Fear: Research and Poster Sketches

Chronophobia: Fear of Time

“An experience of unease and anxiety about time, a feeling that events are moving too fast and are thus hard to make sense of.” (quote by Pamela Lee). It’s particularly common among prisoners and the elderly. It can’t be treated by methods such as exposure, so therapy must seek to correct maladaptive thoughts that underlie the phobia.

The obvious metaphor for time is a clock. I could go with a very minimalist clock face or go for a more dynamic image of an exploded clock (note that I didn’t depict it very well) with time spiraling around it. The aging person is another option given the typical patients.

Astrophobia: Fear of Space

It can be many things: fear of the dark, cold vacuum of space, fear of planets and galaxies, fear of being alone or away from home, or fear of the unknown. Astrophobia can result in a fear of space exploration, and it be triggered by catastrophes such as the Columbia disaster. It’s usually treated by avoiding science fiction and other media that include space travel.

I like the simple poster covered in stars best. It helps me feel the coldness and vastness of space. The single planet doesn’t seem scary enough. The perspective grid doesn’t really fit the correct meaning of “space.”

Panphobia: Fear of Everything

“A state in which a patient fears everything or nothing, where anxiety, instead of being riveted on one object, floats as in a dream, and only becomes fixed for an instant at a time, passing from one object to another, as
circumstances may determine.” (quote by Théodule-Armand Ribot). It’s related to paranoia and generalized anxiety disorder. It’s difficult to treat, but generally a piece of another, more complex mental disorder.

The kitchen sink (as in “everything but the kitchen sink”) seems like it’s not serious; I’m definitely not going with that. The person in a corner depicts a panphobic person’s only option: to cower from everything. The final sketch takes an everyday scene and makes each object terrifying. The real version would have to be less cartoony.