Phobophobia (from Greek: φόβος, phobos, "fear") is a phobia defined as the fear of phobias, or the fear of fear, including intense anxietyand unrealistic and persistent fear of the somatic sensations and the feared phobia ensuing. Phobophobia can also be defined as the fearof phobias or fear of developing a phobia. Phobophobia is related to anxiety disorders and panic attacks directly linked to other types of phobias, such as agoraphobia.^[1] When a patient has developed phobophobia, their condition must be diagnosed and treated as part of anxiety disorders.^[2]This fear does in fact create a paradox. ^[3][4]

Definition[edit]

The word phobophobia is an English adaptation of the Greek word phobos (φόβος), translating literally to "fear of fear".^{[citation needed]}

Phobophobia is the fear of phobia(s), and more specifically, of the internal sensations associated with that phobia and anxiety,^[1] which binds it closely to other anxiety disorders, especially with generalized anxiety disorders (free floating fears) and panic attacks. It is a condition in which anxiety disorders are maintained in an extended way, which combined with the psychological fear generated by phobophobia of encountering the feared phobia would ultimately lead to the intensifying of the effects of the feared phobia that the patient might have developed, such as agoraphobia, and specially with it,^[1] and making them susceptible to having an extreme fear of panicking.^[1]Phobophobia comes in between the stress the patient might be experiencing and the phobia that the patient has developed as well as the effects on his life, or in other words, it is a bridge between anxiety/panic the patient might be experiencing and the type of phobia he/she fears, creating an intense and extreme predisposition to the feared phobia. Nevertheless, phobophobia is not necessarily developed as part of other phobias, but can be an important factor for maintaining them.^[1] Phobophobia differentiates itself from other kind of phobias by the fact that there is no environmental stimulus per se, but rather internal dreadful sensations similar to psychological symptoms of panic attacks.^[1] The psychological state of the mind creates an anxious response that has itself a conditioned stimuli leading to further anxiety.^[1]Phobophobia is a fear experienced before actually experiencing the fear of the feared phobias its somatic sensations that precede it, which is preceded by generalized anxiety disorders and can generate panic attacks. Like all the phobias, the patients avoids the feared phobia in order to avoid the fear of it. Phobophobia is also the name of a Halloween show in London at The London Bridge Experience.

Cause and symptoms[edit]

Phobophobia is mainly linked with internal predispositions. It is developed by the unconscious mind which is linked to an event in which phobia was experienced with emotional trauma and stress, which are closely linked to anxiety disorders and by forgetting and recalling the initiating trauma.^[5] Phobophobia might develop from other phobias, in which the intense anxiety and panic caused by the phobia might lead to fearing the phobia itself, which triggers phobophobia before actually experiencing the other phobia. The extreme fear towards the other phobia might lead to make believe the patient that his condition can develop into something worse, intensifying the effects of the other phobia by fearing it. Also, phobophobia can be developed when anxiety disorders are not treated, creating an extreme predisposition to other phobias. The development of phobophobia can also be attributed to characteristics of the patient itself, such as phylogenetic influence, the prepotency of certain stimuli, individual genetic inheritance, age incidence, sex incidence, personality background, cultural influence inside and outside the family, physiological variables and biochemical factors.^[5] Phobophobia shares the symptoms of many other anxiety disorders, more specifically panic attacks and generalized anxiety disorder:

1. Dizziness
2. Heart pounding
3. Sweating
4. Slight paresthesia
5. Tension
6. Hyperventilation
7. Angst
8. Faintness
9. Avoidance
10. An excess of perspiration