8 Phobias That Are Guaranteed To Make You Feel Uncomfortable

Autophobia is an anxiety based phobia in which the sufferers fear being alone or the sensation of being lonely. The causes of the phobia tend to reside in childhood trauma or PTSD from a relationship or family member in which they have felt abandoned.

It is a fear primarily of isolation, which may not be triggered by the person physically being alone. Autophobia also falls under the category of a specific phobia, as the sufferer is afraid of the situation in which they will be left on their own. It is not the same as feeling lonely, as the anxiety is caused by sometimes even thinking about the act of everyone leaving the person alone.

The phobia can lead to the sufferer becoming obsessed with being around people and feel fear when they have to experience time apart. It can cause a lack of independence and is sometimes linked to agoraphobia (fear of not being able to escape) or borderline personality disorder, as the sufferer feels they cannot complete simple tasks without being in close proximity with someone else.