Autophobia

AUTOPHOBIA

By definition, autophobia is a phobia (persistent and irrational fear) of being alone. The word is derived from the Greek words autos ("self") and phobos ("fear").
Many people who fear being alone also fear being unloved, unwanted, or unrecognized. This fear often leads sufferers to enter into and remain in destructive social relationships. It can also lead them to engage in codependency and self-destructive behavior, as well as continued and prolonged isolation from others.

I first became interested in autophobia because of a book I was reading by Dean Koontz called False Memory. It was about a woman who became afraid of herself and didn't know why. She was having all these symptoms and as it turns out, it was her psychiatrist who had implanted this fear in her. I am really interested in the human behavior in general, and it just happens that I read this book that had a phobia in it.

I find human behavior and psychology (specifically phobias), as well as the psychology and behavior of other species, really intriguing. There are many different psychological theories out there, but no one knows for sure what really goes on in the human brain. People develop phobias for different reasons, especially during childhood. These childhood fears usually disappear before adulthood, and if not, rarely go away without treatment. Treatment varies from phobia to phobia, such as hypnosis, medications to subdue reactions, confrontation, etc. Some phobias take a very long time to overcome because there is a step-by-step systematic desensitation that must take place.

In False Memory, the main character, Martie (autophobic), overcomes her fear of herself by realizing what her "trigger" word and haiku are that activate her fear that Dr. Ahriman has implanted in her subconscious. This book is so amazing, and if you haven't read it, please DO!!!

Dean Koontz is an awesome author, as Beefy Manwich has already discovered.

Peace out and have an AWESOME summer