Autophobia, also called monophobia, isolophobia, or eremophobia, is the specific phobia or a morbid fear or dread of oneself or of being alone, isolated, abandoned, and ignored.
[11] Autophobia is not to be confused with agoraphobia (fear of being in public or being caught in crowds), self-hatred, or social anxiety, although it can be closely related to them.
One of the most known indications of autophobia is experiencing an intense amount of apprehension and anxiety when alone or contemplating situations where isolation from trusted others is imminent.
When people with this phobia are left alone, they will often experience panic attacks, which is a common reaction in those with social anxiety.
This disease can also stem from depression because when people become seriously autophobic, they start to find certain tasks and activities almost impossible to complete.
This phobia can also be closely related to agoraphobia, which leads to lowered self-confidence and uncertainty of their ability to finish certain activities that need to be done alone.
A situational phobia, autophobia must interfere with the individual's daily tasks or routines due to symptoms caused by the condition such as anxiety to be diagnosed as such.
This can lead to over-scheduling social activities or avoiding situations where they might be alone, ultimately escalating their anxiety over time.
[26][27] In addition to CBT and exposure therapy, mindfulness and meditation practices can help individuals stay present and reduce the emotional intensity associated with being alone.
[28] Gradual exposure, where individuals slowly increase time spent alone in safe, controlled environments, can desensitize them to their fear.
Often, the effects of these coping mechanisms end up worsening a person's anxiety, and the situation can get increasingly worse with time.
Therapists recommend many different remedies to make patients feel as though they are not alone even when that is the case, such as listening to music when running errands alone or turning on the television when at home for background noise.
[15] In 1969, autophobia or monophobia was referred to as being very closely related to death anxiety, or a feeling of impending doom .
[11] A comic was written on Tapastic called Autophobia in which a boy with a rocky family life navigates high school.
[33] In July 2018, Canadian musician deadmau5 released a song named Monophobia, featuring vocals from Rob Swire, with lyrics vaguely referring to the condition.