Fear of the Unknown Phobia – Xenophobia
Fear of the Unknown Phobia - XenophobiaXenophobia is derived from the Greek word ‘Xenos’ meaning “foreigner or stranger” and Phobos which means ‘morbid fear’.
Xenophobia is the irrational sensation of fear experienced about a person or a group of persons as well as situations that are perceived as strange or foreign. It is the fear of anything that is beyond one’s comfort zone.
The fear of unknown comes in many guises. A person may not be afraid of swimming pools, but might experience great fear when he sees a dark lake. The fact that s/he cannot see the bottom of the lake triggers a fear of the unknown. Such thoughts can overwhelm the person to an extent that one’s daily life and activities are hindered by it.
Xenophobia or the fear of foreigners can sometimes become collective leading to racism or the rejection of “strangers”. However, the intense and irrational fear of foreigners can also be based on a fearful experience with a stranger. Today, xenophobic or racial violence is not uncommon and is making headlines at an alarming rate on accounts of mass immigration and globalization.
