FOFO: what is the fear of knowing things

Among the many fears that over the years have "earned" an acronym of their own is the photo. Let's find out what it is and how to deal with the fear of knowing things.

When it comes to fears, we know very well that there are so many. From "simple" states of anxiety to real phobias , the panorama is immensely vast.
Among those that you hear more and more often is FOFO, or the fear of knowing things. It is a real psychological block that leads to the choice not to inquire in order not to know more. A fear that could seem almost a contradiction but which instead has important roots and which should always be explored. Let's find out, therefore, everything there is to know about FOFO and what it is important to do to better deal with it.

FOFO: what it is and when it was recognized

As already mentioned, FOFO is the fear of getting to know things. This term is quite recent as it was only introduced in 2018, i.e. when Oxford professor Muir Gray noted that one of the reasons why one almost never goes to the doctor was that of not wanting to know he was sick. Hence the term FOFO which means, precisely, "fear of knowing".

Although it was initially born as a term aimed mostly at the medical field, FOFO then extended to cover the relational and work sphere as well. In general, therefore, this acronym is used to indicate a real psychological block that pushes those who suffer from it not to want to know anything about a certain topic, so much so as not to get informed and to avoid any possible deepening of the same. At the basis of this fear there seems to be, among other things, that of not being able to face a given situation.

When does FOFO occur and how to fight it

Suffering from FOFO means being afraid to get involved and discover problems or situations (which sometimes aren't even problematic) that you fear you won't be able to deal with.
This can therefore occur both in the medical field and within a relationship (if, for example, there is fear of betrayal), at work and in interpersonal relationships. In turn, it can occur in only one field or in all.

Sufferers of this problem will always avoid having honest and in-depth conversations. He will avoid doctors and legal issues, never question his own work, or ask for opinions on what he does or says. As it is easy to understand, living in this way leads to not living completely and to risking finding oneself in situations which, if they were solvable at the beginning, after a certain lapse of time can become significantly more complicated.

How to recognize that you have this problem? Unfortunately, those who suffer from it hardly realize it. And all precisely because of the lack of research and comparison with others.
However, if you have any suspicions about it, it is important to take courage and learn to deal with the many conflicting emotions. Those, that is, that lead to the development of FOFO.

To do this, you need to realize that an emotion (such as fear or anxiety) is just that and it doesn't necessarily have to be logical. For this reason, we can force ourselves to choose to control our thoughts about it and to delve into precisely what is scary. Once you have chosen to face the current problem, in fact, in most cases you will find that it is something that can be solved. And that will lead the negative emotion to fade away. Otherwise you will train in the action and you will still have more chances to improve things than standing still.

Sure, it's not a simple thing but if faced gradually it can be solved brilliantly, especially with the help of psychotherapy . In fact, an expert can support and simplify things by indicating the first steps to take in order to act without fear and to return to full control of one's life.

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