triggers philophobia. But in general, there are several factors that play a role in the development of philophobia, such as a traumatic incident, childhood experience, and genetics.

》Philophobia isn't social anxiety disorder, although people with philophobia may also have social anxiety disorder.

》Intense philophobia can even result in real physical symptoms that are able to hinder one's daily life and affect their personal relationship with friends, family, neighbors, and acquaintances.

》Symptoms can vary from person to person. They can include both emotional and physical reactions when even thinking about falling in love:

feelings of intense fear or panic

avoidance

sweating

rapid heartbeat

difficulty breathing

difficulty functioning

nausea

》Philophobia shares some similarities with disinhibited social engagement disorder (DSED), an attachment disorder in children under 18.

》DSED makes it difficult for people with the disorder to form deep, meaningful connections to others. It's typically the result of childhood trauma or neglect.

》If untreated, philophobia may increase your risk for complications, including:

social isolation

depression and anxiety disorders

abuse of drugs and alcohol

suicide

》To figure out whether or not you're suffering from philophobia, you can go to a doctor or therapist. But you need to know that philophobia is not included in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM) of the American Psychiatric Association

》But still, getting help from a professional is the right thing to do to improve the quality of your life.

》Therapy — in particular, cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) — can help people with philophobia cope with their fear. CBT involves identifying and changing negative thoughts, beliefs, and reactions to the source of the phobia.