Xenophobia
Xenophobia is the fear of someone who is different or foreign. Research on xenophobia can be written from a sociological or psychological perspective. Since all the writing done at Paper Masters is custom writing, your project will focus on whatever aspect of xenophobia you want covered.
According to Andreas Wimmer, xenophobia goes beyond just being afraid of someone who is different, but is defined as "an element of a political struggle about who has the right to be cared for by the state and society: a fight for the collective goods of the modern state." Ultimately, people who suffer from Xenophobia are afraid of losing their identity and also fear that outsiders will change his or her home in a negative way. Since Xenophobia is considered a disorder there are some common symptoms. Some of these symptoms include the following:
- Fear when a person is around another person from another culture
- Hostility and distrust toward people who are different
- Making cultural generalizations and stereotypes
Xenophobia is sometimes confused with racism, but they are not the same. Racism is a disliking of someone for his or her ancestry or race. Xenophobia is a phobia or fear of a person who is different and comes from a different background.
There is not one specific cause of Xenophobia. In some cases it is connected to posttraumatic stress disorder. Xenophobia can be passed down through generations when parents who suffer from Xenophobia pass down their fear of others to their children.
Xenophobia is a treatable disorder. It is important that someone suffering from Xenophobia seek help from a medical health practitioner. During treatment the therapist will help the patient identify causes and techniques to overcome the fear. Cognitive behavioral therapy is also a course of treatment. Patients learn to address the fear by learning how to control thinking and become more comfortable with the fear.