Panphobia, omniphobia, pantophobia, or panophobia is a vague and persistent dread of some unknown evil. Panphobia is not registered as a type of

phobia A phobia is an anxiety disorder defined by a persistent and excessive fear of an object or situation. Phobias typically result in a rapid onset of fear and are usually present for more than six months. Those affected go to great lengths to avo ...

in medical references.

History

The term ''panphobia'' was first coined by

Théodule-Armand Ribot Théodule-Armand Ribot (18 December 18399 December 1916) was a French psychologist. He was born at Guingamp, and was educated at the Lycée de St Brieuc. He is known as the founder of scientific psychology in France, and gave his name to Ribot's L ...

in his 1911 wor
''The Psychology of the Emotions''
He defined it as "a state in which a patient fears everything or nothing, where anxiety, instead of being riveted on one object, floats as in a dream, and only becomes fixed for an instant at a time, passing from one object to another, as circumstances may determine." The term comes from the Greek πᾶν - ''pan'', neuter of "πᾶς" - ''pas'', "all" and φόβος - ''phobos'', "fear". The Greek root word ''pan'' (ex. ''pan''-ic) describes "the unpleasant state inflicted by the intervention of the god Pan." Pan is characterized as a human–animal hybrid who "appeared as the agent of ''panic'' fear (that collective, animal-like disorder that seizes military camps at rest, especially at night) and of a form of individual possession (panolepsy)." According to

Herodotus Herodotus ( ; grc, , }; BC) was an ancient Greek historian and geographer from the Greek city of Halicarnassus, part of the Persian Empire (now Bodrum, Turkey) and a later citizen of Thurii in modern Calabria ( Italy). He is known f ...

, it was Pan who was able to lead the Athenians to victory in the Battle of Marathon, forcing the Persians to flee. It has been argued that ''pantophobia'' may actually be considered the more accurate name to describe the non-specificity associated with a fear of all.

Diagnosis

There is no specific phobia in the

DSM-5 The ''Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition'' (DSM-5), is the 2013 update to the ''Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders'', the taxonomic and diagnostic tool published by the American Psychiatric ...

which provides criteria for an all-encompassing fear of everything, though the defining symptom for generalized anxiety disorder in this manual is "excessive anxiety and worry (apprehensive expectation) about a number of events or activities." Another very relatable state of mind is

paranoia Paranoia is an instinct or thought process that is believed to be heavily influenced by anxiety or fear, often to the point of delusion and irrationality. Paranoid thinking typically includes persecutory beliefs, or beliefs of conspiracy concer ...

, in which one fears that unknown threats could, and most likely will, come from anyone, with distrust potentially leading to a loss of touch with reality. Delusional disorder is a more severe form of this type of disorder. Relevant academic literature may point to panphobia as merely a piece of such more complex states of mental disorder.

Pseudoneurotic schizophrenia Pseudoneurotic schizophrenia is a postulated mental disorder categorized by the presence of two or more symptoms of mental illness such as anxiety, hysteria, and phobic or obsessive-compulsive neuroses. It is often acknowledged as a personality di ...

may be diagnosable in patients who, in addition to panphobia, also exhibit symptoms of ''pananxiety'', ''panambivalence'', and to a lesser extent, ''chaotic sexuality''. These persons differ from generalized anxiety sufferers in that they have "free-floating anxiety that rarely subsides" and are clinically diagnosable as having

borderline personality disorder Borderline personality disorder (BPD), also known as emotionally unstable personality disorder (EUPD), is a personality disorder characterized by a long-term pattern of unstable interpersonal relationships, distorted sense of self, and strong ...

in the

DSM-IV-TR The ''Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders'' (DSM; latest edition: DSM-5-TR, published in March 2022) is a publication by the American Psychiatric Association (APA) for the classification of mental disorders using a common langua ...

. No significant changes related to this personality disorder were made in transitioning to the

, suggesting the diagnostic criteria are still appropriate.

References

{{Wiktionary Phobias

History

Diagnosis

See also

References