Hodophobia Or Fear Of Traveling
Hodophobia or fear of traveling is a very particular type of psychological disorder. It occurs in people who feel anxious because they are moving away from their comfort zone. They are afraid to leave their home, a place that is familiar to them and that they can control. Other phobias may be present, such as fear of flying or driving and having an accident.
The vast majority of people associate travel with leisure and pleasure. However, some people see a great source of stress during the holidays.
Travel, visits to family members, visiting new places, cities and countries, etc. are common. But this type of situation can generate high levels of anxiety in many people.
Hodophobia or fear of traveling: symptoms and causes
It may seem strange, but there is one indisputable fact: phobias are the most common mental illness. We all have fears, things that we avoid and that can condition our lives. However, phobias are a type of irrational fear and an intense form of anxiety that we cannot control or do not know how to control.
Certain coping strategies and mechanisms can be put into practice. Let’s learn what this type of psychological disorder consists of!
In one of his letters to a colleague, Sigmund Freud explained that the act of traveling caused him anxiety. However, we do not know if what the father of psychoanalysis had was a real phobia, because hodophobia or the fear of traveling can be very limiting. One is to feel a little anxiety and another is to not be able to leave the house.
In other words, those who suffer from the fear of traveling are not able to get on the train, stay on a plane or get to the hotel they have booked. This can completely condition the life of the affected person. Imagine not being able to travel the world.
On the other hand, it should be noted that the DSM-5 (Handbook of Diagnosis and Statistics of Mental Disorders) classifies hodophobia or fear of travel as a specific type of phobia present in anxiety disorders. Therefore, let’s take a look at the symptoms described for the correct diagnosis of hodophobia.