Deipnophobia- Fear of dining or dinner conversations
Food is a major form of socialisation for many people. Dining, however is not simply about food, but it also about conversation and spending time with people who matter. People who have issues about dinner conversation or eating out suffer with a condition known as Deipnophobia.
People who suffer with this issue may have had an unpleasant or upsetting situation related to dining out. Perhaps, having a meal out with work colleagues who one did not know well. Or perhaps a disastrous blind date, possibly with a person whose beliefs and values are in direct contradiction to the deipnophobic, could lead to a pathological fear of dining out at all.
Sufferers would prefer to eat at home or if eating out, eating by themselves. Many will just use services which deliver food to the house, thus getting a change of menu, without having to eat out. They will make excuses to avoid socialising with friends if a meal out is involved, this can have a negative impact on friendships and relationships.
Cognitive based psychotherapy is a good way to tackle this issue. Hypnosis can also be used as a means of role play in the safety of the sufferers mind to prepare them to expose themselves to dining out.
