Get to know ‘Atelophobia’, a fear of not being good enough

Are you guys feeling like you are not good enough, fearful of failure, anxious, and losing all passion to do anything? If yes, you are probably to have ‘Atelophobia’ or a fear of not being good enough.

This time, ACU PAY will take you to know ‘Atelophobia’ and observe whether you are within the scope of this disease or not and how it should be treated or cured.

What is Atelophobia?

‘Atelophobia’ is a disease categorized in a Phobia group or specific fear which is different from a normal fear of failure.

Atelophobia is rooted from Greek, derived from Atelo which means imperfection and phobia which means fear. Thus, it means a fear of imperfection when combining those two words together.

What are symptoms of Atelophobia?

Angry or frustrating
Lose passion, fatigue, and have no strength to do anything
Depressed and severe anxious
Cannot accept criticize
Cannot concentrate at anything except fear
Pessimistic and always look for one’s mistakes

This symptom can cause Panic Attack which have the following symptoms such as

Shortness of breath
Tension in the muscles
Headache
Stomachache
Cannot sleep
Irregular eating behavior

Perfectionism Vs Atelophobia

‘Perfectionist’ and ‘Atelophobia’ are different. ‘Perfectionist’ is a personality trait of a person who has a high standard, likes to do everything best, and tries to be flawless.

However, Atelophobia is an abnormality of the mind, fearful of making mistakes and failures till avoiding doing those things that will severely affect daily life including studying, working, or relationships with others.

If the symptoms reach these stages, please consult with the experts

Avoid any situation that can cause mistakes. Doing nothing if they feel that you cannot do it perfectly.
Have a symptom of a fear of failure for more than 6 months.
Severe anxious. Always intensively think about what mistakes they have made and worried that others may be disappointed in them.
It affects all aspects of life such as work, study, relationships, and family.

A treatment option to treat Atelophobia

The disease has no clear diagnostic criteria, so experts assess the symptoms with questions about the patient’s fear. There are many ways to treat Atelophobia such as

Therapy
Cognitive Behavior Therapy: Focus on changing the ways of thinking that cause problems. Change the way of thought to make the behavior change. Find a reason why the patients perceive mistakes in a pessimistic way rather than perceive them as learning.
Exposure Therapy: Make the patients get used to those thoughts. Mostly this therapy will make the patients face what they fear. The level of fear will gradually increase for patients to get used to them little by little.
Adjust one’s lifestyle
Adjust the balance of health. Eat healthy food, exercise and have enough rest to expel pessimistic thoughts. May practice meditation to help with anxiety and panic attacks as well.
Medical treatment
In case the patients have severe symptoms and cause effects in daily lives which make it hard to live like a normal person, doctors may also prescribe psychiatric drugs to help relieve symptoms of the disease.

If any of you are dealing with all the mentioned symptoms, it is recommended to visit a psychotherapist or psychiatrist to find out the root cause of this problem and get the right treatment. The sooner you know, the faster your life and mental health will be good again.

References from

https://www.alljitblog.com/atelophobia/

https://spacebar.th/lifestyle/JOY-LIFE-Get-to-know-Atelophobia

https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/21932-atelophobia-fear-of-imperfection