What is Dementophobia: Causes, Symptoms and How to Deal With it

We all have been asked not to do certain things or else we might go insane. In fact, whenever we see someone overinvesting in something that won’t have a fruitful response, we ask them to quit because we fear it will start affecting their mental well-being.

Many of us fear going insane or mad but do all of us have dementophobia? NO! Those with dementophobia (fear of going insane), live in fear of going crazy without any reason. The fear is baseless, irrational, and uncontrollable.

When I say, fear of going insane, the term insane means having a mental illness. This makes it so ironic that people with dementophobia fear developing a mental illness and that fear itself has made them develop dementophobia (a mental illness).

Let’s get a better look at this ironic mental condition, dementophobia (the fear of going insane)…

 What Does Dementophobia Mean?

Dementophobia can be defined as the extreme and irrational fear of going insane or developing a mental illness. Some call it the fear of psychosis as well. People who have dementophobia are so scared of going crazy that they are anxious almost all the time.

It doesn’t stop just there, these people fear going insane along with that they also fear meeting people with mental illness. They simply reduce to even thinking of insanity, leave alone watching someone deal with it.

Dementophobia makes you do all kinds of crazy stuff just so that you don’t go mad. It always makes me crack but makes me sad at the same time that the thing dementophobia are trying to protect themselves from is actually living inside of them.

Do you fear going crazy? Let’s look at the symptoms and find out…

Symptoms of Dementophobia

People who suffer from dementophobia have an irrational fear of losing their minds. They become so out of touch with reality that everything feels like it’s going to drive them crazy.

Even though dementophobia is a specific phobia and is not as common as other general phobias, many people fear mental illness and this fear can turn into dementophobia.

To know if you or someone you love has developed dementophobia or is just on the borderline, you need to know how dementophobia looks. Here’s a list of the most common symptoms of dementophobia;

• Anxiety about losing their mind
• Frequent Panic attacks
• Hyperaware of other people’s expression
• Judge people so that they can avoid someone who might have characteristics of being insane
• Have trust issues
• Preoccupied with intrusive thoughts
• Have obsessive and compulsive thoughts

Some other general symptoms of dementophobia include;

• Social withdrawal
• Increased palpitation
• Headaches
• Feeling faint
• Excessive sweating
• Dizziness
• Breathlessness
• Nausea

What Causes Dementophobia?

There is no known specific cause of dementophobia. However, experts do point out the genetic factor that might play a role in developing any kind of phobia. If the family has a history of anxiety disorders or phobia, there are chances your dementophobia has stemmed from there.

The stigma attached to mental illnesses can also be one of the causes of dementophobia. People have reduced mental health conditions to a horrifying assumption like that of a ghost. People are ready to accept anything but a diagnosis of a mental health condition. When the stigma overpowers your judgment of what’s right and wrong, it can turn into fear of developing a mental health condition, dementophobia.

Another cause of dementophobia can be having witnessed someone deal with a mental illness or insanity. To see someone being insane can be traumatizing and can result in developing dementophobia.

How To Deal With Dementophobia?

Dementophobia and many other specific phobias do not really have a dedicated treatment for them. Mental health professionals usually target specific symptoms of dementophobia in order to reduce the fear and anxiety about going insane or losing their minds.

However, there are some treatment options that are being used for phobias like dementophobia, and have proven to be effective. Let’s have a look at them;

1. Exposure therapy: with exposure therapy, your therapist tries to expose you to your fear slowly (bit by bit) till the time there is no fear left in you. They basically try to make you realize that your fear is irrational and nothing is going to happen.

2. Cognitive behavioral therapy: CBT again is very helpful in treating dementophobia as it helps you identify your negative thoughts and replace them with positive ones.

3. Medication: there is no such thing as dementophobia medication but your doctor can prescribe you anti-anxiety pills to soothe your anxiety and panic attacks.

That’s All Folks!

I hope you found this blog about dementophobia, its causes, and its symptoms helpful and informative. Dementophobia may not be a very common phobia but people can develop it quite easily.

So share this blog with your friends and family so that it can be identified easily.

Thanks for reading.

Take care and stay safe