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Self-help strategies can be used in addition to therapy and lifestyle changes or on their own. Having a parent with a specific phobia and inheriting that genetic tendency.Growing up with someone who had specific phobias, resulting in a learned fear.Involvement in any life-threatening situation, especially if it persists for days.Learning about traumatic experiences of others, such as plane crashes or ships sinking.Receiving a long prison sentence or not being able to track time while in prison.Anxious temperament (anxious individuals are more prone to develop phobias).
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Those who have survived extreme trauma, such as a natural disaster: They may remain anxious and uncertain about their future and how much time they have left.Ĭhronophobia may not be as common as other phobias, like fear of heights or fear of snakes, so finding statistics on the condition is difficult.This condition has also been called “prison neurosis.” 2 Those who are incarcerated: For prisoners, a long prison sentence might lead to the fear of time passing in addition to restlessness, anxiety, panic, and claustrophobia.The elderly and those with terminal illness : For these populations, the passing of time might become associated with death.People with the hightest risk of developing chronophobia include: Who Is at Risk of Developing Chronophobia? In addition to the fear of time passing, it often involves a general sense of having a shortened future or not enough time left to accomplish your goals. It is associated with certain risk factors like having a terminal illness or being incarcerated. Chronophobia is a less common phobia that involves a specific and debilitating fear of time passing.
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