In fact, these questions are a kind of way of saying “how are you” to us by relatives that we have not met for a long time or that we do not prefer to see often. But when this situation turns into an accountable situation, things can get out of hand and we don’t want to visit those people we see from holiday to holiday, even on these special days.
If you are very uncomfortable with this situation, you may have an obsession that has become a kind of phobia in the psychological sense.
The psychological name of the fear of being in the same environment with relatives is “Syngenesophobia.”
Someone who suffers from this condition is faced with an intolerable anxiety, let alone actually seeing their relatives, even thinking about them. However, its effects are not limited to this.
This anxiety is so strong that the person may even have a panic attack as a result. But such anxiety is of course not always applicable to everyone diagnosed with Syngenesophobia. However, the probability of it occurring is still very high.
A person who has a panic attack as a result of this fear may face many complaints.
For example, increased heart rate and respiratory rate, increased blood pressure, muscle tension, excessive sweating and tremors are the most common symptoms seen during a panic attack.
A person who is incredibly concerned about his relatives; No matter what kind of event it is such as a wedding, holiday, holiday, any celebration, he always avoids this union.
In fact, there is no definitive cause of Syngenesophobia. Only genetics and a person’s environment can play an important role in the development of this condition.
For example, if you have a family history of anxiety disorders or certain specific phobias, you are more likely to develop this fear. The reason for this is that you are generally susceptible to mental disorders.
On the other hand, your environment greatly affects your mood and psychology. The obligation to tolerate people with whom you do not agree or who you seriously dislike being in the same environment has a great impact on the development of this fear and its transformation into a phobia.
So how do we get over this?
There are no definitive causes of syngenesophobia, nor are there any specific and definitive treatments for it. However, there are various forms of treatment that can help significantly improve the conditions caused by this fear.
For example, exposure therapy is one of the most effective forms of treatment for people suffering from phobias in general. As the name suggests, with this method, the therapist supports the patient to face their fears gradually for a certain period of time.
When it comes to Syngenesophobia, the patient is first exposed to photographs of some of their relatives and then short visits are made when the person feels ready.
Another treatment method is CBT.
CBT is preferred for people suffering from obsessive compulsive disorder as well as people with Syngenesophobia. In this way, the therapist tries to understand the reasons why the patient thinks this way about the particular anxiety and fear that he or she has, by talking orally about the way they feel and behave.
In addition to these two widely used treatments for fear of relatives, experts; He recommends light exercise, yoga, and reducing caffeine consumption. If all these are insufficient, various medications taken under the control of a doctor will be useful in overcoming this concern.