Postal anxiety - when the post-man rings twice (and brings a letter)
News News blog
"Postal anxiety" is the term used to describe the fear of opening letters. People who suffer from postal anxiety do not open letters for fear that the contents of the letter could have a negative impact on their lives. Fears include threats, bills or reminders.
The Latin term used is "epistulaphobia" which means "fear of letters".
As a supposed strategy, people suffering from postal anxiety hide the letters under piles of paper or in drawers. This is to make the letters disappear from their sight.
Another strategy is to throw the letters away - without even reading them.
Avoidance strategies, however, cause sufferers to lose control and postpone or deny problems. In doing so, they try to put off unpleasant things, but time plays against them and the problems may be exacerbated as a result. For example, if a bill is not opened, a reminder will arrive shortly.
Which letters and senders trigger postal anxiety?
In particular, postal anxiety naturally applies to letters that might contain an invoice, a fee notice, a reminder or an official instruction. Therefore, even certain senders such as the GEZ, lawyers, health insurance companies or insurance companies trigger postal anxiety.
People affected by postal anxiety are usually over-indebted or people who are expecting back payments or other claims.
In some cases, however, those affected also do not open letters from friends. This happens out of fear of the social pressure to respond promptly to friendly letters or to thank them in other ways.
