Fall Down Seven Times, Stand Up Eight!

Take a minute to yourself and stop and think.  How do you feel when you succeed on a project, a math test or even at a sport?  How do you feel when you fail?  Do you give up?  Do you let failure ruin your day or do you see failure as a chance to try again? 

 According to www.allaboutcounseling.com, atychiphobia is the fear of failure.  This fear can be so powerful that it can hold back an individual from completing anything that he or she cannot be successful at. This phobia can become very serious. 

Symptoms of this phobia include:

·      Extreme mental anxiety

·      Digestive Issues

·      Headache

·      Muscle Tension

·      Panic

These symptoms will usually arise in an individual suffering from atychiphobic when he or she is asked to do a new task. The mental process of the individual will also become so filled with fear that the individual may  “break down” when put into situations that may end in failure. If the phobia remains untreated, symptoms will continue to worsen over time. A loss of motivation and drop in self-confidence will soon follow.  This may lead to even more severe symptoms, such as depression. 

Overcoming the fear of failure is entirely dependent on how willing, motivated and determined an individual is to make the personal change. While there is no complete cure to atychiphobia, there are methods to overcome this phobia by changing your thought process to better cope with frightening situations.

Prescribed medication is usually not encouraged for most patients. As there is no cure for atychiphobia, many doctors see these drugs as “hiding” the problem instead of actually treating the problem. Other treatment methods are available and have shown some positive results in treating atychiphobic behavior.

Counseling is the most popular option to treating this phobia. By visiting with a trusted counselor, an individual will be able to open up and create new coping strategies to deal with stressful situations. 

Self-help methods, as well as other strategies like hypnotherapy, can also be useful in dealing with the fear of failure and can help the patient understand that failure is part of life.

If you feel that you may be suffering from this phobia it is important to get help.  Talk to a counselor and remember to not let the fear of failure keep you from trying.  Remember that with failure comes success.

Make sure to check back next week for a new phobia!  Your phobia may be next!