Venustraphobia-fear of talking to Beautiful Women
Most men love attractive women but in case of some individuals, the very thought of seeing a beautiful woman, let alone speak to her, can cause a full blown panic attack. The scientific word for such a fear or phobia is Venustraphobia or Caligynephobia. Venustraphobia combines two Greek words: Venus which is the Greek Goddess representative of women and phobos which means deep aversion or fear. Likewise, Caligynephobia is comprised of Greek words: calos meaning good or beautiful, gyne meaning woman and phobos which is fear. Caligynephobia takes the fear of beautiful women beyond the normal levels of fear as the individual has full-blown panic attacks and may embarrass himself at the mere thought of meeting or talking to good-looking women.
Let us study the causes, symptoms, and treatment options for the fear of beautiful women.
Causes of Venustraphobia
Scientists and researchers have spent years trying to figure out where phobias occur and start from. Most often, there isn’t a simple answer as there are many factors we need to account for when trying to diagnose the exact cause behind this anxiety disorder.
For some men, the phobia or fear of beautiful women is inherited. One might simply develop the personality-type that is more reactive, sensitive, fearful or anxious.
Result of past trauma
Sometimes, one might develop a fear of beauty due to some traumatic childhood experience. It might have been an abusive mother or sister who was negligent and emotionless.
The phobic might also have faced a bad break-up or divorce with a beautiful woman and ended up associating every attractive woman with pain and suffering.
Not every person who went through a terrible break-up will face this, but it depends on their inherent nature.
Genetic inheritance
A person is not always born with any particular phobia. Probably, while growing up, he saw his father suffer from caligynephilia and unconsciously imbibed the trait.
The fear might even come from peer circles. If any of their friends faced this, chances are the person concerned might also start behaving anxiously in front of attractive women.
Low self-esteem
Generally, men or women with low self-esteem or self-worth are more susceptible to this sort of phobia.
If they suffer from feelings of inferiority or extreme shyness, they might want to avoid associating with women who give an attractive and powerful vibe.
Over competitiveness
Heterosexual men might fall prey to venustraphobia if they are highly competitive. Their instincts will overpower their rational sense, and any beautiful woman might appear to be a threat to them.
Excessive stress
A little amount of stress helps push us forward in our respective fields. But few people suffer from the excessive pressure that leads to other problems.
How to Overcome Venustraphobia
When suffering from a phobia, professional help might be your best bet. Only then will you know for sure that you are making progress.
Here are some things you can to do overcome your fear.
Build your self-esteem
Strengthening your self-worth is the best way to overcome venustraphobia. There are several ways in which you can try to improve your self-esteem.
You must to take care of your health, start meditating and journaling. Something as easy as confidence affirmations can help you in this case too. Set small, realistic goals and appreciate yourself for achieving them.
Exposure to the feared stimulus
Have you heard of ‘face what fears you the most?’ The phrase definitely makes some sense.
This method is known as desensitization, and it works by gradually exposing you to various situations that incite your fear. These controlled exposures will help the person realize that their fears are not all true, and thus they will become less sensitive to them.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
Most times, the phobic imagines the risk of facing a particular situation to be much more than it actually is. CBT helps in identifying and treating the false beliefs that lead to such phobias and anxiety. It is by far the best option for treating phobias.
Hypnotherapy
Hypnotherapy helps in finding the root causes of the phobia that a particular phobic faces. After identification, these causes are then professionally dealt with to help the person overcome their irrational fear.
Medication
Generally, medication is considered the last option if nothing else works or if the person’s phobia reaches a no-return point.
In such cases, the phobic takes the prescribed drug to control their crippling anxiety, which acts as a barrier on their way to progress.
Final Word
While it’s okay for you to have certain fears but when it interferes with your daily life is when it actually gets severe. Nevertheless, your condition is valid and it’s okay if you have fear of beautiful women because it’s easily treatable with professional help. BetterHelp.com provides phobia therapy by a licensed therapist that understands your needs. Phobias do not go away in a day or two, but with continuous effort, time and dedication, you will overcome your fear.
Venustraphobia-fear of talking to Beautiful Women(girls)
