Autophobia: How Co-Dependency May Be Attributed to a Phobia

When involved in a destructive relationship, many individuals find they are co-dependent and stay in deteriorating relationship out of love and concern for the partner who has chosen an adverse and difficult life pattern. In actuality, in some of these cases, the co-dependency may be attributed to the one individual suffering from a mental health condition known as autophobia; a fear of being alone.

Autophobia is a mental health disorder, involving both emotional and physiological symptoms, categorized as an extreme fear of being alone or extreme fear of feeling a sense of loneliness. While the autophobia sufferer understands their own physical and mental welfare is not being jeopardized by separation, they simply do not want to be alone. Most commonly, individuals suffering from autophobia have an underlying fear of being unloved or unrecognized. This mentality, in and of itself, leads many autophobics to remain in damaging personal relationships which may be detrimental to their overall health and welfare.

When suffering from autophobia, the individual will commonly experience symptoms associated with anxiety which proliferate at the thought of being alone but, certainly, when actually left alone. When suffering from an attack of autophobia, the sufferer will commonly find it difficult to breath, sweat profusely, feel nauseated and have an overwhelming sense of hopelessness and despair. For many, the anxiety attack is frightening and almost feels as if a heart attack has ensued.