Anuptaphobia (fear of not having a partner): what it is, causes, symptoms and treatment

Relationships are complex and, at first, we tend to idealize the person we are dating too much. After a while, however, things usually change, as we begin to notice the flaws that every human being has. As a consequence, some conflicts may appear between two people, both in coexistence and in the bond. At the end of the day, love stories are usually different from movies or series that try to portray something of this.

However, these considerations could have an opposite effect in some people. In other words, the presence of conflicts and difficult situations may be linked to a withdrawal to establish romantic bonds in daily life. In this sense, there are people who have an intense and repetitive fear of having a life company. In this Psychology-Online article, we will provide you with information about the Anuptaphobia (fear of not having a partner): what it is, causes, symptoms and treatment.

Index

1. What is anuptaphobia
2. Causes of anuptaphobia
3. Symptoms of anuptaphobia
4. Treatment of anuptaphobia

Anuptaphobia or the fear of not having a partner is a irrational and exacerbated fear of not forming a love bond with another person. The presence of this picture is related to a series of compulsive attitudes related to interacting socially with other people.

Due to its characteristics, anuptaphobia is considered an anxiety disorder and is included within the specific phobias that are delimited within the DSM-V^[1]. In order to reach an accurate diagnosis of anuptaphobia, a number of diagnostic criteria must be met:

• Fear and/or anxiety in the face of a specific object or situation.
• Avoidance of the specific situation or object due to fear and/or anxiety.
• fear and/or disproportionate anxiety to the actual danger posed by the specific object or situation.
• Duration of six months or more.
• Deterioration of social, work and family relationships.
• The alterations cannot be explained from the presence of some other mental disorder and/or the intake of medications.

One of the most important aspects that we must take into account to know the causes of the fear of not having a partner lies in finding the possible origins of anuptaphobia. This information will allow us to go to certain treatments that provide significant improvements in the development of the daily life of the person suffering from anuptaphobia. Next, we will detail the most relevant causes linked to anuptaphobia.

Environmental factors

The experiences that we are having throughout life greatly influence the behaviors that we have today. Here can be included the fear of loneliness, experiences of abandonment, physical and/or verbal violence, among others. The person who has this type of fear may have compulsive behaviors that try to avoid negative sensations that have occurred previously.

Likewise, social and/or family mandates also have an impact on this clinical picture, since they generate a high degree of anxiety. For example, ideas related to being in a relationship at a certain age, getting married before having children, among others.

Genetic factors

Although not fully confirmed, the Genetic heritage It could also be related to the origin of the fear of not having a partner. Likewise, there is a strong connection between the processing of stimuli from the social environment and certain areas of the cerebral cortex. Therefore, a higher incidence of neural actions linked to emotions can cause an uninterrupted attempt to form a couple. In turn, if one of the parents has been diagnosed with anuptaphobia, there is a good chance that the person also has similar characteristics.

Paying attention to the symptoms that manifest themselves both physically and emotionally and behaviorally is important to be aware of the seriousness of the problem. For this reason, we will point out the most common symptoms ofe anuptaphobia or fear of not having a partner:

• intense anxiety
• Repetitive thoughts about love.
• Excessive sweating.
• Incrise of cardiac frecuency.
• dizziness
• Nausea.
• Distress.
• Low self-esteem.
• Difficulty establishing lasting bonds.
• Low tolerance to frustration.
• Variable mood.

However, it should be noted that the presence of any of these symptoms in isolation does not necessarily constitute an anuptaphobia. It is essential that the diagnosis be carried out by a mental health professional specialized in the subject given that it has the capacity to evaluate the characteristics of the patient in detail.

Finally, in this section we will talk about the most effective methods to treat anuptaphobia. Although each approach has different methodologies, the results obtained have confirmed its effectiveness in remission of the symptoms of fear of not having a partner. Next, we explain the most important treatments to treat it:

psychological therapy

Psychotherapy sessions usually work with the thoughts, emotions and behaviors that give rise to the symptoms of anuptaphobia. On the one hand, short-term therapies provide the patient with tools for coping with anxiety in a way more in line with the needs and qualities of the patient. Among the most relevant brief therapies, the cognitive behavioral therapy.

On the other hand, long-term therapies place special emphasis on locating the origin of conflicts from the memory of childhood situations. This fact makes it possible for the person to adopt other ways of acting in situations that involve contact with other people. The best known and most important long therapy is psychoanalysis.

pharmacological medication

In cases that represent a considerable severity that interferes with the development of a wide variety of activities daily, the provision of anxiolytic drugs is part of a solution that decreases the intensity of symptom.

However, it should be noted that pharmacological medication should only be taken under the supervision of a mental health professional.

This article is merely informative, in Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.

If you want to read more articles similar to Anuptaphobia (fear of not having a partner): what it is, causes, symptoms and treatment, we recommend that you enter our category of Clinical psychology.

1. American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (5th ed.). Arlington: Pan American Medical Publisher.

• Gomez Cervantes, R.A. (2018). Experiences of the absence of a sentimental partner in middle-aged women in the ZMG. Master in Human Development. Department of Psychology, Education and Health. Western Institute of Technology and Higher Studies.
• Tortella-Feliu, M. (2014). Anxiety disorders in the DSM-5. Ibero-American Journal of Psychosomatics, 110 (1), 62-69.