Androphobia and solutions to overcome it

December 14, 2022

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Androphobia is common in women, making these people always wary of men, thinking that this is a potential danger, so they try to avoid it as much as possible. The illness is often related to traumatic, haunting events from the past that they themselves have not overcome, causing anxiety to cover their minds, affecting all their behaviors and emotions.

Table of Contents

What is Androphobia?

The syndrome of fear of men sounds quite strange, but in fact, this is a real psycho-psychiatric disease encountered in the majority of women. The scientific name of this syndrome is Androphobia – a term derived from Ancient Greek, where ‘andro’ means man and ‘phobia’ means fear. Contrary to this term, “gynophobia” is the fear of women.

In fact, people with phobia of men are not only women but can also be men. The disease belongs to the group of anxiety disorders and is thought to be related to events from the past, often negative situations, crises that are caused by the man himself. Androphobia can seriously affect the patient’s life because around this life, it is impossible to suddenly disappear the silhouette of a man.

It should be clearly understood that, Androphobia and shyness, shyness when meeting men are completely different. It is normal for a girl to be shy and shy when meeting a person of the opposite sex, in addition, this can also be caused by her lack of contact with men before. Meanwhile, for people with phobia of men, they may faint, sweat, chest tightness, increase blood pressure because of too much anxiety and fear.

People with Androphobia always perceive men as a serious danger and always have obvious, exaggerated emotional expressions when seeing men. Another problem that many people with agoraphobia are often mistaken for is the perception that affected girls are gay. In fact, it is completely possible to feel excited, love a man, have normal sexual needs, but they just can’t have close contact with men. They may even faint from close contact or kissing with people they like.

Symptoms of fear of men

Like I said, in this life it is impossible not to have the silhouette of a man. The union between men and women will create new beings, new life. Without men women would not be able to conceive, give birth and the world would perish. If you are still living in a normal environment, meeting or seeing men is inevitable, so the symptoms of Androphobia patients also appear more.

However, the reality is that people with agoraphobia are not afraid of all men, some people may be selective. For example, some people may faint or tremble when they see bald people or people with beards, but people with hair or no beard can still interact and communicate normally.

Some typical symptoms of fear of men are:

Feeling extremely nervous, scared, shaky, high blood pressure whenever approaching men, maybe even fainting. Anxiety increases if you have to go to crowded areas with many unfamiliar men. Some other reactions such as feeling nauseous, difficulty concentrating, tightness in the chest, difficulty breathing, stomach problems ..
Fear can appear even with familiar people such as grandfathers, fathers, brothers or close friends
People with manophobia often refuse to be alone with men or to go to places where men are crowded
These feelings of anxiety and fear can even appear when they see a person through pictures or think of a certain man.
The fear was so severe that these people were unable to pronounce, unable to articulate their horror, their whole bodies burning hot as if they were in a fever.
Having nightmares about men or losing sleep, worrying every time you see a man
Symptoms can last for an hour when meeting a man, making the patient extremely tired and depressed
In children, phobia of men is often manifested by persistent crying, agitation, excessive clinging to the mother or every time when meeting a strange man.

In fact, the patient may be aware that they have an irrational, exaggerated fear, but they have absolutely no control over their fear. Although these fears are often expressed clearly, most people often think of them as just normal feelings of shyness, shyness, and shame, very few cases realize they have a psychological problem. right from the start.

Even so, people with agoraphobia can still come into close contact with a small number of men, often close relatives, who have cared for them since childhood. These symptoms are often persistent and seriously affect the patient’s quality of life every day, so it is important to see a doctor as soon as possible to get treatment as soon as possible.

Causes of fear of men

The actual cause of agoraphobia is still not exactly and clearly studied, but according to experts, the disease is largely related to traumatic events from the past. The patient has had horrible, painful experiences in which the person who caused the events was a man. They themselves cannot overcome these obsessions, so they gradually spread throughout their minds, affecting all subsequent emotions and behaviors.

In particular, some situations can cause manphobia in a person such as

Beaten, abused by father, uncle, stepfather or man. The subjects of these cases are often children, so Androphobia can form in both men and women, usually children under 10 years old.
Being raped or gang raped
Kidnapped by a man or a group of men
Being a victim of pedophilia or sexual harassment where the perpetrator is a man
Mentally or physically abused by men
Prolonged teasing and harassment from men also completely makes a person obsessed with men
Being a victim yourself or having to witness or hear about men’s depraved and evil acts with others for a long time
Influences from media or programs that often give negative information and images about men, such as rape, violence, betrayal, etc.
An adult woman can also suffer from manphobia if she has been subjected to domestic violence by her boyfriend or husband for a long time, causing serious physical and mental harm, but no one can help her. help

Some other influencing factors can also form Androphobia in a person, such as

The negative, wrong way of upbringing of the family can completely affect a child’s mind. For example, in some too traditional families always teach girls not to have close and intimate contact with the opposite sex, even having punishments or making threats if they do. Or another case, a single mother, because she hates the father of her child, daily “brainwashes” her child with negative, aggressive and ugly words about men, causing her child to gradually form an obsession with Men, always try to find a way to stay away.
Genetic factors are also thought to be involved in these anxiety disorders. If someone in the family has the syndrome of fear of men, the people who live in the same family in the next life are also very likely to be affected.
‘Fear of becoming a man’ can also form Androphobia in men. This is common in people with low self-esteem, negativity, always feeling that they are not strong enough, inferior or being teased by others “unlike men”. Gradually the obsession with being “real men” becomes more and more overwhelming for them and makes them afraid and panic when they see people who have the appearance of a strong man.

Besides, a concept that is easily confused with Androphobia is “Misandry” – hatred of men. Both can cover each other’s symptoms, but not everyone who is afraid of men also hates men, they completely have feelings of loving the opposite sex as usual, just without close contact, the symptoms will not appear.

Consequences of fear of men

It can be clearly seen how phobia of men affects a person’s life. It is undeniable that men play an important role in this life, participating in many fields and jobs in life. The proportion of men is also higher than that of women in some countries, such as Vietnam. Therefore, it is inevitable to contact or meet men in all daily activities.

Androphobia makes it difficult for many people to go to school, go out, go to work, even in their own home. Feelings of fear, increased blood pressure, and insomnia appear often, making the patient’s health decline, prone to problems related to blood pressure and heart disease. Mentally is also often unstable, listless, lack of alertness, lack of energy.

This fear causes them to confine themselves to a world of their own – where there is no male presence. Some may choose to work from home, limit going out as much as possible, cut off from the world. Others become monks or nuns to separate themselves from ordinary life, find their own environments to avoid contact with men, and soothe each person’s unstable spirit.

The fear of men can greatly affect a person’s need to love and be loved. Because sometimes just thinking of a man makes the patient feel short of breath, heart spasms, muscle spasms, how can they think of things like getting married or having children. The world of friends or direct social communication of these people is also much narrower because of that.

How to overcome fear of men?

Compared with other groups of anxiety disorders, agoraphobia is somewhat easier to diagnose. Patients are also quite comfortable in sharing their feelings and experiences. However, when examining, it is possible to consider appointing female doctors and experts to easily exchange and share with patients from the very beginning.

Medications, psychotherapy, and other mental support measures can bring about many improvements for patients. More importantly, the patient himself needs to be determined, accept to step out of his safe circle, dare to break through to overcome the obsessions from the past.

Supportive drug groups

There is no drug that can eliminate the feeling of fear and obsession when approaching men, but it can reduce symptoms to make the mind more stable. Groups of beta-blockers, tranquilizers or antidepressants may be prescribed for some patients to reduce excessive stress, control blood pressure, improve sleep, thereby limiting the risk of fainting, dizziness. dizzy when it comes to contact with men.

However, these groups of drugs often come with a lot of unwanted side effects, especially tranquilizers that can also be addictive, so they are often used very sparingly. Users need to ensure compliance with the dose of the doctor, only use when prescribed by the psychiatrist, should not arbitrarily use to ensure the desired results.

Psychotherapy

Psychotherapy can do a lot of good for people with agoraphobia. Especially when most Androphobia is related to traumatic experiences from the past, therapists can be of great help in relaxing the mind, removing psychological darkness to lead a beautiful life in the future. before. Patients who respond well to psychotherapy can quickly reintegrate back into society.

Therapies used by counselors for patients with Androphobia include

Exposure therapy
Cognitive behavioral therapy
Neural Programming (NLP)
Energy Psychology

The therapist will set up a suitable space for the client to talk about negative experiences from the past, scary feelings whenever they meet men. Hypnosis can also be a necessary therapy to be applied for the therapist to go deep into the subconscious, better understand the cause of the disease if the experiences shared by the client are too vague, unclear.

In addition, exposing clients to men is also a way for them to gradually overcome their own fears. The therapist will guide the client to control emotions, reduce stress, and manage their anxiety. The negative obsessions from the past are gradually removed, helping them to see reality more clearly, understand that men are not as bad and scary as they think themselves.

Up to 80% of patients after participating in psychotherapy gave positive results for fear of men. They are gradually able to think, talk or come into close contact with men without being too worried and afraid as before. Life is gradually beautiful and full of life again when the patient can comfortably go out, go to crowded places, with many men without fear and trembling as before.

Some measures to support at home

Patients themselves also need to be determined to treat themselves at home, not depending on medication or just going to psychological counseling. At the same time, psychiatrists as well as psychologists always give instructions and support patients on how to care and relax at home to speed up the treatment progress.

Some measures can help people with agoraphobia such as:

Practice deep breathing exercises to stay calm, control your breathing, and stabilize blood pressure quickly when in stressful situations when meeting men.
Practicing meditation, deep breathing can have many benefits for people with general anxiety disorders
See problems more positively, not all men are the same as your past or your imagination.
Dare to take the initiative to talk to a man, even when there is no one. If you only listen to psychological counseling without applying it in practice, the treatment will never work
Daily exercise, in addition to yoga exercises, also help the spirit to relax and relax extremely effectively
Maintain a stable sleep, minimize staying up late or sleeping too little
Limit pressure or negative situations
Stay away from alcohol, tobacco and other stimulants
Try joining groups or classes about your interests, where both sexes can participate.
Go to shopping centers, cinemas, cafes – places where there are many men. At first, you can ask for support from relatives, but then learn to experience it alone

The syndrome of fear of men can cause a lot of influence on the life, work and spirit of each person, so it is necessary to have treatment measures as soon as possible. Life has bad people and good people, of course there are many bad men, but good men are not lacking, so don’t equate all of them because of the hurt from the past. Believe that, as long as you live well, live to the fullest, you will definitely receive the most beautiful and valuable gifts.

John Alen

John Alen was born in 1971 and is a doctor in the healthcare and psychology fields with many years of experience. He is currently working at easyhealthylive.com, a leading health and psychology blog. Having studied at Y1 National Medical University named after IM Sechenov, John Alen is using his knowledge and experience to help improve the physical and mental health of people in the United States.