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Monophobia is the fear of being alone.
When you have monophobia, you experience extreme anxiety when you are alone.
The anxiety may be strong enough to impact your daily life and your relationships with others.
Tooga / Stone / Getty Images
Monophobia is also called autophobia.
Learn more about monophobia, what causes it, and how it can be treated.
What Is Monophobia?
The word monophobia describes a severe, irrational fear of being alone.
Monophobia is a specific phobia, meaning it involves the fear of a certain situation.
When faced with the feeling of being alone, someone with monophobia will experience extreme anxiety.
Monophobia is not the same thing as loneliness.
Monophobia is when you feel fear or anxiety when you are alone or anticipating being alone.
You do not need to be lonely to experience monophobia.
Symptoms of monophobia can vary, but may include:
Monophobia can cause significant problems and distress.
For more mental health resources, see ourNational Helpline Database.
What Causes Monophobia?
It’s not clear what causes conditions like monophobia.
It’s also possible that childhood adversity could play a role in monophobia.
Click below to listen now.
Separation anxietyis a normal part of early childhood development.
This is especially important If you also have symptoms of depression or problems with substance use.
They will look for signs that your fear of being alone is severe enough to disrupt your everyday life.
As is the case with otherphobias, feeling nervous or uncomfortable isn’t enough to warrant a diagnosis.
For a diagnosis, symptoms of a phobia must be present for at least six months.
How Is Monophobia Treated?
Like all phobias, the fear of being alone responds well to a variety oftreatment options.
People with monophobia may benefit from medication and therapy.
Psychotherapy
Behavioral therapyis an essential part of the treatment process for a phobia.
you could also look to your support system for help coping with monophobia.
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