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It is the panic or fear of women towards men and the anxiety of having a close relationship (of any kind) with them.
This phobia is generally based on past negative experiences, which brought a lot of suffering and pain to a woman in her childhood or adolescence.
Androphobia in women is expressed in the conviction that behind romance, smiles, and praise is the hunting instinct, emotion, deception, and cunning.
The term originated within the feminist and lesbian-feminist movements to balance the opposite word “gynophobia,” which means a fear of women.
Causes of Androphobia
Androphobia is considered a specific phobia because it is an overwhelming and irrational fear of something, in this case, men.
Like other specific phobias, Androphobia is long-lasting and can negatively affect the ability to carry out everyday activities, such as work, education, and social relationships.
The causes of fear of men can pass from childhood and be associated with the assault of parents or brothers and, in the case of a failed marriage of parents.
More Androphobia may develop due to painful and unpleasant traumatic sexual experiences, beatings, betrayal by the beloved man, or unpleasant incidents.
Young women tend to suffer from the conflicting emotions available to the opposite sex: on the one hand, they intensely desire closeness with them, and on the other, they fear men.
Most single women experience Androphobia. Often the reasons for fear of men are exaggerated and irrational anxiety.
Fear of men is often associated with social phobia and anxiety disorders.
According to statistics, many women fear having a long-term relationship with men, motivated by a sense of fear and fear that keeps them in constant tension threatening their lives and health.
Many independent women, who have achieved financial independence in their lives and escaped their previous heavy relationships with men, are distressed by any close contact.
Tolerance is shown only if the man is subordinate at work.
The cause of the development of Androphobia in girls can serve as a review of feature films, where there are scenes of violence and aggression by men.
The risks of suffering from this phobia depend on each person. Those most at risk include:
- Children, as most phobias generally occur in early childhood, usually by age 10).
- If you have a history of family phobias or anxiety (this may result from inherited or learned behavior).
- The living of a negative experience with men.
- I hear comments about a negative experience with men from a friend, family member, or even a stranger.
Symptoms
Androphobia is characterized by irrationality and multiple exaggerations of the feeling of danger, the fear of being in places with a large concentration of men: stadiums, bars.
If a woman classifies herself as an ardent feminist, this can also be a hidden form of phobia.
Psychologists believe that feminism is a direct path to Androphobia, and they are recommended to undergo treatment by a psychiatrist.
Symptoms of Androphobia can include:
- There is intense fear, anxiety, or panic when seeing or thinking of men.
- You know that your fear of men is irrational or exaggerated, but you feel you cannot control it.
- Anxiety worsens as the man becomes more physically androphobic.
- There is an active avoidance of men or situations in which you may meet men and feel intense worry or fear in these situations.
- This fear of men causes problems carrying out your daily activities.
- Reactions to fears that manifest physically, such as excessive sweating, rapid heartbeat, tightness in the chest, or shortness of breath.
- Nausea, dizziness or fainting spells when around or thinking about men.
In boys, Androphobia can manifest as attachment tantrums, crying, or a refusal to leave the mother or be close to a man.
Androphobia treatment
The effect of the treatment will be achieved only after the complete elimination of fear, and in the future, it will not prevent a woman from forging relationships with men.
Most people with Androphobia can recover through therapy sessions. The primary treatment for Androphobia is psychotherapy, also called talk therapy.
The two most common forms of psychotherapy used to treat Androphobia are exposure therapy and behavioral therapy.
The psychotherapist will help identify the cause of men’s fear and offer a practical treatment course.
It is necessary to get rid of Androphobia in time because, fearing a man, a woman remains a hostage to loneliness.
Exposure therapy
Exposure therapy is designed to change the way you conceive of men.
People are gradually and repeatedly exposed to the presence of men in the activities of daily life.
Exposure therapy brings the androphobic into gradual exposure to help him manage his thoughts, feelings, and sensations associated with the fear of men.
For example, a therapist might first show photos of men and then have you listen to recordings of men’s voices.
After that, your therapist will make you watch videos of men, and then you will slowly get closer to a real-life man.
Hypnosis
Hypnosis sessions will help give a woman the feeling that a man can be a figure of power and protection.
This treatment eliminates the irrational fear that women feel towards men, and they usually never suffer the phobia again.
Cognitive-behavioral therapy
Cognitive-behavioral therapy uses exposure therapy combined with other therapeutic techniques to teach you different ways of seeing and dealing with the fear of men.
The therapist usually teaches how to:
- See the fear differently.
- Cope with the somatic manifestations associated with this fear.
- Emotionally treat the impact anxiety has had on the androphobic’s life.
Therapy sessions will help you gain confidence or control your thoughts and feelings instead of feeling dominated by them.
Medicines
Psychotherapy is often very successful in treating Androphobia.
Doctors believe that Androphobia is a severe mental illness that must be treated with drug therapy to reduce the feelings of anxiety or panic attacks associated with Androphobia.
These medications should be used at the beginning of treatment to help facilitate your recovery.
In the absence of an acute form of the disease, it can be limited to the ideal method of psychotherapy, such as a gradual approach to the object of fear.
Another appropriate use is for infrequent, short-term situations where your anxiety prevents you from doing something necessary, such as seeking medical treatment from a man or going to the emergency room.
Medications commonly used to treat Androphobia include:
- Beta-blockers: Beta-blockers control the effects of anxiety-induced adrenaline in the body. Adrenaline can cause uncomfortable, sometimes dangerous physical symptoms, including increased heart rate and blood pressure, palpitations, and tremors in the voice and limbs.
- Sedatives: Benzodiazepines help you feel calmer by reducing anxiety. These drugs should be used with caution because they can be addictive. When you have a history of alcohol or drug abuse, you should avoid taking benzodiazepines.
Panorama
Androphobia can negatively affect a woman’s quality of life.
Possible complications include social withdrawal, mood disorders, substance, and thought abuse, or suicide attempts.
The androphobic needs to seek help if needed, especially if you have children who are, or could be affected by, the phobia.
