Are you afraid of losing your phone? You may have a Nomophobia.

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Have you had a hard time setting your device off or become worried when you hear you will be losing connection for a few hours? Do you get anxious when you think about going out without your phone? If you are, you might have nomophobia, which is an anxiety disorder of not getting or being able to use a phone. Mobile phones provide tremendous resources and conveniences for people these days. It promotes job completion and gained widespread acceptance.

Users can assert that phones are an expansion of themselves and define their personality and lifestyle. It is undeniable that these technologies are part of our daily existence. However, it causes behavioral changes. Because of the pervasiveness of mobile devices, a smartphone is an essential tool in human livelihoods. Despite this fact, the amount of issues associated with mobile has therefore grown significantly in recent years. That being the case, the range of inquiries into the situation has grown, with this condition defined as abusive, socially inept, and unhealthy. We regard smartphone addiction as akin to other addictions like dangerous drugs.

Cell phones seem to be an indispensable aspect of daily life. It not only for means of communication, but rather as a social media network device, private planner, internet shopping platform, diary, alarm system, and digital wallet. Since most of us are dependent on our smartphones for knowledge and connectivity, it is natural to be concerned about missing them. To an extent, some people became anxious that they may be losing pictures, addresses, and other details and information. Besides, people are afraid of going without their phones because they depend on them for many crucial tasks. Leaving without a mobile phone will cause a person to feel cut off and disconnected from significant parts of the developed world, such as acquaintances, families, health, employment, and knowledge.

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Although these technologies are undeniably functional, many people argue that excessive dependence on electronic devices can be psychological dependence. When people leave their phone, when their cell phone battery dies, or even while they're in a place where there is no telephone service, it can cause tension and distress, as well as feelings of terror or anxiety. This anxiety over going without the need for a mobile phone is a symptom of addiction. Some researchers think it can bring a negative effect on mental stability and the state of well-being. As a result, it became a public health issue and a new pathology known as nomophobia. Psychiatrist documented as a psychiatric condition, caused by inappropriate use of this device and the reliance that this application creates.

Nomophobia is relatively new and characterizes the anxiety of going outside without your phone. It involves not just only missing, forgetting, or damaging the handset, but more being disconnected from cell phone service. It is an increasing societal problem where remaining linked seems much more critical than it has ever been. However, nomophobia describes as anxiety of not using your phone that interferes with everyday life. In 2008, a report from the United Kingdom Postal Office coined the term nomophobia. The report revealed that 53 percent of the respondents felt nomophobia in a survey of over 2,100 people. Because whenever people drop their phones, run out of battery power, or don't have wireless service, they experience fear.

This paranoia can be intense that many people can't switch off mobile devices, either at nighttime or even when they are not going to use them. Fear of missing out is likely what encourages people to have the ability to respond to a text or call even though they are in the midst of anything else. In the report, individuals were frequently able to disrupt their daily lives to respond to a message. The majority of the people (80 percent) would answer a telephone conversation though sitting on the sofa and watching television, 40 percent would take a call when having dinner, and 18 percent would pick up the phone while sleeping with another human.

A phobia is a form of anxiety disorder marked by an unreasonable fear of an entity or circumstance. Phobias are a form of anxiety. If you think of what you are scared of, you get a strong anxiety reflex, which also causes physical and emotional symptoms. Phobia is a panic response that is excessive and unreasonable. If you have a crippling fear, you might feel a strong sense of anxiety or nausea when experiencing your fear. Fear may be of a particular location, circumstance, or object. A phobia, as opposed to general anxiety disorders, is typically concerned with something unique.

Phobias do not necessarily arise from a traumatic experience, although it does for some instances. For illustration, if missing your phone has triggered considerable anxiety or complications in the history, you might be concerned about it occurring again. If you've had a close relative who suffers a phobia, the chances of experiencing nomophobia improve. In general, anxiety will raise the chances of having a phobia.

In the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, nomophobia is not on the list. Psychological health professionals have not yet agreed on medical practitioner guidelines for this disorder. It acknowledged that nomophobia is detrimental to one's mental well-being. Many researchers proposed that nomophobia is a type of phone dependency or abuse. Nomophobia is relatively new anxiety. It seems to be more common in teens and young adults, but the cause of nomophobia is yet to be identified by experts. However, they assume that a variety of variables may play a part. Understandably, fear of isolation can lead to the formation of nomophobia.

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Nomophobia promotes the establishment of psychiatric illness, borderline personality disorder, and issues with a person's self-esteem, depression, and well-being, particularly in the younger generation. It has a significant effect on our fitness and health, which leads to poor employability due to heavy reliance on mobile phones. It may trigger frequent disruptions of your activities. Besides, it affects interpersonal relationships that result in detachment and separation from the external reality.

We should not overlook the internet as an innovation that improves our access to information because misuse of these technologies results in addictive behaviors. These modern digital addictions begin to propagate in increasingly developing regions where people have the wealth and opportunities to acquire the requisite technology.

Puberty is the most vulnerable with nomophobia, which includes addictive behaviors to social media and video games. Teens are accustomed to creating, sharing, engaging, playing, and having fun with others through digital media. A few other young adults claim to favor communications technology to physical interaction, which causes emotional, psychological, and behavioral changes. It promotes coercive behavior causes an unhealthy lifestyle, eating habits, sleep disturbances, exhaustion, frustration, aggressive behavior, and poor self-esteem, among other issues.

If a mobile phone is your primary means of communicating with everyone you matter for, you'd be at a loss without it. You may want to keep your phone near at all times if you don't want to feel this isolation. Some other reason may be paranoia of being unreachable. When we are waiting for an urgent text or call, we all hold our phones close at hand. The continuous mobile phone utilization is a technological anomaly. Mobile phones can be both liberating and authoritarian. Users can chat, collect information, and socialize, but a smartphone can sometimes turn to dependency, which is frustrating and stressful.

People can experience physical ailments in response to cognitive and emotional symptoms. People may breathe more quickly, their heart rates may rise, they may sweat often, and they can also shudder or shiver. They can even tend to feel exhausted. These anxiety symptoms will worsen into an illness. Medication can assist with extreme nomophobia symptoms, although it does not resolve the underlying problem. It is ineffective to cure a phobia solely using treatment drugs.

When you experienced nomophobia symptoms or believe that your cell phone use is triggering complications in your life, speaking with a mental health counselor will be beneficial. Although there is no cure for nomophobia, your psychiatrist can prescribe exposure therapy, cognitive-behavioral therapy, or both to alleviate your symptoms. In certain circumstances, the doctor can also recommend drugs to treat anxiety or depressive symptoms which a person is undergoing.

To be conditional on the symptoms, a doctor can advise on taking medicine for a short amount of time until you learn to deal with them in treatment. The beta-blockers (medicine) may help to alleviate physiological symptoms of anxiety disorder, such as dizzy spells, breathing difficulties, or a pounding heart. You take it first before confronting a situation that makes you nervous. Supplementary, when you worry about not getting your phone, benzodiazepines will make you feel less scared and nervous. Since the system will become dependent on them, your doctor will usually only recommend the latter for short-term use.

Taking part in exposure therapy teaches you to confront your anxiety by gradually exposing you to it. On the condition that a person has nomophobia, they will get used to the feeling of being without their mobile device. It can seem terrifying hence they rely on their phone to communicate with friends and family. However, unless this is an own purpose, the goal of exposure counseling is not to stop using your devices.

A person can deal with nomophobia by switching off the phone at night to get a sufficient amount of sleep. Whenever you need to get up, leave your mobile device at a safe place, within your limits, and far enough that you can't quickly check it in the middle of the night. From time to time, we must leave our phones for brief periods. When you go food shopping, scoop up food, or go for a hike. Moreover, kick your heels away from electronics nearly every day. Sit somewhere quietly, write a note, go for a run, or experience a new open space activity.

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Many individuals are using mobile devices to communicate with friends and dear ones. They rely upon their day-to-day activities on their phones that result in difficulty disconnecting from it. We must start engaging in more in-person communications with people who are close to us. When necessary, enable family and loved ones to meet in person. Organize a get-together, go for a stroll, or schedule a weekend getaway. When you have beloved ones, who live in various cities or countries, try to combine your internet usage with other hobbies. Make it a habit per day to switch off your mobile device and concentrate on something not related to the internet.

People can relate to others in a variety of ways. It is not a bad thing if you find it easier to develop friendships online. If your internet activities and other phone use interfere with your everyday life and responsibilities, speaking with a mental health provider may be beneficial. Nomophobia, like other concerns and behavioral addictions linked to technological utilization, is becoming more prevalent. Seeing how many people rely on their cell phones for work, education, news, media, and social connection, can be a tough challenge to address. It is unrealistic to stop using your phone altogether, but knowing how to set constraints and limitations on how much you want your phone to rule your life will benefit you. Taking breaks from your mobile devices, participating in non-phone tasks, and seeking opportunities to keep you entertained instead of just unthinkingly concentrating with your mobile phone are good starting points.


Note: Cover image is created in Canva. The cover image background is from Pixabay.

References

  1. Nomophobia: An Individual’s Growing Fear of Being without a Smartphone—A Systematic Literature Review
  2. Afraid of Losing Your Phone? There’s a Name for That: Nomophobia
  3. Nomophobia: The Fear of Being Without Your Phone
  4. Nomophobia and lifestyle: Smartphone use and its relationship to psychopathologies
  5. 5 signs you're suffering from nomophobia
  6. Nomophobia: A Rising Trend in Students
  7. Nomophobia: The Modern-Day Pathology
  8. Nomophobia Is An Emerging New Phobia That Leaves People Anxious Without Their Smartphones


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5 comments
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I think the majority of people these days are very dependent on their gadgets. all the information we need is on that thing. technological developments also encourage us to rely heavily on our gadgets. on the plus side, it makes our lives easier, but on the negative side, we may spend a lot of time with them, and forget a lot about our social needs.

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I agree that we become too dependent on gadgets. We must take some time of especially if it becomes detrimental to our day-to-day engagement with others. Thank you for your engagement, @arnol99!

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