Nomophobia ? (The clue is in the name.)
What is nomophobia ?
Nomophobia is the fear of having no mobile phone. It is very real and very present in our world today. This blog will consider the symptoms of nomophobia, its impact on daily life, what you can do to avoid nomophobia, and how hypnotherapy can help you free yourself from nomophobia for good.
Nomophobia has been described as the greatest non-drug addiction of the 21st century.
Across the world, 66% of people display symptoms of nomophobia.
Do you suffer from nomophobia ?
If you do you may recognise some of these symptoms when your phone is out of charge, unable to connect or physically away from you; sweating, trembling, feelings of panic, anxiety, fear or depression.
The increased stress caused by this separation can also result in rises in blood pressure and heart rate.
How does nomophobia impact on daily living ?
Nomophobia impacts on daily life in five ways:
- Increased procrastination.
- Decreased attention span.
- Reduced efficiency, resulting in every task taking longer than it would normally do, due to the high level of distractions.
- Negative impact on relationships. (Who wants to come 2nd to a smartphone?)
- Reduced quality of sleep.
How can you avoid nomophobia ?
Categorise your smartphone notifications.
By categorising your notifications e.g. “immediate”, “later” and “irrelevant” you will notice three immediate benefits.
- Your productivity will rise.
- Your stress levels will reduce.
- You will no longer feel the need to check your phone all the time as you have taken back control.
Make your bedroom a smartphone free zone.
A mobile in the bedroom is an invitation to read or send one last text before sleeping and to reach out for it immediately on waking. Both these actions will strengthen your compulsion to interact constantly with your phone.
Socialise without your phone.
When you choose to socialise without your phone you will notice an improvement in the quality of your social experience and in your relationships.
Control and monitor your phone usage.
By downloading a phone usage tracker app, e.g. RealizD or Quality Time, you can easily set limits for the time you spend on particular apps and also clearly identify the apps that are dominating your time.
Start small.
By changing one aspect of your relationship with your smartphone at a time, the change is more likely to be both manageable and sustainable.
Hypnotherapy and Nomophobia
Hypnotherapy can help you change your relationship with your phone, for good. You will learn how to feel more relaxed and how to able to accept situations where it is out of reach, out of charge or out of network in a calm and confident manner. You will learn to change your thinking; replacing old, unhelpful thoughts with a more balanced perspective. This will, in turn, cause your anxiety and stress levels to reduce.
Nomophobia can be beaten.
The solution lies within your hands.
If you believe you have nomophobia why not contact me today for a free, informal chat to explore how hypnotherapy can help you find that solution, now.
