Does anyone have information about enissophobia or

Does anyone have information about enissophobia or enosimania? I think that I have enosimania.

Enissophobia- Fear of having committed an unpardonable sin or of criticism.

Enosimania- Rarely used term for the obsessive/pathological belief of having committed an unpardonable offense.

I really couldn't find very much information except for the definitions.

2. What is a pathological belief? If a Christian strongly believed that they commited the unpardonable sin, could this cause them to develop severe depression, and eventually psychosis, ocd or even schizophrenia?

3. Could Enosimania cause schizophrenia, or is schizoprenia a disease in and of itself?

4. Are these terms used by psychologists? Are there any other words that describe someone who believes that he has commited the unpardonable sin?

If you can answer any of these questions, I would greatly appreciate it. (: - Avery

Well, I'm no psychologist, although I've had a couple of therapists who've been friends, and I took Abnormal Psych in college and was majoring in Psych before I switched to Education. So I'm no expert, but I'm not totally ignorant, either.

The word pathological basically means "sick". They use it for stuff that is significantly messing up your ability to do ordinary, daily stuff like, work, school, family, friends...that kind of thing. Anything that doesn't really mess up at least one of those areas is considered more of a quirk. (Of course this means that, if your situation changes, something that wasn't much of a problem before could become one.)

Psychosis and schizophrenia are separate disorders all their own, and having other disorders can't cause them. Psychosis means that someone is not living in the same world as the rest of us - that their understanding of what's real is messed up. So, all people who are schizophrenic and hearing voices, for example, are psychotic (because they're hearing voices that aren't real), but all psychotics aren't necessarily schizophrenic.

Psychologists might use those words to write down as a diagnosis, but, like the rest of us, they're more likely to use other, easier words to describe it when talking to a client. On the other hand, they'll use whatever they think you're most comfortable with when talking to you.

I think that anyone who felt they'd committed an unpardonable sin might get severely depressed (although it won't cause psychosis or schizophrenia - it's the othe way around, the psychosis causes that belief), but it's my understanding that most Christian denominations don't consider ANY sin unpardonable, so the idea a particular sin is unpardonable has got to be something coming from the individual, not from the church. I notice, too, that you use the words, "THE unpardonable sin" rather than "AN unpardonable sin" like the definition you posted. I gather you have a particular sin in mind? Is it something you want to discuss?

Phoenix

Defined as "having committed an unpardonable sin or criticism".

Known by a number of names - Enissophobia, Enosiophobia, Fear of Having Committed an Unpardonable Sin, and Fear of Criticism being the most common - the problem often significantly impacts the quality of life. It can cause panic attacks and keep people apart from loved ones and business associates. Symptoms typically include shortness of breath, rapid breathing, irregular heartbeat, sweating, nausea, and overall feelings of dread, although everyone experiences enissophobia in their own way and may have different symptoms. .

Though a variety of potent drugs are often prescribed for enissophobia, side effects and/or withdrawal symptoms can be severe. Moreover, drugs do not "cure" enissophobia or any other phobia. At best they temporarily suppress the symptoms through chemical interaction.


Like all fears and phobias, enissophobia is created by the unconscious mind as a protective mechanism. At some point in your past, there was likely an event linking having committed an unpardonable sin or criticism and emotional trauma. Whilst the original catalyst may have been a real-life scare of some kind, the condition can also be triggered by myriad, benign events like movies, TV, or perhaps seeing someone else experience trauma.

But so long as the negative association is powerful enough, the unconscious mind thinks: "Ahh, this whole thing is very dangerous. How do I keep myself from getting in this kind of situation again? I know, I'll attach terrible feelings to having committed an unpardonable sin or criticism, that way I'll steer clear in future and so be safe." Just like that enissophobia is born. Attaching emotions to situations is one of the primary ways that humans learn. Sometimes we just get the wiring wrong.

The actual phobia manifests itself in different ways. Some sufferers experience it almost all the time, others just in response to direct stimuli. Everyone has their own unique formula for when and how to feel bad.


I found this at, CTRN. I don't know if their stuff works or not, but, it was the only page I found that went a little further into this phobia. If i find more information on it I will post it. Hope your doing well seeing as this was posted almost 10 months ago.