Androphobia (Fear Of Men): Causes, Symptoms, Complications, And Treatment

Androphobia is a psychological disorder that can be described as a fear of men. The origin of the word Androphobia came from the Greek word Andros which means men and Phobos which means fear. Unlike misandry ( which is known as psychological hatred towards men), Androphobia is a sense of fear one feels when came near or thought about males in general. It is not necessary that only women can be afraid, but men are also prone to mental disorders.

One might confuse the two but they both are different in terms of their intensity and effects on an individual life. Fear is a part of a general human emotion that is a crucial part of our lives. Sense of fear actually keeps us away from harmful situations and triggers fight or flight response in emergency cases. Fear works on logical reasoning, we only fear those which can be life-threatening, which is why it is easy to take control over your fear.

On the other hand, a phobia is an elevated version of fear which makes its decisions on the basis of irrational situations. Your fight and flight response gets clouded by an intense sense of fear, which makes it harder to control or manage. While fear can only make you sweat a little, a phobia can make your heart beat faster, and cause serious medical conditions like heart attack, panic attack, etc.

The thin line which makes fear and phobia different is the logical reasoning and thought. Our fear works on logic, however, a phobia is just irrational and doesn’t work in reality. Fear does not hamper your life, it just molds your decisions and lets your help get away from anything bad for you. However, a phobia will not only molds your decision but also hampers your life.

As mentioned earlier, phobia, or in this case Androphobia works on the basis of irrational logic and overpowering thoughts about a particular subject like men. In Androphobia, one may feel the high intensity of fear, anxiety, and panic. If the phobia stays for too long in your life it can eventually create a negative impact on personal, professional, and social life. Like any other phobia, the root cause of this irrational fear is still not accurately concluded. But there are some things that can be behind Androphobia, they are:

• Hurtful or negative encounters with men like physical, mental, and sexual harassment, assault, or abuse
• Genetics
• Cultural or environmental factors
• Alterations in your overall brain functioning

Since most of the root cause of Androphobia is associated with individual past experiences and cultural negativity, some people are more prone to have this phobia than others, some of the groups are:

• Children around the age of 10 or less.
• Already have anxiety, panic, or any other psychological disorder related to Androphobia.
• People who are sensitive, negative, or inhibited personalities or temperament.
• Negative experience with males.
• Living in a social environment that is negative towards men.

If not detected on time, phobia like Androphobia can cause major psychological and physical harm. Especially in children, the side effects are worse. Here are some of the complications that one may affect an individual under long term exposure to Androphobia:

• Social isolation
• Mood disorders
• Anxiety disorder
• Substance abuse
• Panic or cardiac disorders
• Suicidal thoughts or attempts
• Physical damage to oneself or others

Here are some of the symptoms one may experience in the case of Androphobia:

• An intense sense of fear, panic, and anxiety when the thought of a man pops into the head.
• Having full awareness of being insane or irrational about your fear, but does not have any control over your thoughts.
• Sense of being triggered when a man comes in front of it, it gets worse when any male tries to come to near to.
• Try to avoid any situation where you may have to encounter men. One may feel intensely worried or anxious in case they fail to avoid the situation.
• Your thoughts and irrational feelings started to hamper your daily life activities. They also trigger physical symptoms like sweating, a rapid heartbeat, chest tightness, trouble breathing, nausea, dizziness, or fainting.

In the case of children, they may showcase trauma by crying and clinging when comes near to any man.

It may seem crazy at first. Since you are aware it is irrational to fear men, you may feel annoyed and stuck many times. Prolong exposure to the irrational fear of men can be harmful to mental and physical health. Here are some signs that may signal you to visit a mental health professional:

• It has a negative impact on professional, personal or academic performance
• Creating a drastic impact on social life, especially your relationships with your close ones
• Hamper your daily life activities

In the case of children, parents need to keep a close eye on their offspring as Androphobia can outgrow their fears into something more drastic. The fear of men not only hamper their childhood but also affects their ability to run into society normally. So you know any child, who may show the same symptoms take them to a mental healthcare professional as soon as possible.

Since Androphobia is associated with an individual irrational fear towards men, most of the cases show signs of recovery. Frequent therapeutic sessions will help an individual to fight back the basic instinct that made the patient feel fear. Most of these therapy sessions include psychotherapy like talk therapy where the patient and the therapist talk about the problems and the best way to deal with them.

Other than talk therapy, the two most frequently used psychotherapy to treat phobias like Androphobia are:

1. Exposure therapy:

   This form of psychological treatment can be described as a designed method that gives the patient a safe space to confront their fears. This method is formed because it has been seen that avoidance or ignorance of the root cause suppresses your feelings which may feel better for some time but not for a longer period of time. Prolong suppression of Androphobic feelings only makes your situation worse.

   This safe space will help an individual to face their fears and let the suppressed emotions come on the surface so that the patient can process them. In this case, the source of fear is men and thoughts about men, so your therapist may ask you to let the thoughts come on the surface or talk to men in a safe space without any major physical or psychological triggers.

   At first, they will start with images and voices which further escalates to videos, and lastly facing a real man. Over a period of time, these exposures to your fear will eventually fade its intensity and its further triggers to other medical conditions.

2. Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT):

   This form of psychological treatment can be described as a designed method to set an open conversation between the patient and the therapist/counselor. This is a structured way to have a conversation about Androphobia and its associated fears and triggers. This method will help the patient to become more aware of their irrational fears, negative thoughts, and clouded judgment about men. The key purpose of the therapy is to practice the following in your daily time:

   • Manage your fear and its impact on your emotional system
   • Be aware of your physical triggers and learn to calm down in case of a trigger
   • Channelize your negative emotions into something more positive

In case Androphobia is not limited to the psychological impacts, your therapist will allocate a combination of medications along with the psychological therapies. These medications are given to reduce the physical effects of anxiety or panic attacks that one may experience in general or during sessions. Usually, these medications are prescribed at the beginning of the therapy sessions to deal with the triggers that may come up during the treatment.

As the patient started to learn how to manage their fears and triggers leading to physical problems, the amount of medication will be stated to fade from your course of treatment and eventually will only be used in emergency situations. Here are some of the common medications that is been used to treat panic and anxiety attacks during Androphobia:

• Beta-blockers: During anxiety your body starts to produce an excess amount of adrenalin which makes you feel on the edge. Beta-blockers will help you decrease the level and effects of adrenalin like blood pressure, trembling voice and limbs, pounding heart rate, and try to make you feel calm.
• Sedatives: Sedatives are used to reduce individual anxiety by directly affecting your conscious mind. Benzodiazepines are one of the most common sedatives that are been used in this case. One thing that needs to be kept in mind before taking the course of sedatives is they can be addictive. If you have a history of drug addiction or abuse, one should avoid the consumption as it can lead to relapse.

At your first session, your doctor will discuss your problems, associated symptoms, and any physical or mental stress you had due to the same. The session will also include your medical, psychiatric, and social history to know the severity of the case.

The second phase of the session may include psychological testing and physical examination to identify the trigger points.

If you are diagnosed with Androphobia or any other psychological disorder they will design the plan for your treatment along with its time duration and exercises alongside it.

Summary: Androphobia is a psychological disorder that can be described as a fear of men. Androphobia is a sense of fear one feels when coming near or thinking about males in general. It is not necessary that only women can be afraid, but men are also prone to mental disorders. Androphobia works on the basis of irrational logic and overpowering thoughts about a particular subject like men. One can come out of this very easily with the help of therapy sessions and medication if treated on time.