The fear of being forgotten has me reflecting upon my ancestors. Does anyone remember anything of them? It makes me think about what would happen to me when I'm forgotten, the legacy I leave behind, the importance of leaving a legacy, and the sorrowful realities of growing old.
In this article, we'll discuss Athazagoraphobia and everything about the fear of being forgotten.
It's natural to have fears. Having fears not only keeps you grounded in reality but also contributes to making you who you are as a person. It's a fundamental aspect of all living things, dictating our choices, making us look for the path of least resistance, and causing us to avoid any unnecessary endangerment. But what if you can't avoid it? When it slowly consumes and paralyzes you.
If you were to ask me five years ago what I'm most scared of, I'd answer by saying I'm scared that one of my family members or myself gets Alzheimer's disease. At the time, I did not realize this was linked to an actual phobia that impacted me in my everyday life.
''The act of forgetting is often seen as the act of losing oneself.''
Athazagoraphobia
Athazagoraphobia has two parts. The fear of being forgotten is one part of the phobia, but It's also the fear of not remembering the people around you, not remembering who you are or what to do, and that someone else will not remember you. The phobia is more common than people might think. The fear has often to do with dementia or Alzheimer's disease, but for someone having this phobia, it does not necessarily have to be linked to these conditions.
For this article, we'll be taking a deeper look into the first part of Athazagoraphobia.
The fear of being forgotten
We live in a world that is becoming increasingly crowded as more people live simultaneously. And, since internet access is equal to global awareness, we are more aware of what others are doing. The people's tragedies and achievements have brought upon our awareness, which is overwhelming. It brings a feeling of loneliness when you're alone in a crowded world, especially when everyone else in the crowd appears to be interacting with one another, which intensifies our feeling of being forgotten.
Those closest to us, our friends and family, are the ones who remember us the most. If there is a lack of attention, it can cause anxiety about being abandoned, forgotten, or neglected. When there's no one left in the living world who remembers you, we could call it the final death since you've disappeared from everyone's mind.
The fear of being forgotten feels like a fate worse than death.
What does Athazagoraphobia do to someone?
Someone suffering from this condition may become overly anxious that they might be forgotten. The mere thought of being forgotten or neglected, let alone experiencing it, might be so intense to experience a panic attack as a result.
Someone could be obsessed with taking photos of everything to hold onto memories, trying to create memories that are difficult to forget, or obsessed with wanting to impact people. They push themselves to be difficult to forget and create a person who won't be forgotten.
If we take look at the past, many have believed it was better to leave a negative mark on the world than to leave none at all.
What causes the fear of being forgotten?
Many phobias arise from a negative experience or panic attack involving a particular object or event. It's hard to find the root cause of Athazagoraphobia, although experts believe it is linked to environmental and genetic factors. It ranges from childhood trauma, such as being left alone or living with a relative that had dementia.
It has been shown that most people experiencing this fear also lack self-confidence and low self-esteem.
How to overcome the fear of being forgotten?