Hypengyophobia

Hypengyophobia or hypegiaphobia (from the Greek hypengyos, meaning "responsible") is the fear of responsibility. The hypengyophobic person could be self-indulgent, neglecting all responsibilities, to the expense of others. Other individuals coping with this phobia could refuse to simply accept responsibility for anything and should actively blame others when their failure to take responsibility leads to mistakes being made. As with all phobias, the particular person compromised by hypengyophobia has suffered a real-life trauma at some time of their life. That traumatic experience is then consistently and routinely associated with responsibility. Perhaps the hypengyophobic particular person has taken responsibility, previously and has failed. Maybe in that failure there were severely unfavorable consequences. Maybe, as a child, this particular person was raised by overly strict parents and discovered to rebel against responsibility.

The signs of hypengyophobia can vary from person to person. Some people, when confronted with their worry of responsibility, may begin to perspire, feel barely uncomfortable or become nauseated. At the opposite end of the spectrum, other persons are so severely compromised by this phobia, that they might experience crippling nervousness and/or panic attacks. Vast majority of hypengyophobia cases are self-diagnosed.