Every teacher can pinpoint children who struggle with learning, but not every child who struggles has Sophophobia. This fear of learning can make compulsory educational classes exceptionally difficult. Yes, it may be difficult for the teacher, but it may feel closer to torture for the individuals who possess this fear.
While most people would agree that an education prepares you to be competitive in the marketplace it can also be forfeited for a variety of reasons that may not immediately connect with those who do not live with Sophophobia.
What Causes Sophophobia?
Fear is an ironic condition. While others may observe that it exists in a person’s life they may be hard pressed to answer the question of why the fear is present.
In some cases an individual could have a fear of learning based on the fact that their parents never finished school. They may feel it dishonors their parents to become educated beyond their mother and father.
Other cases of this fear could be a fear of winding up disillusioned by life because you, “Know too much”. It is not unheard of for an individual to see an educated person with a lack of purpose because all the education they’ve acquired has not translated into life satisfaction. The one who develops this fear may conclude that too much learning equals a lack of life purpose.
This individual may also fear being ridiculed if they do try and then fail. It may be easier to never try then to try and fail. After all, failure is one of the greatest fears known to man.
Symptoms of Sophophobia
You can’t think of this fear only in terms of an individuals willingness to learn although that is often a symptom of the fear. There are many who may not be motivated to learn, but that doesn’t mean they have a phobia with roots in education. The fear is demonstrated most in an unexplainable sense of dread in association with having to attend school.
Other symptoms may include…
- Dry mouth
- Air hunger
- Panic attack
- Trembling
- Nausea
- Asking daily to be excused from going to school
This fear may not be on the top ten lists of phobias that afflict the public at large, but like all other fears it is brought up because it does affect some and the physical stress of living with the fear can establish long-term problems.
How to Overcome Sophophobia
If the fear is based on the belief that you should not get an education that is greater than your parents you should visit with them. It could be that they actually hope you will get the education they did not.
If you fear education because you think it will cause you to stop enjoying life then you should pursue education because of those things that interest you most, not necessarily as a means of attaining an elevated position within a company. Education can be stimulating and enlightening. It can encourage a thirst to know more and experience more.
Therapy can help determine the cause and explain the negative effects associated with a lack of education.
The fear of learning is also referred to as:
- Educational fear
- Learning fear
- Sophophobia
