You just might be Nomophobic.

Have you ever panicked after receiving that annoying message from your network provider saying you data plan will soon expire? or felt anxious at the thought of not having your phone or not being able to use it? How about panicking when you are running out of battery life on an off day, or feeling anxious when you can find your phone?…phew. If this describes you, you might be nomophobic.

Nomophobia was neologized from the phrase “no mobile phobia”, that is, the fear of being without a mobile phone or not being able to use it. It is fast spreading one given the fact that we live in a digital age where a mobile phone is fast becoming a necessity. What’s more, with the wake of the pandemic and social distancing policies, we have become dependent on social media to interact. This dependence has taken its toll on a lot of us who now experience the phobia of not having our phones.

As you might know, a phobia is a type of anxiety. It evokes a significant fear response in its victim whenever they think of what they are afraid of. This is why every type of phobia presents a concern to mental health. Compared to other known phobias, nomophobia is relatively new in theory but not so new in reality, as a matter of fact, its thriving and increasing.

Being a modern phobia, its known symptom is dependency on your phone. This dependency manifests in a number of ways;

• Taking your phone everywhere. Guilty.
• Spending several hours on your phone daily
• Checking it constantly
• Feeling anxious or sad whenever you can’t use it, eg when its out of battery life or when you run out of data

Gen Z. Young people are the most affected. If you ask me, everyone of us is, we literarily live on social media in this age. We have to connect with others, many people work online, many people create content, so how can we not be, lol.

Notwithstanding, the onus is on us to exercise some control on how dependent we are, or how much time we spend on our phones. Lack of control or restriction can lead to extreme forms of nomophobia. People in this category experience the following symptoms when they can’t use their phones;

• Rapid heartbeat
• Increased sweating
• Tightness in their chest area
• Feeling dizzy or disoriented
• Trembling or shaking, etc

Like other phobias, victims can get help through therapy. This could be exposure therapy or cognitive behavior therapy (CBT). Other forms of help include; self care, restriction and control of phone usage etc.

Phew. The times we are in. I’m sure a lot of us can relate to this. Lately, I have been concerned about how much time I spend on my phone and I have tried to regulate it. Nonetheless, I spend a lot of time on it, for good and not so good reasons. The most we can do for ourselves is exercise control so as not to become too dependent.

That’s it for today’s blogsode guys. As always the comment section is open to share your views, experiences and tips that have helped you retain control in this mobile phone dependent age. Remember to like, comment, share and sign up for more. Ciao!