Why nomophobia is dangerous and how to overcome the fear of being left without a phone

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

You will have to show firmness in many ways, and in difficult cases, turn to a psychologist.

What is nomophobia

Nomophobia NOMOPHOBIA: NO MObile PHone PhoBIA is fear and anxiety at the thought that you will be left without a phone or will not be able to use it. The name of this state is formed from the first letters of the phrase no mobile phone phobia.

The worries of people with nomophobia are often associated with the fact that the phone will be stolen, the battery will run out or the money on the account will run out. But it happens that it is enough for a smartphone to lie in the next room for a person to feel the symptoms of Afraid of Losing Your Phone? There’s a Name for That: Nomophobia:

• anxiety;
• panic up to panic attacks;
• difficulty breathing;
• shiver;
• increased sweating;
• cardiopalmus;
• loss of orientation in space.

The term itself first appeared Lost without your mobile? Sounds like a case of nomo-phobia in 2008, when a survey revealed that more than half of Britons feel anxious if they cannot use their mobile phone. In 2018, nomophobia was voted the word of the year by the Cambridge Dictionary.

All these years, this condition has been investigated. He was even suggested to be included in the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. The idea froze at the stage of discussions, but the problem itself did not go anywhere.

For example, one study with students showed that almost a quarter of them suffer from nomophobia, and another 40% are at risk.

Researchers call Impact of nomophobia: A nondrug addiction among students of physiotherapy course using an online cross-sectional survey, nomophobia is "possibly the biggest non-drug addiction of the 21st century."

Why nomophobia is dangerous

The symptoms of nomophobia are unpleasant in themselves. The stress level of mild addiction can be compared to anxiety when going to the dentist or on your wedding day. Since this anxiety is constant, then stress becomes long-term, which is not beneficial for physical and mental well-being.

Nomophobia negatively affects self-esteem and overall life satisfaction. She makes you feel lonely in situations where it is impossible to send a message or get an immediate response.

Anxiety and anxiety interfere with real-life accomplishments because the person is constantly distracted by the phone. For example, students with nomophobia received, on average, lower grades than their smartphone-independent peers.

People with this disorder also find it difficult to restrain themselves from looking at the phone if the context is inappropriate and even dangerous, for example, during a play or an argument. Nomophobia interferes with building relationships, because not everyone likes it when their interlocutor constantly looks at the screen.

Smartphone addiction impairs sleep quality and provokes insomnia, and Nomophobia and its relationship with depression, anxiety, and quality of life in adolescents can cause depression.

Who is prone to nomophobia

No one is immune from it, but research suggests that some people are at risk more than others. What matters are:

• Age … Young people are more prone to addiction than adults. This is especially true for adolescents from 14 to 20 years old.
• Floor … According to early research, men are more prone to nomophobia. According to recent reports, the risk is still higher in women. They spend more time on the phone on average. Although both genders use gadgets for the same purposes - mainly for messaging, and then for everything else.
• Phone model … Owners of fancy smartphones are prone to nomophobia more than owners of simple push-button phones. Because the development of addiction is not connected with the device itself, but with what opportunities it gives.
• Presence of other disorders … If a person already has, say, anxiety or panic disorder, they are at greater risk of becoming addicted to the phone.

How to recognize nomophobia

A few statements will help with this. Are you a nomophobe? with whom you can agree ("Yes, this is definitely about me") - or disagree. The more yes, the higher the likelihood of nomophobia.

• The first thing I do when I wake up is to check my phone.
• And the last one before bed, too.
• If I wake up at night, I will definitely check my phone.
• I never turn off my phone or put it in Airplane mode, even if circumstances dictate it.
• When the smartphone has 30% charge left, I panic, because it is about to run out.
• If I forget my phone at home, I come back for it, even if I go to the store for a short time or throw out the trash.
• All my communication takes place mainly on the phone. Even if I meet with someone, I still constantly check the device.
• I carry my gadget with me everywhere. If I forget him in the next room, then I feel uncomfortable.
• I try to reply to messages instantly. Any pause makes me nervous.
• I “stick” to my smartphone for a long time, even if I pick it up, just to check my mail. It happens that I get distracted and generally forget about my plans.
• During any class, I interrupt every now and then to see what's new on the phone. I do not leave him alone when I watch a movie, eat, chat with a friend, do a hobby, exercise - in general, never.
• When the network "does not catch", I am nervous, I can not do anything, because I constantly check to see if there is a signal.

How to deal with nomophobia

Analyze rational fears

It is important to understand what you are specifically afraid of, and then think about how to help yourself reduce your fear. For example, you are worried that your phone will run out and you will not be able to get through on an important issue. Or that the smartphone will be stolen, and you will have to spend a tidy sum on a new one. In this case, you can find a practical solution to the problem, say, buy a power bank or figure out how to carry the phone so that it is safe.

Naturally, this is a fight against the symptoms, not the disorder itself. But this approach will help reduce anxiety levels.

Have a conversation with yourself

Several other modern disorders are associated with the telephone, for example:

• FOMO (fear of missing out) - obsessive fear that you are missing something interesting.
• Prevalent Hallucinations during Medical Internships: Phantom Vibration and Ringing Syndromes of phantom vibrations - when the gadget seems to vibrate and needs your attention.

Understanding that there is really little urgent in the phone makes it easier to depend on it. You can hardly remember the times when you didn't check your notifications and the world collapsed.

An exception is if you need to instantly respond to messages about work. Then delay can be critical. But in this case, it is better to negotiate with the management the speed of an acceptable reaction, and not to think out for him.

Give up the phone where possible

Addiction is also formed due to the fact that almost all life is really concentrated in one device. Work, entertainment, communication - everything is in the gadget. But all this can be redistributed so that you need less phone.

For example, you are reading a book on your smartphone and most likely every few minutes you are distracted by checking social networks or doing something else. Replace your device with a paper book. It feels different in the hands, however, and electronic is also suitable. The temptation to look into the phone will still remain, but it will require more effort, and it will be easier to make sure that you do not go headlong into it.

A wrist watch will help you avoid situations when you decide to check the time, but in the end, somewhere, you lost a whole hour. In general, there are quite a few ideas for replacement.

Remove smartphone from bed

With a high degree of probability, you charge your phone at night, and it lies right at the head of the bed. You use the nearest power outlet or even an extension cord so that you can check the gadget while lying down. But it will charge perfectly even where you cannot reach it. Moreover, it is better to put the device aside for some time before sleep, and after waking up, do not immediately run to it.

Disable notifications

Leave only those that are really needed: from a partner, close family members, colleagues and a leader. But it is quite possible to learn about discounts and weather forecast without notifications, upon request.

Additionally, set the Do Not Disturb mode at night, in which the phone does not send any notifications. Bad sleep hasn't made anyone healthier yet.

Allocate a place for the phone in the house

And let him lie there all the time. It is not necessary to carry it with you, but knowing exactly where it is will help fight panic attacks.

Find exciting things to do

This advice may seem like a mockery: they say, just do something and everything will pass. But that's not how it works. The addiction lies in the fact that a person will constantly be drawn to the phone, no matter what he does.

But it is still easier to get distracted from the smartphone when you do something pleasant and plunge headlong into your occupation, and not when you get bored and see salvation only in the gadget.

Remove part of applications

This is a radical approach, because it seems that everything in the phone is very necessary. In fact, the out-of-sight-out-of-mind approach often works. True, you will have to choose what to erase from your memory - yours and your smartphone - yourself, and show firmness in this.

Try to get inspired by the stories of people who uninstall Instagram, and on Saturdays, install it for a while to view the feed. Of course, they spend time on this, but clearly less than if they opened the application every 10 minutes to make sure nothing new happened.

Designate telephone-free zones

Agree with yourself when you won't be using your phone. For example, put it in your bag and you won't get it when you go somewhere and stand at a traffic light. Or do without a smartphone in training, trying to get the most out of it, because 100 repetitions of unlocking the device in an hour at the gym will not make you healthier.

Expand these zones gradually, freeing up time for something else.

See a psychologist

If you cannot cope with nomophobia on your own, you should ask a specialist for help.