What is Androphobia?

Can you imagine if the girl with Androphobia was really pretty and attractive? She would see boys always trying to talk to her and she would slap them if they so much as tried to give her a high five.

I had this phobia right after my cousin molested me and threaten me that, if I told, then he would rape me. I'm glad I found this site and I will try to find a cure for it. The fear of men is not like any other fear. It feels like I'm so scared I can't even move at all. And it feels like I'm going to die from a heart attack.

I wonder what it is that makes people react to traumatic events in such different ways. Is it just biology, or is it more of a pure and simple personality thing?

For instance, many women and men who are placed in a traumatic situation where they are abused by a man and unable to escape become androphobic. This obviously has a horrible effect on a person’s life all the way around. I mean, roughly half of the human population is men.

Others, however, tend to seek out this type of negative man obsessively, even knowing what will come to them. It’s almost as if they mask the pain of past events with the pain of new catastrophes.

Then, there are those people who just push past it and move on with life. I hope that’s the way I’d go in this situation, but who knows?

It’s such a puzzle figuring out the whys of it all. Heck, figuring out if there are any whys at all would be some advancement on the subject.

My best friend developed androphobia after marriage because of a traumatic event. She was visiting her sister when a man broke into the house, tied both of them up, and beat them senseless.

After that happened, something changed in her mind, and she viewed every man as aggressive, no matter how nice they might seem on the surface. She even flinched when her husband touched her.

She knew that this could destroy her marriage, so she sought psychiatric counseling. After just a few sessions, her psychologist recommended that she confront her fears by making small talk with the mailman, the grocery boy, and other male acquaintances.

This actually helped her a great deal. Her husband could see that she was improving, and he endured her involuntary flinches and wrapped her up in a hug often. Soon, the flinches went away totally.

Now that I think back on the situation, I believe that my college roommate had androphobia. I didn’t know it was a condition at the time, but this article describes her perfectly.

When she passed a boy in a hallway, she would look down and walk quickly. My brother visited us once in our room, and her throat got so dry, she couldn’t speak, even to say, “Hello.” She excused herself and did not return until he was gone.

She never dated, and she had trouble speaking up in her classes with male professors. I simply thought she was extremely shy, but now I see that she had an actual mental condition.

My cousin got kidnaped along with another victim when she was ten years old. Though her abductor did not physically harm her, she had to watch while he tortured and murdered the other girl.

She was returned to her parents, who left the ransom as instructed. The police caught the man, and he will be serving life in prison. My cousin developed androphobia because of her experience.

Even though she does not have to fear running into the man who took her, she is afraid that every man she sees on the street could be a potential kidnaper or murderer. She can only work for female employers, and I’m sure she will never date a man.

@Sara007 - I know that there are a lot of treatment options like hypnotherapy that can really help people afflicted with androphobia.

I read that with many phobias the patient is eventually confronted with the object of their anxiety through exposure therapy. After being exposed to the object slowly over a period of a few months, the patient’s anxiety levels decrease because their mind disassociates the panic with the object that they initially feared.

I wonder if this type of therapy would work for people with androphobia. I have seen this therapeutic method work for other phobias and I wondered if it would work with this one.

@manykitties2 - I have always thought of androphobia is another kind of social phobia, similar to people who get severe anxiety attacks before public speaking. There is simply a situation, in this case being near men, that causes a person to react in a fearful manner.

True androphobiacs can't actively interact with men of their own free will because they have developed a mental block that only allows them to see a situation as a threat.

I believe that when someone has true androphobia the only thing that can help them is intense counseling and support groups. I agree with you though, it is a terrible way to live. I hope that anyone who suspects their friend or loved one has androphobia helps to get them into counseling.

It's amazing to me that a person could suffer from androphobia. I can't imagine being afraid of everyone of the opposite sex. While I understand some people suffer from severe trauma in their lives, surely they don't look at all men in the same way?

I suppose that sometimes the human mind can be an irrational thing. With emotions and automatic flight or fight responses being triggered I can only imagine how hard it would be to live with a fear of men.

Can you imagine not being able to date, go to work, or even interact with males in a casual setting, like ordering food at a restaurant? Having androphobia must be a terrible way to live.