Atychiphobia or fear of failure: how to identify and how to treat

Atychiphobia is a fear of failure that can occur in early childhood. Often, the desire to receive praise from parents (less often from other adults) forces the child to perform certain actions. Growing up, the child does not lose this need; rather, on the contrary, at certain stages of life it becomes more acute. And therefore, it is doubly offensive when, instead of the expected praise, a person receives criticism of his actions. And if many accept the negative calmly and analyze the reason for the failures, those suffering from atychiphobia experience real fear.

What is atychiphobia

A certain category of people cannot accept failures in their lives. As a result, they experience a certain fear, they are afraid that the situation may repeat itself again. Such a phobia quickly captures human attention and completely takes over the mind. This causes some physical and mental discomfort.

Fear of failure is one of the most common phobias. Atychiphobia is destructive. Fear is formed through interaction with society. The individual is influenced by the social environment. A person may simply refuse to try to repeat something that could potentially bring health, happiness, or success.

People who have atychiphobia do not want to do anything. They believe that any action leads to failure. Gradually, self-confidence is lost and self-esteem decreases. Such individuals experience a constantly elevated level of anxiety. They are not interested in moving up the career ladder or self-improvement. The combination of such factors inevitably leads to depression.

Causes and forms of fear

Fear of failure can arise for a variety of reasons. The most common is negative experiences in the past. A person tends to draw conclusions from only one case or fact. Such people think that if they fail in one thing, then it will accompany them throughout their lives. Stereotypical thinking does not allow a person to develop and move on.

Please note that fear of failure is often associated with assessing an individual’s performance based on the final result. It does not take into account the individual qualities and characteristics of specific people. A person simply begins to apply labels, instead of understanding the situation, sensibly assessing his skills and talents, the reasons for wrong actions or public assessment.

The main causes of atychiphobia include:

negative reaction of adults to the child’s failures (many fears appear before reaching the age of 7);
it happens that a person listens to insults or ridicule addressed to him (most often such problems arise in educational institutions, in clubs and sections);
social fears can be imposed by society (a person is dictated that he must constantly be better than others, standards are imposed).

Fear of failure has several manifestations. For example, in terms of the form of expression, it can be an individual’s refusal and self-isolation, sabotage, immobilization, perfectionism, low self-esteem and uncertainty.

Prevention

Prevention involves getting rid of uncertainty and complexes, dependence on other people's opinions. Accept and love yourself. Study your strengths, weaknesses and abilities. You must understand the meaning of your life and your purpose (calling), see the purpose of life. You don't have to live up to other people's expectations, but you must have a strong self-concept within you. Get closer to your ideal in your personal vision. Do not forget to take into account individual psychological characteristics: temperament, inclinations, mental properties, physical characteristics.

Types of Fear of Failure

Atychiphobia is most often expressed as refusal and self-isolation. Such a person does not want to participate in projects and activities that cause difficulty. In this way, he looks for a comfort zone for himself in order to avoid possible failure and setbacks in life.

When an individual exhibits sabotage, then at the subconscious level he cancels out all his efforts. Deadlines are often missed, and deadlines for completing assignments are delayed.

When immobilized, a person finds complete peace, he is inactive. The personality is not interested in development, there is nothing to strive for. If there is self-doubt and low self-esteem, then people look for an excuse that they simply do not have the skills, talents and abilities.

If a person is a perfectionist, then at the pathological level he wants to be the best, no matter in what area. Serious psychological problems can arise here, the functioning of the nervous system is disrupted, since such situations in life are often associated with stress.

The symptoms of fear of failure are identical to any other phobia. The main ones are:

difficulty breathing;
cardiopalmus;
increased nervous excitability;
irritability;
heavy sweating.

When a phobia occurs, a person begins to tremble and may lose consciousness. In some cases, qualified medical assistance is needed.

Fear of failure: ways of expressing it

It is important to know not only how to overcome the fear of failure, but also what it is expressed in. This phobia has different manifestations. A person refuses to participate in events where there will be new people, new events and places. He is not interested in trying new dishes or learning languages. Sabotage is activated. Most often it manifests itself on a subconscious level, a person may not even know about it. The individual deliberately hesitates, is lazy, worries too much, and finds dozens of other more important things to do. So he expects failure, does not believe in his own strength, that success is achievable.

This category of people is characterized by low self-esteem. They have no confidence in themselves and their own abilities. A person constantly argues that in order to get started, you need to have special skills and talents, and does not strive to comprehend them. Men usually think that they are unworthy of women because of their financial status and appearance. As a result, the individual misses out on success in his personal life and loses his career.

Some people want to be the best at everything they do. As soon as they fail, motivation drops to zero. It is impossible to achieve the ideal.

Atychiphobia is an internal fear. A person cannot realize it; only after analyzing the situation can he come to the conclusion that there is a fear of failure. After this, the individual begins to think about how to overcome fear.

How to get rid of the fear of failure without visiting a psychiatrist?

The following tips will help:

Conduct introspection, remember exactly when that key failure occurred that influenced the emergence and development of obsessive fear. Remember all the circumstances. Perhaps an objective analysis will reveal that it is not your fault for the defeat that befell you, that the reason for everything is external circumstances beyond your control, and you should not reproach yourself.
Atychiphobia is often caused by the unknown, which is why you should find out as much information as possible about the upcoming undertaking. This will help you feel more confident. Several options for the development of events should be considered, forecasts made, and risks analyzed. Be sure to imagine the most favorable option.
If the risk from the proposed business is great, then you should learn to refuse. The business may turn out to be a failure from the beginning; no amount of effort can save it, and your doubts and fears from another collapse will only intensify.
But not every business is a failure from the start. Before you categorically refuse, conduct an analysis - perhaps a small risk is justified and by refusing it, you are missing out on great opportunities?
A great option that will help you feel more confident and not panic in the event of a possible failure is a backup plan. Knowing that there is an additional opportunity for action will give you self-confidence and enable you to make decisions calmly.
The psychological attitude is important - you should convince yourself that failure is, of course, not very good, but not the end of the world, that there are still many options and chances to prove yourself, the main thing is not to miss them, burying your head in the sand and giving up an active image life.

Often these tips are enough to cope with a phobia. But in the most difficult cases, treatment with hypnosis or psychotherapy is used for atychiphobia.

Among psychotherapeutic methods, psychological modeling and group trainings effectively eliminate fear of failure.

Modeling

This technique is carried out under the strict supervision of the treating psychotherapist. The patient and the doctor simulate a situation in which the patient failed and failed to complete the task. Then all the emotions that the patient might experience in this situation are spoken out and recorded. He also describes in detail his behavior and reactions.

After this, the psychologist reviews the information received, conducts a joint analysis of the reaction with the patient, and then together they select alternative responses to the stressor. By simulating various situations over and over again, the student develops the desired model of behavior (for starters, only in theory). The mindset is reinforced in the mind that failure should be accepted calmly and with dignity, that trying new things is necessary, that failure at the moment does not exclude a successful outcome next time (etc.). Once the correct points have been established, you can move on to practice. Under the guidance of a psychologist, the patient tries to cope with certain tasks, controlling his emotions while performing them.

Group trainings

This method is considered one of the most effective in the treatment of atychiphobia. Working in a group, discussing situations and emotions with participants, working together on mistakes, completing tasks with a partner contribute not only to quickly getting rid of the fear of failure, but also to personal growth. It is at the trainings that people with low self-esteem, atychyophobia, despair and abandonment of social life, acquire new goals and aspirations. After completing the training, participants try new activities, extreme sports and outdoor activities, and begin a new, vibrant life without phobias.

And yet, the best assistant for those who are determined to destroy the obsessive fear of failure is constant self-analysis. How to overcome the fear of failure? You need to believe in yourself, objectively analyze the benefits and risks of each specific proposal and write down everything, from your thoughts and doubts to specific results. This will help you make the right decision in the future. You should carefully analyze each stage of the plan, this will allow you to identify exactly where you made a mistake, which caused the crash.

Atychiphobia is a difficult deviation; it can complicate not only professional, but also personal life, drive a person into a corner, turn a person into an incapable, insecure, lonely and uninteresting character. This is why the problem should be addressed immediately.

Why are there failures?

Fear of failure appears in childhood. Many parents do not know how to properly raise their child. They do not know how to control their own emotions and often lower their children’s self-esteem. As soon as a child makes a mistake, adults immediately begin a psychological attack against him, which is often accompanied by physical violence. Such parents need to think for themselves how to overcome the fear of failure, since they were raised in the same way.

Children constantly pass situations through themselves and model them. They copy the rules of behavior in society, and as teenagers they begin to imitate other more successful people. In the situation described above, parents are prone to self-reflection; they have a heightened emotional background. Instead of explaining to the child how to behave correctly in a given situation, they experience anger, malice, and aggression. All this multiplies and prevents the development of positive thinking and self-confidence.

How to overcome the fear of failure? First of all, you don’t need to focus on failures and cut yourself off from the outside world. You need to think about how you can fix a specific problem. The fact that a person feels paralyzed during a stressful situation means only one thing: in childhood, in such cases, psychological pressure was exerted on him, the mechanism of numbness was triggered, and the child was seized with fear.

It is important to ask the child how he sees the solution to the problem, what to do to avoid repeating the failure in the future. This is how a creative personality is brought up; she can overcome any difficulties.

Failures haunt you: what to do

Any fear is destructive in nature. Fear of failure leads to negative consequences, so it is important to look for ways to overcome fear. First of all, you need to seek help from a psychologist or psychotherapist, since atychiphobia affects your personal life and professional activities. It will be difficult to overcome fear at the pathological level on your own.

To get rid of fear on your own, you can resort to the following methods:

It is important to try to remember a situation where success was achieved or luck smiled. You need to record such thoughts. Then draw a parallel with the moments where the fear of failure appeared, and comprehend the reasons for its occurrence. It is possible that the responsibility was too much for the person; the parents were too demanding of the child.
In order to avoid atychiphobia, experts advise planning your activities. You can describe each of the stages when completing a task assigned to yourself or other people. Positive results should be recorded on paper. This way the results can be easily predicted. The individual knows what he needs to achieve success.
In some situations, you need to refuse other people if there is uncertainty in completing the task. You shouldn't take thoughtless risks. If the result is negative, the fear of failure will only intensify.
If possible, it is better to assess the risks of refusing an order. A missed chance is not always a failure. Sometimes this preserves health and peace of mind, which is much more important.
If you are afraid of failure, experts advise to always have backup options. This is a kind of safety net; you can quickly change your plans and adjust your strategy in your favor.
Determination is another key to success. While waiting, the feeling of fear intensifies, trembling and a panic attack appear. You shouldn’t drive yourself into a dead end; it’s important to think through ways of retreat.

It’s better to adjust yourself to the fact that failures are an integral part of life, all people go through it. Every problem has options to solve it.

Psychologists recommend including introspection and studying your strengths and weaknesses. You need to constantly work on improving your own skills. At each stage, it is worth noting successes and mistakes that will need to be corrected in the future.

Psychotherapeutic approaches

You can diagnose fear of failure using a professional diagnostic technique - the Rean questionnaire “Motivation for Success and Fear of Failure (FUN).”

Questionnaire “Motivation for success and fear of failure” (Rean A. A.)

There are two main motives of human activity - the desire to win and the desire to avoid failure. They are contradictory and lead to different results, different behavior and lifestyle. A special test was developed to diagnose the motive for activity. It helps to understand a person’s thoughts: some people choose small tasks so as not to lose, while others are ready to take risks and set big goals. We invite you to take this test too.

Answer “yes” or “no” to 20 statements:

When I start working, I hope for success.
I am always active at work.
I tend to take the initiative.
I try to refuse to perform important tasks.
When choosing tasks, I get thrown from one extreme to another: either very simple tasks or very complex ones.
Difficulties don't scare me. I do not retreat, but look for ways to overcome them.
When I alternate successes and failures, I change my attitude towards success.
I believe that the success of my activities depends on my efforts, and not on external circumstances.
If I need to complete a complex task in a limited amount of time, my productivity decreases.
I am persistent in achieving my goals.
I tend to plan for my distant future.
If I take risks, I do so wisely.
I am not persistent in achieving goals, especially in the absence of external control.
I set myself goals of medium difficulty or slightly exaggerated, but achievable.
If I fail during a task, then the desire to complete it decreases.
With a series of successes and failures, I change my attitude towards failures.
I only plan for the immediate future.
By completing work in a limited amount of time, my productivity increases, even when it comes to completing a difficult task.
When I fail, I don't give up on my goals.
If I myself chose the task, then failures in completing it only increase the desire to achieve the goal.

Give yourself one point for each match:

The answer is “yes” to questions 1,2,3,6,8,10,11,12,14,16,18,19,20.
The answer is “no” to questions 4,5,7,9,13,15,17.

Calculate the total score and summarize:

1–7 points indicate fear of failure;
8–13 points indicate a borderline state (the lower the score, the greater the tendency towards fear of failure, the higher the tendency towards motivation for success);
14–20 points indicate motivation to achieve success.

It is important! Motivation for success is considered a positive and productive motivation. Avoidance motivation is a destructive behavior pattern.

Methods to combat atychiphobia

How to overcome the fear of failure? Is it possible to completely get rid of a phobia? The answer is unequivocal - yes. First of all, you need to work on yourself; if such a need arises, then be sure to contact a psychotherapist. A qualified specialist will help you remove the fear of failure from your life and show you how you can believe in yourself. If a person cannot cope with such a problem, then in life he will be lack of initiative and ineffective.

You can get rid of a phobia yourself using the following methods:

Think more often about why something works and why something doesn’t. We need to remember exactly when the biggest failure occurred and what it was associated with. It may happen that the person himself was not to blame, external circumstances just happened that way. There is no need to reproach yourself for this.
The unknown is another cause of atychiphobia. It is worth collecting as much information as possible about upcoming events. This will create a feeling of confidence, a place to analyze risks and options for the development of events.
It is important to maintain a positive mindset. You need to constantly convince yourself that any business will end in success. Any negative result is also an achievement. It's okay to gain experience. Thanks to him, people rise to the top of fame and become professionals in their field.

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Fear is a unique feeling. Everything he touches becomes colorless and loses vitality. Many bad habits or bad character traits are based precisely on fear. The fear of exposure makes us lie, the fear of not achieving our goals makes us turn to alcohol more and more often, and the fear of parting with a loved one changes our personality so much that our loved ones, unable to bear it, leave on their own.

Atychiphobia stands apart in this gallery of fears - it is turned inward, towards its “owner”, and eats away at him like acid, every time there is an obvious or imaginary prospect of failure.

How to cope with this condition and is there even a way to overcome this sticky fear?

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