Atyphobia. How to get rid of the fear of failure? Fear of failures and mistakes Get rid of fear and failure

Atyphobia - fear of failure, can occur in early childhood. Often, the desire to receive praise from parents (less often from other adults) forces the baby 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 failure, that sufferers of atyphobia experience real fear.

Atychiphobia - what is it?

This is an obsessive fear of expectation of failure, the reason for which is that previously a person could not calmly take his own failure and now experiences a genuine horror that this could happen again. You can talk about a phobia if a person's mind is completely fixated on the possibility of an unsuccessful outcome and interferes with acting calmly and in cold blood, often disorienting. Such fear is one of the most widespread in the modern world, and is often ranked by theoretical psychologists as social phobias.

Social fear is a phobia that arises and develops under the influence of society.

Atyphobia is often ranked as a serious deviation, because, as noted by David Burns, a psychotherapist from the United States, fear of failure is often so powerful that it prevents the person from taking active actions, forcing her to be passive. A phobia leads to the fact that people who are aimed at failure refuse to take any action, because they are convinced that they are useless. In view of this, they become insecure, lose self-esteem, nervous and constantly experiencing anxiety. A normal life becomes impossible, such individuals are unable to find a normal job or take steps towards a career, because they are aimed at failure and do not even want to try. The result is unrealized potential and depression.

Atyphobia, causes

There are quite a few factors that caused atyphobia, but negative experience in the past occupies a key place among them. And if a person has the peculiarity of elevating a single failure into a tendency, then the likelihood of this fear is very high. Having faced failure once, such people, due to stereotyped thinking, are absolutely sure that their subsequent actions are doomed to failure. Confidence in failure leads to real failure.

Let's highlight the main causes of the disease:

  • Fear can come from childhood, if the child is used to the fact that adults will be very critical of his failure.

  • For teenagers, it becomes a real test if they laugh at his mistake in a team - in a class or a group.
  • Social fears: an adult may experience fear of being worse than others in a particular team, of not meeting generally accepted standards, of getting out of the crowd.

These reasons lead to the fact that, seated deep in the mind, insecurity turns into a phobia, fear of failure, which will become a strong obstacle to normal life.

Forms of atychiphobia

Atyphobia can manifest itself in different ways, consider the most common manifestations of the disease:

  • Refusal to participate in difficult but exciting projects and tasks, self-isolation. A person argues that if he does not do anything, then this will avoid failure and its unpleasant consequences.
  • Self-sabotage. Often, on a subconscious level, a person does everything possible so that his actions do not bring a positive result. With all his might, such a person delays the execution of the assignment entrusted to him.
  • Immobilization. A person does not make any effort, preferring absolute inaction, does not develop personally, does not strive for anything.
  • Self-doubt, low self-esteem. A person regularly repeats to himself that he does not know anything and does not understand that he is not able to cope with this or that assignment.
  • Perfectionism is the desire to become the best at everything, often turning into mania. Often this state may consist in the fact that the person seeks to limit himself only to those activities in the success of which he is completely sure.

Atyphobia, symptomatology

How to overcome fear of failure? First of all, you need to identify this phobia in yourself, for which you should focus on the following signs that arise after a failure:

  • chest discomfort: burning, shortness of breath, trouble breathing;
  • heart palpitations (this symptom causes both a feeling of fear and the expectation of an attack of a panic attack);
  • digestive problems (nausea, diarrhea, cramps);
  • increased sweating;
  • nervous irritability, increased irritability can alternate with the state of the stopper.

In this state, the perception of temperatures changes: in cold weather, a person may experience fever and, conversely, feel chills in the heat.

Method of struggle

How to deal with the fear of failure? Since a phobia can significantly complicate a normal life, make a person inactive and lack of initiative, deprive him of a chance for a successful career and self-realization, it can and should be fought with. Having found the above signs in yourself or in a loved one, you should immediately begin treatment.

However, if the problem is not very pronounced, then you can cope with it yourself.

How to get rid of fear of failure without a visit to a psychiatrist?

The following tips will help:

  • Carry out self-analysis, remember exactly when that key failure happened 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 has befallen you, that the reason for everything is external, circumstances beyond your control, and you should not reproach yourself.
  • Often, atychiphobia is caused by uncertainty, which is why you should find out as much information as possible about the upcoming enterprise. This will help you feel more confident. It is necessary to consider several options for the development of events, make forecasts, analyze risks. Be sure to imagine the most favorable option.
  • If the risk from the proposed case is high, then you should learn to refuse. The case may turn out to be a failure initially, no effort can be made to save it, and your doubts and fears from another collapse will only intensify.
  • But not every case is an initial failure. Before you flatly refuse, conduct an analysis - is it possible that the small risk is justified and by giving it up, you are missing out on great opportunities?
  • A great option that will help you feel more confident and not panic if you fail is a backup plan. The realization that there is an additional opportunity for action will give self-confidence and make it possible to calmly make decisions.
  • The psychological attitude is important - you should convince yourself that failure is, of course, not very good, but also not the end of the world, that there are still many options and chances to prove yourself, the main thing is not to let them go, hiding your head in the sand and abandoning an active image life.

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

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

Modeling

This technique is carried out under the strict supervision of the attending psychotherapist. The patient and the doctor simulate a situation in which the patient has failed, did not cope with the task. Then all the emotions that the patient could experience in this situation are spoken and recorded. He also describes in detail his behavior and reactions.

After that, the psychologist revises the information received, a joint analysis of the reaction with the patient is carried out, and then together they select alternative options for the response to the stressor. By simulating various situations over and over again, the ward develops the necessary model of behavior (for a start, only in theory). In the mind, the attitudes are fixed that failure should be taken calmly and with dignity, that it is necessary to try new things, that failure at the moment does not exclude a successful outcome the next time (etc.). After the correct theses are fixed, you can move on to practice. Under the guidance of a psychologist, the patient tries to cope with certain tasks, controlling his emotions during execution.

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 during the trainings that people with low self-esteem, atichiophobes, desperate and abandoned social life, acquire new goals and aspirations. After completing the training, participants try new types of activities, extreme sports and outdoor activities, begin a new, bright life without phobias.

And yet, the best helper for those determined to eliminate the obsessive fear of failure is constant introspection. How to deal with 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 reveal exactly where you made a mistake, which caused the crash.

Atyphobia is not an easy deviation, it can complicate not only professional, but also personal life, drive a person into a corner, turn him into an incapable, insecure, lonely and uninteresting character. This is why the problem should be dealt with immediately.

What other social phobias are:

  • Sociophobia - fear of society and social action;
  • Glossophobia - fear of the stage and public speaking;
  • Anthropophobia - fear of people;
  • Erythrophobia - fear of blushing in public;
  • Demophobia - fear of crowds, places of large gatherings of people.

Good day. You still dream of starting your blog or starting a business, but something gets in the way. Fear, laziness, lack of motivation, knowledge? About laziness and lack of motivation, knowledge, we, and today I want to raise the topic - the fear of failure and how to deal with it.

Dreams or real possibilities

The life of any person consists of a huge number of opportunities - there would only be a desire to use them. But there is a desire, and almost everyone: every person dreams of becoming an outstanding and noticeable figure in one area or another. Unfortunately, very few people reach their dreams for the reason that almost every person ignores the opportunities and paths that cause him to fear failure.

Of course, this psychological barrier needs to be explained. Most of all in his life a person is afraid of the unknown - it will be quite simple to cope with the enemy, about which you know absolutely everything. After all, as James Allen wrote: the human will - that force unseen (which in an adequate translation means that human desire is an unprecedented force). If you want to overcome your fear of failure - this material will tell you how to start the fight.

How fear of failure works: psychology

First, you need to understand how the fear of failure works. And this can be disassembled using the example of an abstract person subject to this fear.

Imagine the average office worker, with an average income, a mortgage for an apartment, an overall not very fun life - and a ton of opportunities that he can pursue thanks to his personal qualities with a certain amount of effort. It is worth starting with the fact that he can just go for a promotion - he has everything he needs for this - but he does not want to, since a higher position leads to higher responsibility. He may quit a low-paid job to move to a competing company, thereby increasing his income by one and a half times - but he is afraid to write a resume and take such steps, since he is not sure that he will be able to stay in a new position. He can open his own business - but he is afraid of failures that will shake his already not rosy material well-being.

Therefore, our office worker continues to give monthly half of his salary to pay for the mortgage, spending the fourth year on vacation without leaving the city, and endure not the most comfortable conditions for himself, being in the zone of psychological comfort. Here the office worker is confident in himself, has a stable income and does not doubt the level of his authority among colleagues. The prerogative of its existence is the proverb about a titmouse in hand - although a crane in the sky is just a stone's throw away.

For what reason is an office worker unable to change his life for the better? Carol Dweck writes about this phenomenon in her book Mindset.

The fixed mindset (fixed mind)

The reason for this reluctance to leave a place that has become a family is not the most promising place is a fixed consciousness (or, in other words, a fixed mindset). What is it and where does it come from?

The essence of fixed consciousness is a certain amount of fatalism. A person living in a fixed mindset sincerely believes that people do not change, and that all human talents, skills and outstanding skills are an innate state, a kind of genius. Or, as they say, TALENT. As a rule, such people are employees of a narrow specialization (or have a limited range of interests). In their topic, they are really smarter than many, they know everything about it and practically do not know their equal. In their limited circle of interests, they are indisputable authorities, and their opinion, as a rule, turns out to be the only correct one (or - the most rational).

Such people like to consider themselves the best - but, due to the scarcity of knowledge about what is outside the circle of their interests, outside the specifics of their positions, they can only be the best where they have already reached the top. In other words, the office worker described in the previous section does not develop - he does not consider it necessary to strive for something.

Hence the fear of failure arises. A person with a fixed consciousness is most of all afraid that his authority will be removed from the podium. He is afraid of failure, because he is afraid of condemnation, afraid of his own weakness, does not want to feel like a fool. At the same time, he does not understand that mistakes and failures are an integral part of the life of any person, life experience is formed from them. Convincing him to change his mind is an extremely difficult task, and the older the bearer of fixed consciousness, the less chances he has to return his desire to develop.

Methods for Dealing with Fear of Failure

Fortunately, there are adequate methods for dealing with the fear of failure. All of them are available in the aforementioned book by Carol Dweck, and only the most basic points will be given here. So, how to overcome the fear of failure.

Growth mindset

The growth mindset (flexible mind) is the opposite of fixed mind. Such a person believes that there are no unattainable heights, that the limit of human capabilities is the limit of his actual aspirations and expended efforts. If our office worker had a growth mindset instead of a fixed mindset, he would spend a month gathering the necessary information, comparing risks and potential profits, and taking another step towards a better life. And then everything would depend only on him. As a rule, such people are not inclined to give up and lose heart after the next mistake.

Flexible consciousness allows you to forget about the irrational fear of disgrace in front of people absorbed in their own affairs and concerns. A flexible mind does not need confirmation of its own worth in the form of cups, medals or a portrait at the stand of the best employees of the month. The growth mindset is the best way of self-development, allowing you to gain experience from your mistakes and improve the existing conditions in your interests, while the fixed mindset is just personality stagnation (stagnation of a person's personal growth) in relatively comfortable conditions for her.

Encouragement for efforts

One of the reasons the fixed mindset in the former Soviet Union is much stronger than the growth mindset is our social sphere. Children are accustomed to being praised for A's and scolded for F's - and this has taught them the crudest form of evaluative thinking, the primary source of fear of failure. Students are accustomed to the fact that a hoarse professor does not repeat in lectures what they did not have time to write down - and this discourages the desire to ask again. The conscripts and young officers have long been taught the need for a complete lack of initiative: the more you offer, the more you demand. Also, the army teaches blind obedience to the authoritative opinion of people without a critical assessment of its content - there is even a rule in the combined-arms charter that the commander's order can be challenged only after its implementation.

People have been taught from a young age and continue to be taught value judgment. You have a three in your diary - that means you are stupid. If there are fives, then you are great. Children strive to study for A's not for the sake of their own development, but simply so that their parents do not scold them. A simple substitution of concepts distorts the whole essence of school education.

And so it goes on all life - in stripes and stars on shoulder straps, in cups and medals for participating in various competitions, in professional numbers. The life of people carrying a heavy burden of fixed consciousness is an endless struggle for useless baubles that emphasize their authority, instead of a struggle for qualities that are really important for authority. As a result, we have not one or even two generations of people who are smart, because they have fives, the rank of colonel and a medal for winning the competition "The best plumber of Solikamsk in 1989". Some of them are smart, because the path to these merits still forces them to develop. Some do not, because they do not consider people without fives in their diaries, with small stars on their epaulets and without a rack filled with awards, worthy of attention and respect by their interlocutors (although they are often not inferior to them in the level of intellectual development).

Therefore, try to go against the imposed reward system. Praise and reward both yourself and your loved ones for the efforts you make - not for the results you get. This is especially true for children.

Changing the concept of failure

Finally, you can change your understanding of the word "failure" for yourself. Or - completely delete it from the lexicon, since it does not reflect the true essence of things. On this occasion, the coach and video blogger Yaroslav Brin spoke very competently and effectively - there is no place for the factor of luck in activities; if something worked out, it’s not luck and not luck, it’s the result of activity and hard work. Failure, however, should be understood as a lack of motivation, a lack of desire, aspiration and effort expended on achieving a specific goal.
For this reason, any failure, in the end, is a reason for working on oneself and an acquired life experience (from the category of "how to not do"). Strong is not the one who never falls - but the one who finds the strength to stand up.

How to give a growth mindset to a child

Parental abuse because of a two or an over-emphasis on a five in a diary is the main reason for fear of failure in adulthood, although a two is just an indicator that the child needs to spend some time working on a particular discipline being studied or that the teacher is not interested presents the subject, but we'll talk about that next time. Today we are trying to focus not on external factors.

But praise for an A has a negative impact if there was an emphasis on the result as an assessment. The child seeks to receive only fives and in life in the future takes only tasks that are feasible for him, for which he will definitely "receive an five." Thus, he does not start a business, because he is afraid of failure and a deuce (condemnation) from others. Why do we often hear that a millionaire or a director of a large company was a poor student at school and even dropped out of college. Because he has no fear of getting a deuce or judgment from someone. And there is energy, there are ideas, just like an excellent student. But the difference is that he tries to bring them to life, he has nothing to lose, he was already "at the bottom", and the excellent student is only dreaming.

So, what to do with the child: to praise or not? Unambiguously praise, but praise for the diligence, for the experience gained, for the ability to manage oneself. This does not mean that if the child brags about the received A, then he does not need to be praised. Need to! Just make the right emphasis, not on the fact of five or two, but on the process that preceded it.

Necessary afterword

Thus, the fear of failure is irrational. Failure will not put an end to the one who was wrong - only the one who does nothing is not wrong. Failure is not a reason for worries and self-pity mixed with paranoia about the reaction of others, but an indicator that speaks of the need for further development. Failure is just a lack of knowledge, experience, motivation, and level of effort, and it's all fixable.

Fear of failure - what is it?

Perhaps everyone is afraid of failing in important matters, but for a strong, uncontrollable fear that blocks any attempts to do something, a special name has been invented - atychiphobia. This is exactly the same phobia as the fear of snakes and spiders, but to some extent the fear of failure and the absence of such an important component as the motivation for success is much more dangerous than many phobias.

The fact is that this is still a mental deviation, and it can lead to the fact that the patient will be so insecure in himself that he will abandon any undertakings, stop doing anything, because, in his opinion, he will not achieve anything. The motivation for success in such a person will be completely absent. He will cease to be interested in any career growth, cease to strive for any accomplishments, and as a result may fall into a prolonged depression, because in his mind he sees himself as a complete failure who cannot be realized in life.

Reasons for the appearance of atychiphobia

Like many other phobic fears, atychiphobia can begin in childhood, and it is most likely not even a child's failures, but the reaction of his parents to these failures. Instead of supporting children in difficult times, adults often scold them for their failures and set them up as examples of other, more diligent and successful children. This is how the fear of failure arises.

In addition, a phobia can arise from failure and ridicule in a team - at school, at university, in a dance club, and then at work. As you know, children are very cruel and still do not understand how to do the right thing and how not. Women's collectives are especially cruel, they are not in vain compared to a ball of snakes.

Atychiphobia can appear under the influence of various social fears imposed by the morality of society. A person is afraid to be worse than others, afraid not to be as lucky and smart as those around him, not to meet the standards of success adopted in the team. These include the fear of being rejected, of being unable to pay debts, the fear of living in poverty.

How is fear of failure expressed?

The fear of failure can manifest itself in different ways, basically it is a refusal to participate in any difficult projects, a refusal to try something new, unconventional, to try yourself in new roles. There is no motivation for success, often a sign of atychiphobia is sabotage, which can even be subconscious, that is, a person does not understand that he is hindering himself. A person will deliberately hesitate, be lazy, worry too much, find thousands of other more "important" things! The consequence is the expectation of failure and the lack of faith in achieving success.

Low self-esteem and lack of self-confidence and self-confidence are also signs. A person can be tormented by different thoughts: "I am not rich and handsome enough to get to know her", "I am too inexperienced to complete this project", "I am not good enough to achieve this." And this, of course, is a complete collapse for a person's career, and for his life in general.

The next manifestation of achyphobia is perfectionism, that is, the desire to immediately become the best at something, as soon as you start. And due to the impossibility of this, the fear becomes stronger and stronger, and the motivation to work disappears, because the invented ideal is unattainable.

Sometimes a person does not even have to think about how to get rid of failures, because atychiphobia is an internal fear, an unconscious person, and fear of failure turns into the fact that a person is trying to prove to himself that nothing will come of it, he will not see success. He can make stupid mistakes in his work, bloopers in conversations, he is always late and forgets important things. By this he justifies the futility of any attempts to avoid failure.

How to deal with this phobia

Speaking about how to overcome the fear of failure, the first thing to say is - improve your self-esteem, this is the main thing! You can cope with this misfortune without the help of psychotherapists.

  • Consider missed opportunities;
  • Highlight your strengths and weaknesses, use them;
  • Analyze your steps and mistakes;
  • Understand that rejection is not always a bad thing, you need to be able to say no;
  • Create a contingency plan of action, safety net never hurts;
  • Reduce expectations, don't expect great results from yourself right away;
  • Motivation is very important - think about what awaits you in case of success;
  • Be prepared for failure and failure, this is not the end of the world;
  • Organize your knowledge and decide what knowledge you still need to get;
  • Place yourself in situations where retreat is impossible.
  • Learn to enjoy the work you do, please yourself with daily small successes.


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Since childhood, the fear of failure has accompanied us everywhere. As a child, a child expects to be praised for something, and if he does not expect praise, he believes that he has failed. It is the same in adulthood.

Description of pathology

The fear of failure is indeed more often born in childhood, and as the personality grows up, the fear of doing something is not so, and the person does not know how to overcome it.

It is not always possible to get a positive assessment of your work or actions. Sometimes you have to listen to criticism, to fail. A confident and developed person copes with criticism and failure quickly enough.

Others only increase the fear of failure, trying to avoid such actions in the future. It turns out the following: having experienced failure in some of the cases, in order to overcome his fear, a person no longer takes up this business. It comes to the point that making coffee for him is a very serious task, in which the main thing is not to fail. That is, there is a complete isolation of a person from society and a pathological fear of failure.

The fear of error is scientifically called atychiphobia. This is one of the most common phobias in the world today. In psychology, it is customary to attribute the fear of making a mistake to the social class of fears, since the fear of making a mistake is born and modified under the influence of society.

A person who is overcome by the fear of making a mistake can completely abandon the attempt to do something, since he will consider it unsuccessful in advance. In turn, a person who is afraid to make a mistake will gradually descend along the social ladder, since self-improvement and career growth scare her.

Causes of atychiphobia

The fear of disgrace can be caused by completely different reasons. The predominant reason remains the existing negative experience of the person. Because of the fear of failure, a person projects the experience of one incident onto his entire possible experience.

Some people experience a kind of fear before failure that they do not even want to think about the opportunity to try to do something and start some business. Such a stereotyped form of thinking, as it seems to a person, protects him from mistakes. In fact, it prevents any movement in his life.

Fears of failure can also arise when an activity is assessed only by its effectiveness, without taking into account a person's own rhythms and qualities. As a result of this one-sided assessment, a certain label is assigned to an activity - failed or succeeded. There is nothing in between these two labels.

The reasons why people are afraid to perform any activity can be:

  • Connection with childhood fear, when in childhood the child was severely punished for any mistakes.
  • The inability to make mistakes in a team, ridicule of any mistake - most often the inability to overcome fear arises in a team of adolescents, in school or college.
  • Many fears are also governed by social fears imposed by the environment - a person begins to fear that if he is worse than the others, he will be rejected.

Manifestations of fear

Atyphobia is expressed in quite different ways. You can describe what is characteristic of fear in this pathology as follows:

  • Self-isolation - a person is afraid to participate in any events, especially public ones, closing in his comfort zone.
  • Self-sabotage - fearing that he will do something wrong, a person subconsciously undermines his strength and efforts.
  • Immobility - in order not to do something wrong, a person decides to do nothing at all and not to strive for anything.
  • Self-doubt - being afraid to make a mistake, a person assures himself that all the deeds he has done and the knowledge gained are worthless.
  • Perfectionism is the desire to be the best in everything and always keep leadership positions, the desire to work only in the area in which a person is completely confident.

Physical symptoms of the disease

Fear of failure is not only mental manifestation. This pathology is also characterized by a number of physical states of a person. Heart palpitations are noted, for example, when a person seems to be approaching the collapse of his affairs. Heart pains are possible.

Due to panic fear, it is difficult to breathe, there is a burning sensation in the chest, shortness of breath, nausea and muscle spasms. Diarrhea is possible. Sometimes nervous excitability increases, in some, on the contrary, stiffness and closeness are possible.

There is increased sweating, chills, a feeling of heat or cold. In some cases, hallucinations are possible, more often auditory.

How to get rid of a phobia

This fear significantly reduces the quality of a person's life, interferes with his self-development and professional activity, personal life and networking. Therefore, it is a specialist who should provide assistance in advanced cases.

  • Do not be afraid to remember the moments when the fear first appeared. It is necessary to analyze the reasons why this or that case did not take place. Even if the reason is inattention or another personal factor, you should not take too much responsibility on yourself.
  • The cause of the pathology may be constant ignorance or uncertainty. To avoid this, you should have a solid theoretical base before starting any business. Then the possible risks will be significantly reduced.
  • Learn to refuse if you feel like you are not getting the job done. Don't take risks if they are not justified.
  • Soberly assess the losses that are possible if the task assigned to you is not completed. Missed opportunities sometimes become much more waste than the feeling of fear.
  • Always stock up on a backup plan. So you will have a safety net that in case of an unsuccessful course of affairs, you can change it. For example, get the support of a friend or colleague.
  • Be more decisive, any delay will only increase the fear. Create a situation where you cannot retreat.
  • Finally, believe that failure happens to absolutely everyone. But the most rational thing is to use them as a springboard for further start and self-improvement.

Psychologists use the methods of analysis and introspection to treat such fear, leaving the patient with a careful study of the reasons why he considers any venture to be a failure.

Conclusion

Fear of failure is common enough, but it doesn't take as much effort to overcome it as it seems. If you take deep self-examination and come to terms with the idea that no one can be perfect, the problems of fear and mistakes will recede into the background. If the independent struggle was not crowned with success, do not hesitate to contact a specialist. Otherwise, the phobia can develop into serious mental disorders and depression.

From preschool age, the child needs praise and positive evaluation. It is important that others adequately evaluate his actions. Often, children are met with rudeness, do not receive approval for their actions, not everyone knows how to overcome atychiphobia. Atyphobia is the fear of failure. This question is relevant not only for a child, but also for an adult.

What is atychiphobia

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

Fear of failure is one of the most common phobias. Atyphobia is destructive. Fear is formed when interacting with society. The individual is influenced by the social environment. A person can simply give up trying to repeat something that can potentially bring health, happiness, success.

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

Causes and forms of fear

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

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

It is customary to refer to the main causes of atychiphobia:

  1. the negative reaction of adults to the failure of the child (many fears appear before the age of 7);
  2. it happens that a person hears insults or ridicule in his address (most often such problems arise in educational institutions, in circles and in sections);
  3. social fears can be imposed by society (a person is dictated that he must be constantly better than others, standards are imposed).

Fear of failure has several options to manifest. For example, in terms of the form of expression, it can be the refusal and self-isolation of the individual, sabotage, immobilization, perfectionism, low self-esteem and insecurity.

Fear of failure

Atyphobia 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 is looking for a comfort zone for himself in order to avoid possible failure and life failures.

When an individual shows sabotage, then at the subconscious level he negates all his efforts. Deadlines are often disrupted, all the deadlines for the execution of the order are delayed.

When immobilized, a person finds complete peace, he is inactive. 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 for themselves that they simply have no skills, no 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 work of the nervous system is disrupted, since such situations in life are often associated with stress.

The symptoms of a fear of failure are identical to any other phobia. It is customary to refer to the main ones:

  1. difficulty breathing;
  2. heart palpitations;
  3. increased nervous irritability;
  4. irritability;
  5. heavy sweating.

When a phobia occurs, a person shivers, he may lose consciousness. In some cases, you need qualified medical assistance.

Fear of failure: ways of expressing

It is important to know not only how to overcome the fear of failure, but also how it is expressed. 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, learning languages. Sabotage is triggered. Most often, it manifests itself at a subconscious level, a person may not even know about it. The individual deliberately hesitates, is lazy, too worried, finds dozens of other more important things to do. So he expects failure, does not believe in his own strength, in the fact that success is achievable.

This category of people is characterized by low self-esteem. They have no self-confidence and self-confidence. A person constantly argues that in order to get down to business, you need to be able to special skills and talents, and does not seek to comprehend them. Men usually think that they are not worthy of women because of their financial status and appearance. As a result, the individual loses luck in his personal life, 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.

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

why failures haunt

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, they often underestimate the self-esteem of children. As soon as a child makes a mistake, a psychological attack immediately begins on the part of adults, which is often accompanied by physical violence. These parents need to figure out how to overcome their fear of failure, since they were raised in the same way.

Children constantly pass situations through themselves, model them. They copy the rules of behavior in society, as teenagers begin to imitate other more successful people. In the situation described above, parents are prone to self-reflection, they have an increased emotional background. Instead of explaining to the child how to behave correctly in a given situation, they experience anger, anger, aggression. All this multiplies, does not allow the development of positive thinking, faith in yourself.

How can you overcome your fear of failure? First of all, you don't need to focus on failure 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, the child was seized by fear.

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

pursued by failure: 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 the fear. First of all, you need to seek help from a psychologist or psychotherapist, since atychiphobia affects personal life and professional activity. 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:

  1. It is important to try to remember a situation where success was achieved or luck smiled. You need to fix such thoughts. Then draw a parallel with the moments where the fear of failure appeared, comprehend the reasons for its occurrence. It is possible that responsibility was not imposed on the person, the parents were too demanding of the child.
  2. In order to avoid achyphobia, experts advise to plan your activities. You can describe each of the stages when completing a task entrusted to yourself or other people. Positive results should be recorded on paper. This makes the results easy to predict. The individual knows what he needs to be successful.
  3. In some situations, you need to refuse other people if there is uncertainty about the performance of the task. Do not take rash risks. With a negative result, the fear of failure will only increase.
  4. If possible, it is better to assess the risks of canceling the order. A missed chance is not always a failure. Sometimes health and peace of mind are preserved this way, which is much more important.
  5. If you fear failure, experts advise you to always have backup options. This is a kind of safety net, you can quickly change your plans, adjust the strategy in your favor.
  6. Decisiveness is another key to success. While waiting, the feeling of fear intensifies, tremors and panic attacks appear. You should not drive yourself into a dead end, it is important to think over ways of retreat.

It is better to tune yourself to the fact that failure is an integral part of life, all people go through it. Any problem has options for solving it.

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

Methods of dealing with atychiphobia

How can you overcome your 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 arose, then be sure to contact a psychotherapist. A qualified specialist will help to remove the fear of failure from life, will show how you can believe in yourself. If a person does not cope with such a problem, then in life he will be inactive and inactive.

You can get rid of the phobia by the following methods:

  1. To think more often about why something works out and something does not. You need to remember exactly when the biggest failure occurred, and with what it was associated. It may happen that the person himself was not guilty, it was just that external circumstances developed. No need to reproach yourself for this.
  2. Uncertainty is another cause of atychiphobia. It is worth collecting as much information as possible about upcoming events. This will create a sense of confidence, a place to analyze risks and options for the development of an event.
  3. 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, become professionals in their field.

The method of hypnosis is also used to treat phobia.

First of all, this applies to difficult situations. Group training and psychological modeling are often used.

Such a technique as modeling is carried out strictly under the supervision of a psychotherapist, which deals with the treatment of a person suffering from a phobia. The physician simulates a situation in which the individual has failed. He offers to analyze together his own thoughts, the behavior of other people, his own and others' assessments of the problem.

Further, the information is analyzed, the psychotherapist makes recommendations, selects alternative options for resolving the situation. It is important for the person to develop a positive model of behavior. In the mind of a person, a specialist fixes the installation that failures should be taken calmly, that there is nothing wrong with that. As soon as all this is fixed on a subconscious level, the doctor may suggest trying to apply the knowledge gained in practice. For example, if a man was unable to meet a woman, the first task would be to invite someone out on a date.

Group trainings are one of the most effective methods for those who suffer from atyphobia. In a group of people, situations are discussed, participants exchange their emotions. Next comes the work on the errors, the work takes place in pairs. People with low self-esteem have new aspirations and goals, they go through the process of socialization. Often, after such trainings, people realize themselves in professions where they did not believe in the possibility of acquiring specialized skills. Many people decide to go in for active sports, realize themselves in creativity. Life becomes brighter and more intense.

With each new failure, it is important to analyze your own mistakes. This will help combat your phobia. All doubts and reflections should be written down in order to subsequently make the right decisions based on rational arguments.

Atyphobia is a disorder that causes difficulties in professional and personal life. It is easy to drive a person into a corner, to suggest that he is surrounded by only failures. It is important to constantly develop confidence in yourself, to listen to other people's opinions only when necessary, to fix your own mistakes and try to correct them in a positive way.

 

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