Is it possible to have a phobia of eating near someone?(please only serious answers)?

Question

i practally get a panic attack when i have to eat by someone i dont know. and i cant breathe. so is it possible? whats it called?

Answer 1

what you are describing with being fearful of eating in front of others may be a Social Phobia. Among the anxiety disorders, Social Phobias are relatively common and range from general social phobia, which is anxiety and fear elicited in a variety of social situations, to specific social phobias, which typically are fear of public speaking, fear of eating in public, fear of writing in public, and fear of using public urinals. Typically, the underlying fear is of disapproval, and ultimately, of rejection. A person with fear of eating in public may be afraid of embarrassing himself. some people may be afraid of the other person recognizing their anxiety, other people may be afraid of making some embarrassing mistake such as dropping food on themselves, whereas others may be afraid of an aftereffect such as getting diarrhea from eating. Once you know what the particular fear is, you may then need to look realistically at the odds of that fear occurring. For instance, what are the odds that you would drop food on yourself and the other person will think "What an idiot!"? Since it is a common mistake, most people would empathize, and therefore, the odds of them thinking something bad about you are pretty small. Generally, the treatment for Social Phobia is threefold: 1) Since Social Phobia is an anxiety disorder, you need to learn skills to be able to reduce and manage anxiety better. These skills include relaxation, breathing techniques, and self-talk. 2) You also need to learn how to challenge the irrational thinking such as I described above. 3) You then need to develop a plan of exposing yourself to the situations in a controlled, manageable way while using your anxiety management skills and while challenging the irrational thinking. This process of systematic exposures involves starting with easier situations with which you can be successful and then gradually moving to more difficult situations as your confidence builds. One thing to remember as you consider this approach is that when we challenge ourselves to take risks, the potential benefits outweigh the momentary discomfort.

A great book that describes this process in detail is Dying of Embarrassment

Answer 2

I don't know what it's called, but I know many people who hate eating in close company. I used to be the same and my main concern was If they could hear me chewing or if I had too much on my fork. It used to take me 3 times as long to eat, and then I realized people were watching me because I was so slow and obviously un-comfortable. Now I love eating out and don't care who's nearby when I dip my bread roll into the soup ! You're bound to find some strange people who stare, usually from another table, at you when you eat, and this was probably the start of my problem. Now I just stare back or ask if they'd like a taste of my meal. It's really all about confidence. You'll get there.

Answer 3

It could very well be Social Anxiety. Phobias are usually triggered by something, and usually early in life. Look up on antidepressant websites (can't list them here, I think) and they will explain the different types of anxiety and phobias. And yes, if it is a debilitating problem, follow the other poster's suggestion and seek medical (preferably a mental health specialist or psychiatrist) for help with this.

Answer 4

Yes, but I'm no therapist, and that's who you should see for this sort of thing. Any good therapist will take you seriously and give you a diagnosis after some tests. Then afterwards he'll help you beat this phobia with simple methods, slowly.

Answer 5

I don't know the clinical name for it, but I know someone else who has that fear. My friend's daughter doesn't eat at the table with her family, she takes her food and goes to her bedroom.
She has gotten better with counselling, but I don't expect her to host the Christmas party anytime soon.
This IS something you can get some help with. If you treat it like you would treat an infection in your finger, or diabetes, it is a lot easier to deal with than if you are ashamed, and try to keep it a secret.
Good luck!

Answer 6

Are you vegan? Are they vegan? maybe there is an inner emotion which is telling you SOMETHING is wrong with the NON-vegan MURDERED or RAPED meal plans...

www.link.20fr.com

I mean there may be reasons why even in a "VEGAN world"(the only real-type world of truth) we may not wish to eat near another if the person is "oozing bean buritos" all over the place out of his mouth it may be a uncomfortable scene... in public I think we all try to have better manners of how we chew and how we consume foods as compared to when in privacy, sometimes in privacy we JUST GO WILD and let loose so to speak, sometimes it can be dangerous on our GUMS and our digestive systems and well I know that I find myself EATING "too fast" sometimes and I think it PLAYS HAVOC on body to some degree.... so that is something I need to personally work with.

Answer 7

Its known as social phobia or Social Anxiety Disorder. People with social phobia have a persistent, intense, and chronic fear of being watched and judged by others and of being embarrassed or humiliated by their own actions. Their fear may be so severe that it interferes with work, school, or other activities. People with social phobia have a persistent, intense, and chronic fear of being watched and judged by others and of being embarrassed or humiliated by their own actions. Their fear may be so severe that it interferes with work, school, or other activities.

Answer 8

Yes it is, you can have a phobia about anything, most people have a phobia about something so don't worry about it. I my self have a phobia about mice, bees and spiders don't bother me.

Answer 9

Yes it's possible. My friend feels the same way some times.

Answer 10

Maybe meal time was uncomfortable when you were growing up. This can do it. Try to analyze what will happen if you eat with someone else...that my give you a clue.