Atychiphobia (fear of failure)
Atychiphobia, or the fear of failure, is a psychological condition characterized by an intense and often irrational fear of not succeeding, particularly in high-stakes situations like exams or job interviews. This fear can be paralyzing, preventing individuals from performing at their best and leading to self-sabotaging behaviors such as procrastination. The roots of this fear can often be traced back to early experiences, such as receiving excessive criticism or being held to unrealistic standards, which can foster feelings of inadequacy and shame. Symptoms may include physical stress reactions, reluctance to engage in challenging tasks, and negative self-talk.
While some individuals may require professional help to manage atychiphobia, many can benefit from self-help strategies. These include practicing relaxation techniques, engaging in positive self-reflection, and taking proactive steps to prepare for challenging situations. Emphasizing that mistakes are a natural part of the learning process can also aid in reducing the fear associated with failing. By gradually confronting the sources of their fear and remembering past successes, individuals can work towards overcoming atychiphobia and enhancing their self-esteem.
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Atychiphobia (fear of failure)
Atychiphobia is the psychological term applied to the fear of failure. Many people experience this fear in high-stakes situations, such as an important test, athletic contest, or job interview. At times, people may experience this when they have been successful in the past and fear not living up to the standard that they or others have set for them as a result of that success. In any case, the fear can become so severe that it actually prevents the person from performing as well as possible; in effect, the fear becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. While some people may need help to overcome atychiphobia, in many cases it can be overcome by self-help techniques.
Background
Atychiphobia comes from the Greek atych, which means "misfortune," and phobia, which means "fear." The same fear is sometimes also called kakorrhaphiophobia. While nearly everyone experiences a fear of not being able to accomplish something from time to time, it becomes a phobia when no rational reason exists for the fear or the fear becomes so paralyzing that the person is unable to perform a task.
This intense fear of failing can develop at any time. However, it has been shown that children who are expected to meet extremely high standards on a regular basis or who are criticized regularly for any shortcomings in their work are more likely to develop a fear of failing or a fear of not being good enough to meet the standards that have been set for them. This was documented in a study released by the British Psychological Society in 2014 that surveyed one thousand high school and college students about their motivations for learning and their study techniques.
Researchers have noted that shame is often behind a fear of failure. People are afraid that if they do not meet the standards that have been set for them or that they have set for themselves, they will be embarrassed and suffer other emotional consequences such as shame. Those who fail often have to cope with feelings of disappointment, frustration, and anger. They may fear losing face with others who matter to them or with other people in general. This amounts to a loss of self-image and a feeling of not being good enough.
The desire to avoid these feelings can be very strong, possibly leading to self-sabotaging techniques such as procrastination or focusing on things that are not really important to success instead of things that are. These actions allow the atychiphobic person to deflect the feelings of inadequacy and shame. For instance, putting off writing a college application essay until the last moment allows the person to say, "I could have done better if I had more time," if the application is rejected, instead of feeling personally rejected.
Atychiphobia may be diagnosed in a number of ways. The person might experience stress reactions such as rapid breathing and heartbeat and possibly nausea in a situation in which failure is a possibility. Procrastination and reluctance to start a new task or refusal to get involved in a project that presents challenges are additional signs, as is self-sabotage such as forgetting an important meeting with an adviser or supervisor. These traits are often accompanied by thoughts such as, "I'm not good enough to do this," or "I'll only mess it up."
Overview
People with atychiphobia often have both underdeveloped self-esteem and an overdeveloped sense of potential risks and consequences. For instance, a person may feel that good grades in high school were due to luck, not effort, and fear that failing to get into one's first-choice college is a disaster that will ruin their life. The combined pressure of self-doubt and extremely high standards and consequences can result in fear that prevents an individual from doing well on an admissions essay or even from completing and submitting the essay on time.
The fear of failure can also cause people to overreact to mistakes, engage in self-criticism, and hold on to the memory of past failure. For example, when seeing a low grade on a test, an individual might label oneself unintelligent, attribute past successes to luck, and dwell in these feelings instead of productively studying for the next test. If this leads to another poor grade, the fear of failure thus becomes self-perpetuating. This may persist even if it can be shown that the first low grade can be attributed to a concrete reason, such as that the test was so difficult that most of the class got low grades, or if the test-taker was ill at the time of the exam.
Some cases of atychiphobia are severe enough to require some professional assistance, which can range from consulting with a therapist to taking antianxiety medication. However, many cases respond to self-help techniques. These include taking concrete actions to overcome the fear of failure and engaging in relaxation techniques.
Researchers have said one of the key ways a person can overcome the fear of failure is to realize that everyone fails at some time. It is not possible to be good at everything, and learning something new almost always involves some mistakes and failures. They have noted that it is important to remember that mistakes are not a sign of failure but a normal part of the learning process. Another important step, researchers have determined, is to take some action to address the source of the fear of failure. Starting a draft of the admission essay, practicing interview questions, or practicing a presentation are all examples of positive steps used to overcome fear. Remembering past successes can also help overcome negative feelings and fear of failure. Another technique is remembering past failures and how they were overcome; for example, a person who is afraid of failing a test might remember another time that resulted in a poor grade but also recall better grades in the class and ultimately passing the course.
Researchers have also recommended relaxation techniques such as guided imagery. This is the practice of imagining the source of the fear and mentally walking through it step by step, envisioning the action going perfectly. Guided imagery can also be used just before a situation that provokes fear of failing if one imagines a scene that brings peaceful feelings, such as a favorite vacation spot or place for relaxing. Deep breathing, and intentionally tensing and relaxing muscle groups, can also be used to help release tension that can interfere with performance.
Bibliography
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