Homilophobia - Fear of sermons

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Homilophobia is the fear of sermons. People tend to fear sermons because they do not like the idea of being preached to. The origin of the word homilo is Greek (meaning sermon) and phobia is Greek (meaning fear). Homilophobia is considered to be a specific phobia. Many in the clergy preach about the value of living without fear. They speak words of comfort and assurance, and parishioners find solace in the words they hear. The lessons taught are designed to provide encouragement and assurance that God cares for the individual hearer and wants only the best for their life

What are the causes?
It is generally accepted that phobias arise from a combination of external events (i.e. traumatic events) and internal predispositions (i.e. heredity or genetics). Many specific phobias can be traced back to a specific triggering event, usually a traumatic experience at an early age. Social phobias and agoraphobia have more complex causes that are not entirely known at this time. It is believed that heredity, genetics, and brain chemistry combine with life-experiences to play a major role in the development of phobias.
Symptoms:-
Anxiety symptoms can include nausea, dizziness, hyperventilation, heart palpitations, shaking, and full blown panic attacks. The anxiety can be so severe that the symptoms can occur if a person simply thinks another might be preaching to them or just thinking about a sermon. This can make life rather difficult for a person with Homilophobia and can affect social and professional relationships.
Treatment:-
Homilophobia can be treated. One might explore the use of Psychotherapy to discuss the root cause, development and maintaining factors for the phobia while figuring out ways of dealing with them anxiety disorder. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy uses techniques to help educate the phobic person about the nature of phobias, and the fact that Homilophobia is an anxiety disorder. This technique will also help develop coping and management strategies for the disorder.

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