Who has not ever felt overwhelmed by the immensity of the infinite? While some phobias develop from a specific object, animal or situation, others can arise from feelings or abstract ideas, making them more difficult to identify. In our phobia dictionary we tell you everything about apeirophobia or fear of infinity.
What is apeirophobia?
Apeirophobia is the fear of infinity. Said like this, it seems something quite easy to avoid, since it is not a problem like agoraphobia or Claustrophobia that puts you in situations from which you cannot escape. But how do you avoid infinity? Just the question causes some existential dizziness, so you can get an idea of how difficult it is to cope with this phobia.
The infinite, the universe, the immensity of the sea, a mountain so high that you cannot see the top, the sky so enormous and endless. But also an endless series of numbers, the idea of eternity, that forever that no one knows how long it is. All of them are stimuli that can cause apeirophobia.
Phobia symptoms
All phobias have the same symptoms that also coincide with the symptoms. The physical signs of shortness of breath, tachycardia, dizziness or excessive sweating are the most frequent, but it is not uncommon to reach an anxiety attack or a panic attack.
Because it is a phobia in which the stimulus is something as abstract as infinity, the psychological symptoms are more severe than in other types of phobia. It must be taken into account that thought plays a crucial role in apeirophobia, that the mere idea of imagining immensity can trigger a crisis.
Causes of apeirophobia
But what can cause the appearance of a disorder such as apeirophobia? It is difficult for us to imagine a traumatic experience related to infinity, so the most frequent cause is usually a cognitive mental disorder. As with other phobias, suffering from an anxiety disorder is the safest gateway to the most varied phobias.
Education and cultural factors also influence apeirophobia, as occurs with other phobias such as eremophobia, which is the fear of loneliness or panophobia, when everything in general scares you.
Treatment of fear of infinity
In the treatment of phobias, gradual exposure to the stimulus that causes fear is generally used, but it is a bit complicated to expose yourself to an infinite situation, right? That is why cognitive it is effective for all types of phobias, because it works on thinking, ideas, and then conducts it.
Overcoming apeirophobia takes time and a lot of introspection work, so it is something that must be done by a professional psychologist. And, of course, relaxation techniques cannot be missing when treating any due to its relationship with anxiety.