What Is Athazagoraphobia, What Are The Symptoms, And What Coping Methods Exist?

There’s a good chance you’ve never heard of this phobia before, and that’s probably because it’s not one of the more commonly known ones – even though it is more prevalent than you might think.

So, what is it?

There are actually two types:

1. A fear of forgetting.
2. A fear of being ignored or forgotten (i.e. like you never even existed).

The first type is common in people with dementia (e.g. Alzheimer’s), where they become afraid that they will lose their mind and forget things, such as past events, who their friends and family are, and even their own identity.

The second type occurs primarily in three types of people:

1. Those who are close to somebody with dementia, because they are afraid that their loved ones will forget who they are.
2. Those who were left alone or ignored for long periods of time as a child, as well as those who were given up for adoption.
3. Those who have suffered some type of trauma.

Athazagoraphobia is on the rise, however, and in two specific groups of people:

1. Young people who are, or want to be, part of the current trend of being a reality star or celebrity (e.g. on YouTube or Instagram or other social media platforms), and who are fearful of becoming insignificant (e.g. because of other “rising stars”, or new trends and fads).
2. Men who are typically 45 or older, who fear a loss of status (e.g. at work as well as within the family circle) and an inability to leave their mark on the world. If this sounds a lot like part of the proverbial mid-life crisis, then that’s because it is one aspect of it, although it’s not usually so pronounced that it would be classified as a phobia.

This phobia is similar to, but technically different to, autophobia, which is the fear of being abandoned.

Symptoms Of Athazagoraphobia

Here are some of the common symptoms of this phobia – some apply more to those who fear forgetting, and others to those who fear being forgotten:

• Anger
• Breathlessness or rapid, shallow breathing
• Depression
• Difficulty formulating complete sentences
• Dry mouth
• Excessive planning (e.g. for social events, meet-ups, because they want to make sure the other person has all the information they need to avoid standing up the phobia sufferer)
• Feeling like they’re choking to death
• Introverted behaviours
• Isolation (because this is preferable to being ignored)
• Leaving mementos all over the place
• Low self-confidence
• Low self-esteem
• Nausea
• Panic attacks
• Shaking
• Social awkwardness
• Spending lots of money on supplements and products that claim to improve or protect your memory
• Sweating (a lot)

As with all such lists, not everybody will display all of the above symptoms, and some may come and go.

It’s also fair to say that many of these symptoms (e.g. panic attacks, sweating) are common to people with many different phobias too.

What Can Be Done To Treat Athazagoraphobia?

There are a few things that can help alleviate symptoms and maybe even reduce the onset of attacks, including:

• Dietary changes. Foods rich in omega-3 fatty acids (e.g. salmon, seeds, walnuts) are generally good for your brain. In fact, whatever is good for helping with depression is likely also good for people with this phobia too, and you can find a list of foods that can help depression here.
• Exercise. Regular exercise is generally good for us anyway, but it has been shown to help with many mental health issues too.
• Medication. Remember, though, that there are usually long lists of side-effects that come with these drugs, they may take a while to work, and you may need to try various types before finding one that works for you. And, of course, prescription drugs almost always treat only the symptoms, and not the root cause of the problem.
• Supplements. Some supplements can help with memory and cognitive brain functions, such as Gingko Biloba and Ginseng. Don’t forget too that there is a wide range of vitamins and minerals where deficiencies can impair brain functions – see this article for more details.
• Therapy. Various types of therapy can help, including the more traditional types (e.g. talking with a trained medical professional such as a psychiatrist, either individually or in groups, which can be more helpful), as well as hypnotherapy and neuro-linguistic programming (NLP). If you want to get to the root of your athazagoraphobia, this is likely going to be your best option.

Like with most mental health problems, you are probably going to need a combination of the above – something to deal with the day-to-day issues and attacks, and something to help you uncover what caused it, which will then lead you toward a way of eliminating it.

And for those who know somebody who has athazagoraphobia, it’s important that you stick to plans, and be there when you say you will be there (or, at least, contact them to let them know you will be late), because if they feel like they have been stood up, this can trigger a panic attack.

Make Your Mark

One way to cope with your fear of being forgotten is to create something that will last well beyond your physical death.

This is sometimes referred to as the second death, and it refers to the very last time somebody mentions your name.

This may be very shortly after you die, or it may be years, centuries, or even millennia later. For example, the works of Roman poets are still studied in school.

Of course, the most common way to be remembered after your actual death is via your children and grandchildren, etc.

But there are other ways you can be remembered by a broader audience, including:

• Creating a work of art (e.g. books, music, paintings, poems, sculptures, or a new variety of a flower, say).
• Discovering something (e.g. a medical cure, an unexplored part of the world, something never seen before in space).
• Founding a charity.
• Having something named after you, which could be anything from a park bench with your name on it to an entire building at a university, depending on your resources. You can even have a star named after you!
• Inventing something that is of benefit to mankind.
• Philanthropic works.
• Rising to the top of your chosen field.
• Setting a world record that is unlikely to be beaten.

Going in the other direction, there are things you can do that will lead you to becoming infamous, but that’s not something I’m going to explore here, for obvious reasons.

So, to end this section on a positive note, I’ll leave you with this quotation from Chuck Palahniuk: ““We all die. The goal isn’t to live forever, the goal is to create something that will.”

Conclusion

Athazagoraphobia may be an uncommon word, but it’s certainly not an uncommon affliction.

I’d like to think it’s not something I suffer from – I realized long ago that only a tiny fraction of people get to leave their mark on the world – but maybe that’s wishful thinking on my part. Maybe this fear of being forgotten about is part of what makes us different from all the other animals on the planet.

The good news is, there are things you can do to deal with it in the here and now (e.g. treating symptoms), as well as things that can mitigate that fear in the longer term, by leaving something of value for posterity.

Additional Resources

These are suggestions for those who wish to delve deeper into any of the above:

1. Name A Star