by Arlene Miles

Created on: February 21, 2011

Ataxiophobia is a mental disorder encompassing an irrational fear of muscle incoordination. It is sometimes confused with a fear with a similar name—ataxophobia—which is a fear of disorder or untidiness. Ataxia is a condition of neurological dysfunction involving parts of the nervous system that coordinate movement, such as the cerebellum.

Individuals suffering from ataxiophobia often develop the condition after seeing someone who suffers from simple muscle incoordination, ataxia or muscular atrophy. Diagnosis is via professional assessment that extreme conditions are present in an individual

As with any type of phobia, symptoms vary from person to person and depend on their level of fear. Common symptoms are similar to those of other phobias, including feelings of panic, terror or dread, rapid heartbeat, shortness of breath, trembling, dry mouth, nausea, inability to articulate words or sentences, shaking and anxiety. Sweating, nausea, dizziness, heart palpitations and full-blown panic attacks are also common.

Symptoms specific to ataxiophobia include dizziness and feeling as though your limbs are weakening. Those with severe symptoms may become convinced that they are no longer able to walk or use one of their other limbs. Simple things like tripping or losing their balance may convince sufferers that they have a more serious problem.

Ataxiophobia sufferers may have difficulty standing for long periods of time because of a fear of maintaining balance. These physical problems can lead to further problems in obtaining education, developing a career and successful personal relationships.

Treatment may be achieved by a variety of means including anti-anxiety medications to help suppress symptoms while other treatment is undertaken to remediate the cause. Typical treatments include psychotherapy, hypnotherapy, and Neuro-Linguistic programming.

Trained specialists help to open a sufferer’s subconscious mind to suggestion to change behavior patterns. When the subconscious is spoken to directly, it may be possible to find the issue triggering the phobia. Positive suggestions may then be used to help make desired changes.

Neuro-Linguistic Programming is the study and practice of how people create their own realities. NLP therapists help sufferers analyze  words used in describing symptoms or concerns about their health, along with facial expressions and body movements. Once problems with perception are determined, suggestions to remodel thoughts and mental perceptions are made to fix preconceived ntions and alleviate the phobia.

A somewhat controversial therapy that may be applied to ataxiophobia is energy psychology. This therapy encompasses various techniques such as acupressure, yoga tai chi, prana gi gong, and energy medicine, to help teach people to make simple steps that change their lives.

These techniques stimulate energy poitns on the surface of the skin.
When paired with psychological procedures, they can shift the brain’s electrochemistry.

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