Not only FOMO: 5 syndromes that steal the joy of life

What is FOMO

Many people are familiar with FOMO syndrome. Its name is an abbreviation for the English expression Fear of Missing Out, which means fear of missing out on something important or interesting. It's essentially alarming. state, which is also fueled by social networks.

Imagine: a person is scrolling through the feed, and there one has made a fortune, another has found the love of his life, the third has pumped up all his abs, the fourth travels endlessly. Everyone around is doing something interesting, everyone is successful. It seems to our hero that life passes by. In contrast, he sees that everything is everyday and routine for him, and bright events do not happen so often. This leads to some consequences.

On the one hand, he begins to worry that something is wrong with him. Even realizing that people don’t post everything on social networks, he feels dissatisfied. On the other hand, he increasingly scrolls through his feed and reads the news in case he misses something.

But FOMO can occur without social media. For example, when classmates at the annual meeting share their successes or when a mother talks about her friend’s son. It’s just that real life rarely dumps information on us in such concentration as VKontakte or X (formerly Twitter) do.

Either way FOMO Badly affects the psychological state, creates a situation of prolonged stress and can even lead to depression. But this is not the only fear that poisons our lives.

What other syndromes exist?

1. MOMO

It's FOMO's closest cousin and shows that the influence of social media is more multifaceted than it seems. Constantly looking through other people's posts, a person experiences FOMO. But what if friends stop updating their statuses and posting photos? MOMO (from Mystery of Missing Out) comes into play. This is a state of anxiety about the fact that other people live interesting lives that you don’t even know about and can’t find out anything about from social networks.

2. FOBO

In general, we have a lot of problems with choice. We are often driven by emotions, including situations where a decision could seemingly be made rationally. We are affected by many cognitive distortions. And FOBO (from Fear of Better Options) is like the icing on the cake.

This is the fear of making a choice, but it may not be the best, and if you stop at it, the ideal option will slip away forever. Moreover, we are not necessarily talking about vital issues like which job offer should be accepted. Sometimes choosing a chocolate bar in a store can lead you to panic.

As a result, any decision is difficult for a person, if he even stops at one thing. This leads to missed opportunities and it makes life very difficult even in everyday life, because every choice paralyzes. In addition, FOBO makes it difficult to interact with people who do not have this syndrome as strongly (we are all susceptible to similar fears, just to varying degrees). After all, it’s not easy to be with a person who is not able to make decisions.

3. FODA

Because of FODA (from Fear of Doing Anything - fear of doing anything), a person does not even begin to act, because he is afraid that will fail or do something wrong. For example, he doesn’t send a resume because he will still get a refusal. Doesn’t leave the room, doesn’t make a mistake, because everything behind the door is meaningless.

The consequences of FODA are the same as those of FOBO: missed opportunities and inaction where something should have been done. And, of course, anxiety.

4. FOJI

A person susceptible to FOJI (from Fear of Joining In), just like someone susceptible to FODA, is afraid to do something, but for a different reason. He fears the reaction to his actions that he imagines in advance. For example, not recognized someone is in feelings because they are suddenly rejected. Or he doesn’t go to the post office to receive a parcel - suddenly there will be a scandal. The result is like any other inaction.

5. FOGO

The FOGO syndrome (from Fear of Going Out - fear of going out) has worsened for many due to the coronavirus pandemic. Sitting within four walls for a long time makes you get used to the fact that it is safe at home, but not outside, and it becomes increasingly difficult to go out.

How to deal with fear syndromes

Determine your needs and values

The background to all these fears is similar: they arise when we are not sure what we want. Would a person worry that his friends travel a lot if he clearly decided that he himself did not like it? Perhaps, but obviously much less.

Often we worry about minor things, simply because we have not yet identified them as such. Everyone around you says how important it is to visit different countries or achieve successful success. And we try everything on ourselves, even if the size obviously doesn’t suit us.

Understand your needs and values - means to separate the wheat from the chaff. This way you will understand what exactly you need, and you will begin to worry less about what you don’t need.

Learn to make decisions

It even sounds difficult, but in reality it is even more difficult. But no one will do it for you until you stop doubting yourself and start taking action. Any skill can be trained if it is train, including the ability to make decisions. Another thing is that if the fears are deep-seated, then it is better to work on them together with a psychologist or psychotherapist; it is unlikely to work on your own.

Find a way to cope with anxiety

People who initially have a high level of anxiety are more susceptible to fears, these and more. Eat ways fight it yourself, but it is also better to consult a specialist.