All About Gynophobia, the Fear of Women, and How to Overcome it with Psychological Therapy & Counselling

What is Gynophobia?

Gynophobia is the Fear of Women and, like all other fears and phobias, can be a cause of significant anxiety and stress if you suffer from it.

These days, women are more likely to hold positons of power and authority in business and men with outdated views may find this to be intimidating.

There may be a number of reasons why you developed Gynophobia, for example:

• Negative experiences associated with Women in the past.
• “Inheriting” the fear of Women from a parent who suffered from it, perhaps because of bullying inside the parental relationship.
• You may have experienced abuse (sexual or physical) where the perpetrator was female.

However, there is no valid scientific evidence that Gynophobia is the result of any kind of biological fault or chemical imbalance in spite of the credibility that the biomedical models of mental illness are given in the medical and psychiatric literature.

On the contrary, Gynophobia is much more likely to be the result of your own, subjective evaluation (meaning-making) of what happened to you and is therefore better described as a psychosocial phenomenon.

Gynophobia Symptoms & Behaviours

All phobias, including Gynophobia, create feelings of anxiety because phobic objects or situations are always perceived as a threat.

Consequently, the symptoms of Gynophobia are both specific and generic and may include:

• Reluctance to form relationships with women.
• Feeling fearful in the presence of women.
• An elevated heart rate.
• A sense of dread about what might happen.
• Worrying that you might pass out.
• Feeling dizzy or disoriented.
• Heart palpitations.
• Having a dry or sticky mouth.
• Hot sweats.
• Feeling Stressed.
• Difficulty breathing easily.
• Feelings of panic.

You may have all, some or even different symptoms to these listed here and this is due to the subjective nature of Gynophobia.

However, you should also be aware that many of these somatic symptoms (symptoms felt in the body) WILL subside over time and rarely last for more than 20 to 30 minutes.

What Causes Gynophobia?

It’s possible that your Gynophobia may be the result of traumatic events or adverse situations that you experienced at some point in your life.

For example, women are as capable of bullying children or partners as their male counterparts and as with Androphobia (fear of men) these experiences can have long lastings impacts.

However, because a Fear of Women is by no means universal, the most likely explanation for your Gynophobia is the way you understood and made sense of your earlier experiences around which you have built a set of beliefs.

Counselling and Therapy for Gynophobia

We offer a number of different types of therapy and counselling for Gynophobia the Fear of Women.

Choosing the most suitable therapy depends on a number of different considerations including factors such as:

• How long you have had your phobia.
• Your personal preferences.
• How your phobia is affecting you today.

You can read more about the different types of therapy for Gynophobia on the following links:

• Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Gynophobia
• Counselling for Gynophobia
• Pluralistic Therapy for the Fear of Women

Although all forms of psychotherapy use slightly different approaches, the one thing they all have in common is the relationship that is formed between the client and therapist.

Furthermore, research also suggests that the therapy relationship may be the most important factor in achieving a good therapy outcome.

Arrange your FREE initial consultation here.

If you’d like to find out more about overcoming Gynophobia or recovering from related mental health problems then why not arrange a free initial consultation with us.

During this consultation we will discuss your particular phobia and the different types of mental health counselling we offer without you having to commit to any counselling going forward.

The consultation lasts around 50 minutes and is a great opportunity to meet with either Paul or Joan and decide if you would like to proceed with any support.