'Xenophobia'

3zbK...B1We

26 Dec 2022

A quote from the healthline.com states that:

The psychological term for fear of the unknown is “xenophobia.” In modern usage, the word has evolved to mean the fear of strangers or foreigners — but its original meaning is much broader. It includes anything or anyone that’s unfamiliar or unknown.

The concept of fear of the unknown is very interesting and is perhaps one of the only phobias that I feel is black and white. This is because there are two arguments for the 'unknown'. One being that since you do not know, you do not have anything to fear because it isn't there, and you you don't know what you're talking about. Two, being that since there is something unknown, you don't have any knowledge of the situation and thus wont know the outcome, which is fearful in it's own sense.

The suggested symptoms of xenophobia as listed by health line are:

Increased heart rate
Faster and more shallow breathing
Tensed muscles
Feeling of weakness

These are all common symptoms for any type of phobia as these are somewhat common reactions for people who are currently in a state of fear. However I feel like a symptom or perhaps another effect from someone who is scared of the unknown is confusion.

Unable to predict.

Because of the nature of this fear being of the unknown, it's predictability is very close to zero, because if it truly is of the unknown, you have little to no information regarding it. As humans, we like to be able to predict what is going to happen in a potentially dangerous situation. If this predictability is limited, then our levels of anxiety and confusion kick in, causing us to panic about something that we don't even know is real.

Inability to control.

Similarly to predictability, control somewhat goes hand in hand, but not specifically all cases. You may be able to predict the outcome of something but still have no control over the outcome, and the resulting conclusion is inevitable. However in cases where there is no predictability, the ability to control the outcome of the situation shrinks closer and closer to zero and also causes us to panic.

All in all, I find the concept of xenophobia very interesting as it is the only fear of something that is and isn't real at the same time. Let me know how you feel about this kind of phobia <3