Know Nomophobia, Excessive Fear of Being away from Cell Phones |
Nomophobia is the extreme fear that a person experiences when they are away from their cell phone. People who have this condition may feel natural and often associate it with the demands of work. Although it seems trivial, nomophobia needs to be watched out for because it can interfere with health.
Nomophobia or no mobile phone phobia generally starts with cell phone addiction. When a person has nomophobia, he will constantly worry every time he can't use or check his cellphone.
This worry can even make people with this phobia feel stressed, anxious, or panicked, and even experience physical symptoms such as shortness of breath and heart palpitations.
What Causes Nomophobia?
The exact cause of nomophobia is not known. However, this phobia most likely arises because of the desire to always check work from the cellphone or experience FOMO, which is excessive worry when not knowing the latest information or news.
Nomophobia can also arise due to feelings of fear of loneliness or fear of losing others if you are not constantly connected to each other via cellphones. In addition, the loss of a cellphone in a traumatic past can also trigger nomophobia, because of the fear that it will happen again.
What Are the Characteristics of Nomophobia?
People who experience nomophobia will certainly find it difficult to overcome or manage the fear and panic they experience. To avoid this, people with this phobia will do whatever it takes to keep the phone close at hand, so they can pick it up and check it out easily.
In addition, behavioral traits that describe nomophobia may include:
- Hold your phone wherever you go, for example on the toilet or even on a busy street
- Checks the phone constantly, even several times in 1 hour to make sure that the phone is working and does not miss any notifications from the phone
- Breaking the rules for the sake of playing with a cell phone is like playing a cell phone on an airplane
- Skipping planned activities or events to spend time on your phone
Like other phobias, nomophobia can also trigger psychological and physical symptoms. Some of the psychological symptoms of nomophobia that can be experienced, namely:
- Excessive worry, fear, or panic when you think about losing your phone, being away from your phone, or not being able to use it
- Anxious and restless if you have to put your phone down or know that you can't use your phone for a while
- Anxious when you can't check your phone or when your phone's battery runs out
- Excessive panic when you can't find your phone in a short time
Meanwhile, some of the physical symptoms of nomophobia include:
- Chest feels tight
- Heart beat
- Difficulty sleeping or insomnia
- Shaking
- Sweaty body
- Dizzy
- Sensation of wanting to faint
Staring at the cellphone screen for too long will also cause health problems, including neck pain, wrist pain, and even decreased vision quality.
How to Overcome Nomophobia?
Nomophobia that is ongoing and soon realized will generally be easier to overcome on your own. There are various steps to deal with nomophobia independently, namely:
- Turn off your phone at night at least 1 hour before going to bed to get a better night's sleep.
- Put the phone in a place out of reach when you want to sleep, if necessary, put it outside the bedroom.
- Set aside specific time for hobbies, such as drawing, sewing, or reading.
- Try to leave your phone at home for short periods of time, such as when shopping or walking around your home.
- Increase direct interaction with family, friends, or office colleagues.
Using your phone a lot or worrying about your cell phone doesn't mean you have nomophobia. This is still considered natural if you only use the phone occasionally for essential needs.
However, if the symptoms of nomophobia that you experience have lasted for 6 months or more, especially if the use of cellphones has spent a lot of time and hampers daily activities, immediately consult a psychologist to get the right treatment, one of which is psychotherapy.
Related Searches:
- nomophobia,
- nomophobia definition,
- what is nomophobia,
- nomophobia meaning,
- symptoms of nomophobia,
- nomophobia symptoms,
- nomophobia test,
- why is nomophobia a problem,
- nomophobia statistics,
- nomophobia images,
- how to avoid nomophobia,
- nomophobia treatment,
- what is nomophobia the fear of,
- nomophobia facts,
- how many people have nomophobia,