There are many phobias, associated with an infinite number of stimuli. There are phobias, but, less known than others, such as arrhenophobia. This phobia consists of an intense and persistent fear of men.

Arrhenphobia originates especially from traumatic situations experienced with people of the male sex . In this article we will know what it consists of, its symptoms, causes and possible treatments to be applied.

Arrhenphobia: What is it?

As we said, arrhenophobia is a little-known phobia; it is the phobia of men, and translates into an intense, persistent and disproportionate fear of the male sex. It can be suffered by both men and women.

This fear, moreover, is irrational ; irrationality is one of the characteristics that differentiates a phobia from a fear.

Arrhenophobia can be classified in the section “other phobias” proposed by the DSM-5 (Diagnostic Manual of Mental Disorders), since it does not correspond to any of the other 4 types of phobias proposed by the manual (phobia of animals, blood/injection/wound, natural situations and situational phobias).

In this group of phobias (“other phobias”), along with arrhenophobia, other types of phobias appear, such as intense fear of choking, of contracting a disease, etc.

Symptoms

The symptoms of arrhythmophobia include the typical symptoms of a specific phobia, which are, primarily

1. Intense fear

There appears an intense fear of men, as well as of situations that may involve meeting a man , staying alone with him, starting a conversation, etc. Instead of fear it can also be anxiety (in high doses).

Physiological symptoms

Associated with previous anxiety, physiological symptoms may appear in arrhenphobia, such as increased heart rate, increased blood pressure, dizziness, nausea, vomiting , hyperreactivity to stimuli, insomnia, nightmares, etc.

3. Panic attacks

In extreme cases of arrhenophobia, panic attacks may even occur in the presence of a man (or the possibility of seeing him, being alone with him, etc.).

These episodes are characterized by the above symptoms along with one or more of the following: feeling of shortness of breath, agitated breathing, fear of “going crazy” , fear of “losing control”, etc.

4. Avoidance or resistance

Another characteristic symptom of arrhenphobia is that men are avoided at all costs , as well as situations that can lead to knowing one, to interacting with one , etc. It can also happen that, instead of avoiding men, one faces situations of interaction with them, but with a lot of anxiety (that is, one “resists” the situation).

5. Pronounced malaise

In addition to the intense fear and physiological symptoms, an intense discomfort appears in the patient that affects his daily life. This discomfort is both physical and psychological, and can reduce the quality of life of the person with arrhenophobia.

6. Altered operation

The above symptoms eventually interfere with the person’s overall functioning. This includes all (or some) of their spheres: work, social, personal, etc. This symptom is very characteristic of mental disorders in general , and not only of anxiety disorders or, as in this case, of phobias.

Causes

The causes of arrhenophobia are mainly related to traumatic experiences with men . If this traumatic experience has not been treated psychologically (that is, if it has not been processed and assumed), the problems that it triggers can be aggravated.

The origin of arrhenophobia is also related to a certain genetic vulnerability to suffering from an anxiety disorder , as well as to a fragile, insecure and/or dependent temperament or personality.

Traumatic experiences

Returning to the traumatic situation experienced, this can be related to mistreatment by a man (whether physical, sexual, verbal aggression…), to a situation of sexual abuse and even rape.

If it has not been lived in the first person, it may also have been witnessed in people close to them (e.g. watching the father hit the mother, due to vicarious conditioning) or even heard stories of other people’s suffering with negative consequences related to men.

It seems logical that the fact of having experienced such a traumatic situation, ends up causing a phobia (or other mental disorder), since the person, consciously or unconsciously, does not want to suffer that again , and therefore “protects” himself by avoiding the stimulus or object in question (in this case, men).

Dysfunctional mechanisms

However, phobias come from responses that pretend to be adaptive but in reality end up being dysfunctional and pathological, since avoiding something takes us away from facing life situations and prevents us from being able to develop adequate coping mechanisms.

Moreover, we enter into a vicious circle , because if we do not face what we fear, we cannot understand or manage it, and the malaise remains there, perpetuated in time.

Treatment

The psychological treatment of arrhythmophobia will aim to address the phobic stimulus, in this case men. Without an adequate confrontation the stimulus cannot be correctly processed (feeding the avoidance behaviors) and this will only perpetuate and chronify the arrhenphobia.

Thus, the treatments that are usually used in arrhenophobia , as in many other specific phobias, are the following:

1. Exposure techniques

Exposure therapy involves exposing the patient to the object he or she fears. It is done through a gradual item hierarchy ; in this case the item scale can include situations of interaction with men who are increasingly close. This type of therapy is the most effective in treating specific phobias, where the phobic object is well defined.

2. Cognitive techniques

Cognitive therapy includes, primarily, cognitive restructuring. Through it, the patient is informed about his phobia, he understands why it has appeared, why it is maintained, and he learns to identify the catastrophic thoughts he has in relation to men . In addition, they will look for the possibility of replacing such thoughts with other more realistic and functional thoughts.

The decision of the type of treatment will always be made taking into account the degree of intensity of the arrhenophobia and the characteristics of each person.

Bibliographic references:

  • American Psychiatric Association (APA) (2014). DSM-5. Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders. Madrid: Panamericana.
  • Belloch, A.; Sandín, B. and Ramos, F. (2010). Manual of Psychopathology. Volume I and II. Madrid: McGraw-Hill.
  • Horse (2002). Manual for the cognitive-behavioral treatment of psychological disorders. Vol. 1 and 2. Madrid. Siglo XXI.