Psychologists have described a new type of fear of losing reputation and honor
Scientists have described a new psychological phenomenon — athymiaphobia: an intense fear of losing honor or being recognized as a person without moral principles. This was reported on May 6 in the journal Medical Xpress.
"The specificity of athymiaphobia justifies its recognition as an independent mental disorder in clinical diagnostic classifications," said Waqar Hussein, lead author of the study.
Athymiaphobia is manifested by obsessive thoughts, hyper-vigilance, emotional turmoil, and compulsive adherence to social norms related to moral reputation and honor. The phenomenon has a pronounced cultural character: it is peculiar to societies where the values of honor and shame occupy a central place in the regulation of behavior.
To measure the intensity of this fear, researchers have developed a special tool, the atimiaphobia scale (AtiPhoS), consisting of 15 points. It covers four dimensions: the fear of being recognized as unscrupulous, the fear of violating social norms, the fear of public condemnation, and the fear of losing self-respect and honor.
The authors of the study found that athymiaphobia positively correlates with anxiety and general feelings of shame, which confirms its belonging to a cluster of negative emotional states. In addition, a high level of athymiaphobia predicts lower social intelligence: an intense fear of judgment and dishonor makes it difficult to navigate social situations, read social signals, and maintain healthy relationships.
Some data were obtained by demographic groups: women and married people reported significantly higher levels of athymiaphobia. This, according to scientists, indicates the increased social pressure that these categories are subjected to in honor cultures.
Natalia Vorobyeva, a volunteer psychologist at the Oncologica Foundation and CBT therapist, said on April 30 that the habit of postponing important decisions and personal desires for later can form a person's so—called "spare life" syndrome, a condition that creates the illusion that real life will begin later. According to her, the information environment also has an impact. Social media reinforces the feeling that "real life" is happening somewhere outside of the current moment. This creates an inner sense of scarcity and dissatisfaction, which accumulates over time.
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