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Many people may try to pursue happiness in their life, but they have cherophobia instead avoiding that feeling. Cherophobia is a term for people who experience an excessive fear of happiness. If allowed, this fear can gradually reduce the quality of life of the owner.
What causes cherophobia?
Cherophobia actually can not be diagnosed with certainty as well as psychiatric disorders. However, experts suspect that this condition is a form of anxiety disorder alias anxiety disorder.
Anxiety is actually beneficial for humans to survive. However, excessive anxiety can also lead to excessive fear. As a result, you feel afraid of something that is not really a threat.
On the case cherophobia, the source of that fear is happiness. People who experience cherophobia believes that whenever something good happens to them, bad things will follow.
They end up avoiding various activities that create a sense of happiness, even though these activities provide benefits to them. By avoiding feeling happy, they hope to prevent bad things from happening in the future.
Trauma victims, introverts, and people who are overly perfectionists are usually more susceptible to possession cherophobia. However, this is not always the case. You can reduce the risk by having a balanced daily activities.
What are the characteristics cherophobia?
Cherophobia is a condition not yet fully understood. Its characteristics are also very diverse, because everyone who experiences it naturally has a different experience.
Even so, you can recognize common traits cherophobia through the following behaviors:
- Feeling anxious when going to social activities such as parties, social gatherings, concerts, and similar events.
- Feeling that every time you feel happy, there will definitely be bad things that follow.
- Refusing to participate in events that other people find enjoyable.
- Refusing to participate in events that have a positive impact on your life for fear that something bad will happen.
- Thinking that expressing happiness in front of friends or family is not good.
- Thinking that being happy actually makes you a bad or bad person.
- Thinking that pursuing happiness is a waste of time and energy.
is cherophobia can be overcome?
Not everyone who shows traits cherophobia are sufferers of anxiety disorders. You can also avoid occasional social activities if they give you peace and don't interfere with your daily life.
Reporting from the page Psychology Today, cherophobia also not classified as a definite psychiatric disorder such as depression. So, handling against cherophobia needs to be adapted to the circumstances of everyone who experiences it.
In general, here are some things you can do if you experience an excessive fear of happiness:
- Relaxation through breathing techniques, journaling, meditation and exercise.
- Trying to participate in social activities that have been avoided. That way, you will convince yourself that being happy doesn't trigger anything bad.
- Behavioral cognitive therapy with a psychologist.
- Hypnotherapy.
Cherophobia is a mechanism that appears in your brain to protect itself. Whether you realize it or not, you may be protecting yourself from past trauma, fear, tragedy, or conflict.
If this condition has started to interfere with social life, love, or work, try consulting a psychologist. A psychologist will help you explore the causes and the best way to deal with them.