Fear of Failure (Atychiphobia): Causes & Treatment (2024)

What is atychiphobia?

Atychiphobia is an intense fear of failure. It comes from the Greek word “atyches,” meaning "unfortunate.”

People with atychiphobia may avoid any situation where they see a potential for failure, such as an exam or job interview. It can also mean being afraid of a failed relationship, a failed career or being a disappointment to others.

The fear often becomes self-fulfilling. For example, if you’re so scared of failing a test that you refuse to take the test, you may end up failing an entire class.

Fear of failure can lead to a broad range of emotional and psychological problems, including shame, depression, anxiety, panic attacks or low self-esteem. It may negatively affect how you perform at school or work, or how you interact with friends and family members.

Atychiphobia is different from atelophobia, which is a fear of imperfection.

Are atychiphobia and perfectionism the same?

Atychiphobia and perfectionism have some similarities, but they’re different conditions. Perfectionism means you try to be flawless and have an intense focus on success. Someone with atychiphobia focuses on failure and battles feelings of panic, worry or doom about what could happen if failure happens. Extreme perfectionism can escalate into atelophobia.

What is a phobia?

A phobia is a type of anxiety disorder. It causes an overwhelming sense of fear about an object, situation or event. The fear might seem irrational to others, but the person with the phobia feels genuinely scared, threatened and at risk.

How common is atychiphobia?

It’s hard knowing exactly how many people have a specific phobia, like atychiphobia. Many people may keep this fear to themselves or may not recognize they have it. We do know that about 1 in 10 American adults and 1 in 5 teenagers will deal with a specific phobia disorder at some point in their lives, though.