Change is the promise of many exciting things: novelty, improvements to the existing, opportunities to learn, opportunities to produce value... We know it, we are convinced and in principle, we are up for it... Yes, but when it comes to making change, we find ourselves to be much more resilient than we imagined. But why is that ?

 

This is called metathesiophobia

The scientific name for the (true) fear of change is : metathesiophobia.

 

 

Let's break down:

• Meta, in Greek, is " that which goes beyond ", " that which exceeds " and by extension " that which changes "

• Thesis is " what is posed ", " what is in place "

• Phobia is fear, aversion, haunting and by extension rejection.

 

 

 

Uncertainty : the most demanding context for our cognitive system

Metathesiophobia thus refers to uncertainty about the evolution of our framework. It is this lack of knowledge of the impacts of a movement of transformation on our environment and on our own condition that makes us panic. We would like to know in order to anticipate our adaptations. It is a fundamental cognitive and psychosocial need: we lose our means when we face the risk of our behaviors becoming obsolete.

 

 

 

To adapt, you need to have experience

It is important to know that we are constantly developing skills that allow us to react when we are confronted with situations that we have already experienced or that resemble what we have already experienced. For example, I've already experienced rainy days, I've experienced that the rain gets wet and that if I can't dry myself, I'm likely to be cold, which will be uncomfortable and possibly conducive to me getting sick. Also, if it's raining outside or if I know it's going to rain, I plan to go out at a lull and I equip myself with waterproof clothing. These situational intelligence skills help us relieve stress and allow us, when we are faced with an uncomfortable situation, to restore our sense of security and control as best we can.

 

 

 

When anxiety puts us in a position of inefficiency

But if the downpour starts suddenly, without meteorologists having predicted it, without there being any signs of the change in the weather, or if these signs have appeared too suddenly, we are faced with anxiety : Is this manifestation of climate change like other much more catastrophic changes? What will become of us if the weather is no longer reliable ? Where do we go if there are no more seasons ? And then, by the way, are we sure that it is really rain?

 

In short, not having the time or the means to adapt plunges us into abysses of worry. Our emotions compete with our reasoning, instead of enriching it: we confuse the signal, the understanding of the situation and the solution to respond to it. That's what losing one's means is all about.

Reasoning with the fear of change : what a bad idea !

 

 

 

The bazaar of the soul behind the scenes of the Theatre of Reason

But after all, it's just a downpour and you're not made of sugar ! At work, it's just a new process and you're not unfit to adapt. Are your offices moving ? It's just a change of location and another route to get there, and you're not a die-hard sedentary person. Moreover, if you think about it a little, novelty can do you good. Re-stimulate you. Push you to learn. And then, the neighborhood of your new premises is very nice. And then, the layout is conducive to cooperation. And then, in the end, it doesn't extend your transport time. And then, and then, and then... You nod in agreement with everything you are told about the benefits of change, you keep your worries to yourself, and even plunge into the exciting adventure of a new beginning. But behind the scenes of your soul, it's a bit of a mess.

 

 

 

Why finding the reasons for fear doesn't ease fear

Rationality is even less effective in countering the fear of change than any other fear. Every time you confront a fear with good reasons not to be afraid, you increase your feelings of guilt and you damage your self-esteem. You find yourself full of personal flaws that will feed the feeling that you are incapable, overwhelmed and perhaps too old to take your full place in society. It is therefore an understatement to say that you are confronted with the anguish of death, the mother of all other anxieties.

 

 

 

Why finding the reasons for fear doesn't ease fear

The annoying thing is that anxiety affects everything you need to cope with change : your sense of confidence, but also through the negative impacts of excess cortisol on the hippocampus, the prefrontal cortex and the amygdala, you see your sense of direction, your ability to memorize and mobilize your knowledge deteriorate, your intelligence of situations, your sense of organization, your ability to prioritize, your vision of medium and long time, your creativity and your mental resources useful in the search for solutions. Not to mention the influences of your emotional state on relationships : change is a great catalyst for conflicts and other painful if not downright painful emotional breakups.

To bear the anxiety, to welcome the underlying needs

 

 

 

Viewing fear of change as a manifestation of vertigo

Change is inherently distressing. It refers irreducibly to what has been and is no more, requiring a work of mourning. It also refers to imbalance, producing feelings of vertigo. It should be remembered that vertigo is a state of dizziness close to discomfort (and sometimes leading to it) in the face of which the priority of the body as well as the psyche is to regain stability.

 

What would you do when faced with someone who is dizzy ? You would probably bring him to safety, give him a supportive arm, help him take the necessary step back to get away from the cause of his condition (look at the horizon if he is unwell in transport, move away from the edge of the cliff if he is afraid of heights...), reassure him and if possible, you would give him time to recover before continuing any activity (the car trip, mountain hiking, etc.).

 

Faced with the fear of change, we must adopt the same postures and practices : take into account the anxious state with benevolence and treat it as a priority issue.

 

 

 

Meeting the needs revealed by change

To bear the anguish (of the other as well as one's own) is to take it seriously. It is only on this condition that we can understand the underlying and unmet needs that prevent the individual from projecting himself into what the change represents for him. But what are these underlying needs embedded in the fear of change ? These can be  :

 

• Frustrations and dissatisfactions prior to the transformation period. We no longer see them because individuals have compensated in order to find their stability, but they fear that the balance they have cobbled together in this way will be shaken up by a mutation in their environment. For example : two people do not get along and the conflict has never been managed. They compensated by avoiding crossing paths and working together. But now a new organization of work puts them in a position to keep each other informed of what they are doing. Here, the underlying need is to manage the conflict that has been swept under the rug, so that any change does not cause anxiety and the need to overadapt.

• Need to be considered as a subject. Imagine that you are a teenager and your parents decide to move to a city 500 km away from where you live and have built your entire social life.

You will need to understand why this move is necessary. You will also need to know how it will go. You will probably need to see the house where you will live, the high school where you will study, to find out more about the living conditions you will have... And no doubt that we make real and serious commitments guaranteeing that yes, you will be able to continue to see your friends " before ", that your parents will give themselves the means to allow you to return to your home city for the holidays, etc. In short, it is essential for the individual not to undergo change as a fact to which he must adapt, but to be fully considered as a subject in his own right, whose support is sought and therefore adaptability depends on the feeling of security.

• Need for decision-making latency guarantees. Most of the changes leave many of us with the impression of arbitrariness: that's the way it is, that's life, we have no choice. Your company is bought and your entire work environment is shaken up (new organization, new management methods, new processes, new faces, etc.). If it were up to you, you'd move on. Yes, but here's the thing, you have no choice, you have to earn a good living and you have to accept the new rules of the game to do so. Your motivation is likely to be damaged by this feeling of fatality. It may be that very quickly, the meaning you find at work evaporates in turn. Every time a change makes us say "anyway, we have no choice", it is because we experience this change as a deprivation of decision-making latency and freedom. We therefore need to be assured that the freedom given up here is compensated by new authorizations there. In other words, there is no change without the possibility for individuals to negotiate change: to negotiate the conditions, the benefits, the modalities, the pace...