Fear of change. Symptoms, causes and methods of overcoming

Worrying about the future is normal, but for some, this fear of change can be much more debilitating and cause severe anxiety. Where did this phobia come from in modern man, how to define it and whether it is possible to enjoy life without fear of tomorrow? It is possible - and we will tell you how.

This phenomenon has two terms: "metaphysiophobia" (from the Greek "meta" - change, and "phobos" - fear) or "neophobia" (fear of everything new). Simply put, it is a pronounced or constant fear of unpredictable circumstances. Any changes knock a person out of the "comfort zone", forcing him to adapt to the surrounding world anew. It's exhausting and stressful, so it's easier for some to cancel an appointment or turn down an opportunity at the last minute.

But if you avoid all these situations, life will not become more pleasant or safer. Constantly running in circles from new difficulties makes our existence isolated and closed. Communicating with people is increasingly difficult, and opportunities remain unrealized. Stress accumulates and becomes the cause of other disorders.

The main catch is that people try to avoid not just "unpleasant situations" or "difficult conversations". It is difficult for them to find an incentive to change their lives for the better. Fear of change negatively affects the way of thinking in general. Not fighting it means indulging the infantile desire to protect oneself from everything that can change the usual way of life. Here are some examples:

People don't break up unhappy relationships.

Staying at a job you hate instead of finding another.

They have a clear set of interests, and they are hostile to everything new.

They communicate only with old friends and do not want to get to know people.

Refuse new opportunities that could be useful.

They feel irritated when their daily routine is disturbed by something from the outside.

Take a defensive position when someone suggests changing their life for the better.

These examples can refer not only to the banal "fear of change", but also serve as a signal of an anxious or antisocial personality disorder. However, it often occurs without any psychiatric diagnosis. Fear of change is the root of the problem rather than its consequence. Even if a person does not feel the obvious consequences of fear of change, obsessive thoughts can still build an insurmountable wall between him and new opportunities.

How did a person develop a fear of change

Evolutionary psychologists have a theory that this fear "crept into" our DNA thousands and thousands of years ago, when we were hunter-gatherers. Compared to other representatives of wild nature, people were extremely vulnerable to dangers (natural conditions, predatory animals). But with the development of the species and society, with the awareness of intellectual abilities, technological progress, we stopped being "prey" or "victim" and became the most dangerous predators.

We are no longer so afraid of the attack of wild animals (and where would they come from in a metropolis? Apart from Australia, of course), that we do not hide from the cold in caves, but the fundamental instinct of self-preservation has not disappeared anywhere. Moreover, to preserve this essential survival skill, the instinct mutated into new forms of anxiety. Technological progress, the Age of Enlightenment and the Renaissance, the industrial revolution, and more happened to humanity much faster than our genes could adapt to the new time. Due to the discrepancy between the speed of evolution of society and the speed of human evolution, we have an inner fear of unstoppable changes in the new world.

But this is not always bad or disturbing. Society moves because of the people within it. If our race had not united in the face of natural danger, if human society had not worked together on ingenious inventions, the world would look very different. Changes are the key to our survival, but there is a feeling that modern man is not ready to take risks. Because risk borders not only on danger, but also - and this is the main thing - on uncertainty.

Fear of change and the human brain

Our brain tries to rationalize everything, predict and protect its owner from negative environmental factors. When we are faced with immediate danger, the "fight or flight" response is activated. But more vague stimuli (which we try to predict) are more likely to cause stupor. The same reaction to danger or stimuli appears in animals that have become victims of a stronger predator.

The reason for this difference in behavior in the face of obvious and only possible danger is still unknown. But one theory is that in the second case we don't quite understand what we can do at all. How to protect yourself? When a person knows what he will have to face, he most often makes a choice in favor of "facing the danger." And uncertainty makes us resist change.This is complicated by the fact that the fear processing center in the brain, when activated, limits risky and exploratory behavior. Even if we are not afraid of change, we tend to avoid the difficulty of overcoming old patterns of thinking. But this does not mean that a person is not able to "convince" the brain and start living differently. Staying in the comfort zone forever, you will not open new perspectives, you will not get to know the world around you and yourself. Feeling full of life does not always mean "a feeling of comfort, satisfaction." In simple words: "He who does not take risks does not drink champagne."

You are afraid of change if:

You focus on the past and former achievements.

You do not take the initiative to create a bright future.

You feel like you don't know or love yourself.

You don't feel the passion or strong emotions you used to have.

You cannot understand where to move and how to find a purpose in life.

You feel that you are trapped in the daily routine.

Settle for less than you deserve or can achieve.

You feel emotional burnout.

Envious of other people's lives.

Not sure of themselves.

You are constantly bored.

You are bound by indecision, the impossibility of "being yourself".

You feel stressed because of minor things.

How to overcome this fear

Experiencing the symptoms from the above list may not make you change anything, but the life that most people think is perfect is not the life that really is. There is a subtle but important difference. Here are some ways you can slowly but surely begin to overcome fear and initiate personal change.

Build confidence. Be decisive in your actions and try to change your attitude towards any change. So over time it will become easier for you to cope with them.

Prepare for the worst. Many people avoid thinking about something unpleasant, but the willingness to calmly consider worst-case scenarios will make the situation "more manageable" and less stressful.

Challenge yourself. Form goals that are realistic but challenging. Get better as a person and as a professional. Overcoming the inner critic and the perfectionist is not an easy task, but be ready to tackle it again and again.

Look at the situation from all angles. Be sure to consider not only the negative scenarios, but also the positive ones.

It will be difficult. When you break old habits, you have to leave life "on autopilot". But this awareness in actions and thoughts is the key to finding meaning and purpose in life.

Be proud of yourself. Remind yourself that you should feel good and that what you are doing should make life better. Rejoice in successes, no matter how big or small, so that there is always an incentive to continue to push yourself beyond your comfort zone.

Find support. People are more likely to encourage their friends to change for the better than to discourage them.

Work on yourself. Overcoming less significant fears, which are not necessarily related to the fear of change, will gradually weaken the feeling of anxiety.

Don't isolate yourself! Be close to people, communicate with them, empathize and lend a helping hand.