Automatonophobia

Written by: Roji Gurung - 26007, Grade IX

Posted on: 08 September, 2022

There are many types of Phobia such as phobia of height, dark and many more. These phobias are quite known. but there are some uncommon and rare phobias. One of them is Automatonophobia.  Automatonophobia is the fear of human-like figures like wax figures, robots, dummies. The name Automatonophobia is derived from Greek where automatos means working by itself and phobia means fear of something. This phobia is rarely seen in anybody. A person can suffer from this phobia once in a while. But those who regularly suffer from this phobia, anxiety, nervousness and panic attacks can be seen when they are around human-like figures. Automatonophobia is defined as “a persistent, abnormal, and unwarranted fear of ventriloquist’s dummies, animatronic creatures or wax statues.” This phobia causes an uncontrollable fear around human-like figures. If a person has automatonophobia they extremely fear human-like figures. They would feel as if the figures would come and attack them. When visiting museums, shopping malls, the figures there would make people suffering from this phobia shiver. Even the thought of human-like figures triggers the person. The cause of this phobia is still unclear  but according the researches the causes of this phobia are:

• Traumatic experience from movies where wax figures, doll or dummies  are shown alive,
• If anyone from your family has this phobia you may have it too,
• If someone mentions a traumatic event related with  human-like figures it can cause autonomophobia,
• Some people can develop this fear from nightmares also. 

The symptoms of Automatonophobia is divided into two parts; Psychological symptoms and Physical symptoms.  The symptoms of this phobia are:

• Uncontrollable fear of human-like figures,
• Anxiety and sudden panic attacks,
• Having difficulty in breathing, shaky limbs in the presence of human-like figures.

People suffering from this phobia find it hard to cope up with their daily life. They cannot work properly which hampers their ability to function in their daily life. The person suffering from this phobia avoids going outside and mixing with their friends. They lose confidence and also may leave their job due to the fear. To diagnose this phobia, a doctor firstly checks if there is any other disease causing an individual’s anxiety. If there are no other causes of your anxiety the doctor will use diagnostic criteria from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5) to diagnose the phobia. As, Autonomophobia is a mental health condition treatment for this phobia can be done through a physcrastic. Treatment for this phobia includes both cognitive behavioral therapy and exposure therapy. Cognitive behavioral therapy helps a person to control their fear and anxiety. This therapy’s main aim is to make you realize how anxiety is affecting your life. This therapy will help improve a person’s thoughts around human-like figures. Exposure therapy will help improve a person's life affected due to Autonomophobia. This therapy also helps in reducing anxiety caused due to the fear. If the both therapy doesn't work properly in an individual, it can also be treated through medication. Automonophobia is a rare but serious disease so, if symptoms of this phobia is seen in you, you should get treatment immediately. 

Reference:

Fritscher Lisa, April 03, 2022, https://www.verywellmind.com/automatonophobia-2671847