Autophobia

Autophobia, also known as monophobia or isolophobia is an anxiety disorder, in which the patient is suffering from a fear of isolation, a terror of being egotistical, a dread of being alone or a fear of one’s self.

It is not solely physical loneliness a “autophobic” person may be afraid of, but also a fear of not being loved or cared about.

The condition is usually associated with or developed from other anxiety disorders, like agoraphobia, scopophobia, or self-hatred.

The term was first published in the 1890’s, created by the Greek words auto meaning self and –phobia, which means fear.

During the last century, research about social anxiety disorders and a conditions had linked “monophobia” to several other conditions, like agoraphobia, social anxiety and even depression.

Later research on “autophobia” and monophobia had determined that patients suffering from these conditions are also often experiencing an intense terror from dying or getting in an otherwise dire situation, in which there will be no one to help them.

“Autophobia” was first defined on Urban Dictionary in 2006.

• Healthline – What is autophobia?
• Medical News Today – What you need to know about autophobia