In the minds of most parents and in the hearts of most children there is a desire to be viewed as responsible. Children work to be considered ‘responsible’ by parents while a parent work to make sure their family is taken care of. Sometimes these tasks can seem overwhelming causing some to wonder either why they have to be so responsible or whether they can continue to mange all the needs of their family. When a person feels irrational fear about assuming responsibility they may be considered Hypengyophobic (a.k.a Hypegiaphobic).
This fear doesn’t need to be assigned only to those who seem to fear responsibility from a young age. This phobia can strike an individual who may have been considered one of the most responsible people others knew.
What Causes Hypengyophobia?
In some cases this fear may be directly linked to an extreme sense of being overwhelmed at the depth of responsibility required of an individual. These individuals may have been examples to their peers on how to be responsible for making good decisions and how to take responsibility when a failure occurred. Sometimes it is the failure that shifts the momentum causing the person to realize how important their decisions are. The failure sends them to a place of fear about how impacting responsibility can be.
Others will find themselves in trouble at home and perhaps with law enforcement officials because they are intent on shifting blame for any decision they make to others. In this case they may fear the consequences of their decisions so they refuse to accept responsibility for their actions.
This fear may be modeled as well. An adult in the phobic’s past may have expressed profound fear over the need to be responsible. This can create and environment where a younger individual struggles with making a decision and accepting consequences for their mistakes.
Symptoms of Hypengyophobia
This phobic personality will feel cornered if challenged about their role in something. They are quick to point out the faults in others and excuse their own behavior. They may agree intellectually they were in the wrong, but they fear responsibility for their actions. They will not want to make decisions and they may struggle with the idea of working. Many of them will continue living with their parents or other family members.
Other symptoms may also include…
- Air hunger
- Trembling
- Nausea
- Vomiting
- Elevated heart rate
- Sweating
- Panic attacks
- An urge to flee
- Defensiveness
- Excuses
How to Overcome Hypengyophobia
By using therapy as a way to deal with this fear you can begin to learn the personal costs associated with refusing to accept responsibility. The costs also extend to family members and employers.
The fear may be understandable, but it is also something that can hinder personal progress and deny the phobic personality a sense of self-respect.
There is a reason you fear responsibility. A therapist can help you locate the incident that caused the fear and then work with you to develop a better long-term response to the fear.
The fear of responsibility is also referred to as:
- Responsibility fear
- Hypengyophobia
