5 minutes
Fear of failure or atychiphobia can become paralyzing. Thus, the person stops starting projects for fear of having mistakes.
Failure is a natural part of people’s lives. To a greater or lesser extent, we have all had certain mistakes throughout our evolutionary stages. And although the ideal thing is to have the ability to face it and learn from it, there are those who are afraid of failure or atychiphobia.
What does this mean? In general, all phobias involve irrational fear; in this case, the focus of fear is making mistakes. Most of the time, this has to do with parenting styles. That is, children who they grow up in hostile environments and they develop an exaggerated rejection of failure. However, it is important to learn how to channel it.
Many people do not face these types of fears and live limited by the anguish that it generates. So that, it is convenient to know why it develops and how to deal with it so that it does not affect the quality of life. Here are some recommendations.
What exactly is atychiphobia?
Fear of failure or atychiphobia is a specific phobia that makes people experience a paralyzing fear at the thought of failure. It can occur in any area of life and affect general well-being.
If someone is not able to face the idea of failure in his life, he has limitations to start any project. In fact, many times you choose not to do something you are passionate about to avoid the possibility of failing.
And although not wanting to have a mistake is normal, suffering it excessively is pathological and is classified as a phobia. In other words, it is okay to want to avoid failure, but without running away from that possibility. The ideal is to make peace with defeats and learn to emerge stronger from them.
How does the fear of failure manifest itself?
Like the rest of the specific phobias, atychiphobia manifests itself with psychological and physical symptoms. The thinking behind the fear of failure is that there are no other opportunities. That is, people assume that after making a mistake they will not have new beginnings.
The idea of losing opportunities forever is unpleasant and produces intense discomfort. Among the physical signs that are manifested we find the headache, excessive sweating, stomach pain and tremors.
Regarding the expressions of psychological discomfort, irritability stands out. The reason for this is that people need a way to express their frustration. Hence when someone misses an opportunity, they are predisposed to hostile behavior.
What causes fear of failure or atychiphobia?
Fear of failure often starts in childhood due to maladaptive parenting styles. When parents educate their children in an excessively rigid way, this causes them a state of anguish that can last for several years.
Personality is largely formed through life experiences. Therefore, if a person learned to function from the demands of others, he ends up getting used to the feeling of fear; a fear of not meeting the expectations of others.
Consequences of the phobia of failure
Among the consequences of atychiphobia we have stress, anxiety and dissatisfaction with life. In extreme cases, may develop a depression. In this sense, all these consequences make patients prefer to isolate themselves.
If we know self-demanding people who prefer to be alone, we have reason to think that it is a case of fear of failure. Sometimes it is difficult to provide support because people do not want to face the problem.
How to overcome the fear of failure or atychiphobia?
To let go of the anguish of failing it is necessary to change the perception we have regarding mistakes. That means restructuring our belief system to be more adaptive. If we can understand failure as a natural part of a process, we stop being afraid of it.
The recommendation is to start taking controlled risks. In this way, people learn to take risks without completely eliminating the failure scenario. A controlled risk is when we evaluate the possible scenarios; We know we have a good chance of success, but failure is possible.
If we appeal to an example, it may be a monetary investment. The ideal is to evaluate the risk so as not to lose our money; Nevertheless, We know that risk exists and we do not let it paralyze us. Adaptive thinking would be «After evaluating the possible risks, I have decided to make this investment. ‘
When is it necessary to seek professional help?
For some it is not so easy to take controlled risks. There are who they can’t get out of their comfort zone. Professional help provides the necessary resources so that patients can gradually expose themselves to risks.
Therapists they are able to make people find the best answers for themselves. Once the patient recognizes the irrationality of his fear, he is well on his way to overcoming atychiphobia.
The importance of making peace with fear
Considering that We cannot escape fear, the best thing is to make peace with it. Feeling comfortable in situations where we can fail helps us relax. The mistakes are not a sentence for our lives, rather they serve as teachers to improve for the future.
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