Philophobia: The Fear of Love

With Valentines Day approaching, SMBT delved into research about the scientific explanations of love and the chemical reactions of our brain when we are in love. During our study, we came across an interesting finding: philophobia. Philophobia is the scientific term for fear of love! In this blog, we will share our findings on philophobia.

Phobias, being an irrational fear of a concept, living being or non-living objects are a type of anxiety disorder. Philophobia, the fear of love, comes from the Greek word ‘Philos’, meaning loving and ‘Phobos’, meaning fear. The term is yet to make it to medical dictionaries, but doctors have discovered the phobia in many people.

Individuals with philophobia often experience dizziness, nausea, sweating, heart palpitations, upset stomach, shortness of breath, trembling, shaking and lightheadedness on a severe level when they think they’re in love or when someone hints feelings of love towards them. Experts believe that this is caused mainly due to one’s traumatic past. It could be a particular incident, a learned childhood experience or trauma passed on through genetics. 

Professionals are yet to further study behavioral patterns and triggers to draw concise conclusions on the phobia and add it to medical literature. Thus, there are no standard guidelines for diagnosing philophobia. Due to this limited amount of information, individuals who experience philophobia choose not to talk about it or confront it as they may not fully understand the severity of the situation. They may downplay their problem and pass it off as an ‘overreaction’.

But, avoiding a problem may worsen it. There are several treatments to philophobia, that may help improve the individual’s quality of life. They can opt for counseling, psychotherapy or cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT). In rare, extremely severe cases, doctors may prescribe antidepressants, tranquilizers or beta-blockers.

There is so much yet to learn about our emotions. What we may rule out as an overreaction may actually be a pressing issue that may need our attention and required treatment. If left untreated for a prolonged period of time, phobias restrict individuals from living a full life.

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