Fear of Paper: Causes, Symptoms, Treatments, Therapies

Fear of paper, also known as Papirophobia or papyrophobia, is the extreme, unjustified, and irrational fear of writing. The word Papirophobia is derived from the Greek or Egyptian papyrus. Papyrus means paper, and phobia means deep fear or aversion.

The fear of paper generally includes the fear of touching the piece, writing on it, or being cut by it. Some extreme cases of Papirophobia often cause the sufferer to experience a complete panic attack just by thinking of the paper, ranging from a blank sheet of paper to a crumpled ball of paper or wallpaper or even gift wrapping paper. A paper phobia is quite rare, with only a handful of people worldwide suffering from it. Sometimes the intensity of fear increases depending on the type or size of the paper.

Causes of Papyrophobia

Some experts believe that the phobia may exist simply because of the existence of paper or, in general, simply because of the fear of writing or printing things on paper.

• A child who has accidentally cut his finger on paper might also start to fear all kinds of writing permanently.
• However, in most cases, a highly traumatic episode can lead to a phobia that causes the child’s brain to have a fight or flight response.
• In several cases, psychologists cannot pinpoint the exact cause of this relatively rare phobia.
• Frequently, genetics, heredity, or certain deficiencies could be responsible for triggering an extreme paper phobia.
• The existence of other disorders of anxiety or health conditions can sometimes cause papyrophobia.

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Symptoms of fear of paper

Although extremely rare, origami is a genuine phobia, and the person experiencing it also experiences various physical, emotional, and mental symptoms similar to other phobias. These include:

• Trembling at the naked eye or the thought of the paper.
• They also experience rapid or shallow breathing, increased heart rate, and dry mouth.
• Some may be unable to articulate or form sentences.
• The full-blown panic attack, including the urge to run, cry, and scream, is also standard in origami-phobic individuals.
• Sufferers often believe that something terrible can happen to them when they contact the paper.
• Film stills or constant thoughts play in their minds with images of death, death, etc.

The symptoms of Papirophobia differ from one person to another, depending on the degree of the phobia.

• Some tend to gag or sweat when viewing or touching paper, while others may experience paralyzing nervousness that could cause them to be embarrassed in public.
• In very extreme cases, the phobic’s relationships can be affected, as they are often ridiculed or ridiculed by others.
• Handling a job or carrying out day-to-day paper-related affairs could also be difficult when you are forced to quit.

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Treatment of paper phobia

• Like other phobias, the best option for treating origami is to face the fear first.
• You also have to talk about it with loved ones and make them understand what they feel.
• If this is not enough, one should go to psychiatric therapy.
• Talk therapy through group counseling sessions can also help.
• Today, there are several techniques for treating phobias, and some of the most effective are cognitive behavioral therapy, neurolinguistic reprogramming, and hypnotherapy.
• All of this can help get to the root of the phobia to treat and cure it.

Other therapies

• Another method of dealing with the fear of paper is gradual or systematic desensitization.
• In this therapy, the phobic gradually exposes himself to the object of his fear, in this case, the role.
• You can start by looking at the paper and then touching or writing on it.
• This treatment is usually done under the care and guidance of an expert therapist.
• Through this technique, the phobic learns to control his anxiety response until he gradually overcomes the origami.