What Is Cherophobia in Psychology?
The term cherophobia, originating from the Greek term ‘chairo,’ which means ‘to rejoice,’ is the aversion to or fear of happiness. While cherophobia is not currently recognized as a clinical disorder under the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), several studies have begun to validate its existence scientifically (Joshanloo, 2014).
But before we dive into how individuals experience cherophobia, let’s reflect on what happiness actually means and how phobias are defined.
What is happiness?
To effectively understand its underpinnings, happiness first needs to be defined. In psychological research, ‘happiness’ is often used interchangeably with the term ‘subjective wellbeing’ and measured by asking individuals to report on their life satisfaction and the presence or absence of positive and negative affect (Diener, Suh, Lucas, & Smith, 1999).
While there’s still no conclusive consensus, a widely accepted definition of happiness was proposed by the positive psychology researcher Sonja Lyubomirsky in her book The How of Happiness (2007). She described happiness as:
“The experience of joy, contentment, or positive wellbeing, combined with a sense that one’s life is good, meaningful, and worthwhile.”
This definition incorporates the transient feelings that individuals experience, such as elation, pride, gratitude, and contentment, brought about by a deeper fulfillment with a good life.
However, for the discussion of cherophobia, this definition may be too broad. Indeed, the current psychological research examining aversion to happiness assumes that there are multiple types of happiness. As such, an individual can have varying feelings and degrees of aversion toward different types of happiness (Joshanloo & Weijers, 2014).
What is a phobia?
Under the DSM-5, phobias are classed under the umbrella of ‘anxiety disorders.’ A phobia is an overwhelming and debilitating fear or anxiety about an object, place, situation, feeling, or animal. More pronounced than fear, a phobia develops when the anxiety is out of proportion to the perceived threat’s actual danger.
The American Psychiatric Association (2013) identifies three categories of phobias:
1. Specific phobia
A specific phobia is an excessive and persistent fear of a particular object, situation, or activity. Common examples of specific phobias are situational phobias, such as fear of flying; animal phobias, such as fear of spiders; and bodily phobias, such as fear of injections.
2. Agoraphobia
Agoraphobia is the fear of being in a space or situations where escape may be difficult in the event of a panic attack. The anxiety will develop in conditions such as:
- Being in open spaces
- Being in enclosed spaces
- Being on public transportation
- Being in crowded places
- Being alone, outside the home
If severe and left untreated, an individual with agoraphobia may be unable to leave the house.
3. Social phobia
Social phobia is also referred to as social anxiety disorder, where an individual with social anxiety has significant fear about being embarrassed, humiliated, looked down upon, or rejected in social interactions. Examples of social anxiety include anxiety about meeting new people, avoiding social activities, and eating or drinking in public.
So, now that we’ve described both happiness and phobias, how can we define cherophobia?
Because it is not yet recognized as a clinical disorder, we can draw upon an interpretation from the psychological literature. In their review examining where and why people are averse to happiness, Joshanloo and Weijers (2014) suggest that:
Aversion to happiness might also be useful to consider as a general attitude underpinned by an overarching belief about the extent to which it is rational to pursue or avoid happiness for oneself or one’s society.
Let’s turn our attention back to why, for some, happiness is something to be avoided.
The value of happiness across cultures
To understand why some people feel opposed to happiness, we can begin by examining the value placed on happiness across cultures.
In Western society, happiness is often viewed as the ultimate life goal, one ‘to which all humans strive’ (Braun, 2001). It is considered one of the most important objectives guiding individuals’ lives. This notion is backed up by empirical data, which indicates that North Americans value happiness highly (Triandis, Bontempo, Leung, & Hui, 1990).
Accordingly, there has been a noteworthy increase in psychological research investigating the concept of happiness over the last few decades.
However, how do other cultures value happiness?
It has been argued that for many non-Western cultures, the salience of happiness is reduced or at least takes an inferior position compared to other social goals. This may be, in part, due to the fact that personal happiness is promoted in individualistic rather than collectivistic cultures.
For instance, in individualistic societies such as the U.S. and Western/Northern Europe, each individual’s rights, freedom, and personal preferences are emphasized over an in-group’s needs and expectations such as family, peer groups, or community (Suh & Oishi, 2002).
In contrast, in collectivistic societies such as East Asia and Central/South America, the needs and aspirations of an important in-group take priority over the individual’s principles. As such, while personal happiness may be the main goal for Westerners, other cultures place more value on belonging and social harmony.
It follows that if the foremost goal of a particular culture is social relationships, personal happiness may not have as much significance. What’s more, personal happiness may even be perceived to be harmful to social harmony (Uchida, Norasakkunkit, & Kitayama, 2004).
The idea that happiness may not always emphasize social good lays the foundation for the concept of cherophobia. However, finding social and inner peace is not the only explanation for why individuals may have an aversion toward happiness, and as we’ll discuss, this can be observed in both Western and non-Western cultures.
Reasons for aversion to happiness
In their review examining where and why people are averse to happiness, Joshanloo and Weijers (2014) outline four main reasons for this concept.
1. Being happy makes it more likely that bad things will happen to you.
Have you ever had the feeling, when things are going exceedingly well, that something bad must be about to happen? Perhaps you’ve heard the popular sayings, ‘what goes up, must come down,’ or ‘after happiness, there comes a fall?’
The belief that happiness may cause, or is likely to be followed by, sadness or adverse events appears to be a pervasive belief. For instance, in a qualitative study by Uchida and Kitayama (2009), Japanese participants indicated that happiness could lead to negative consequences because it made them inattentive to their surroundings.
Similarly, a separate line of research focuses on ‘the fear of emotion,’ in which individuals have anxiety about intense affective states because they fear they will lose control over their emotions or the behavioral reactions to those emotions (Melka, Lancaster, Bryant, Rodriguez, & Weston, 2011),
Another idea is that individuals may be averse to happiness because they fear the potentially devastating loss of newly attained happiness more than they value the initial attainment (Ben-Shahar, 2002). This is echoed by a qualitative study by Pflug (2009) in which German students expressed that intense happiness leads to unhappiness in response to open-ended questions.
2. Being happy makes you a worse person.
Some individuals, across both Western and Non-Western cultures, believe that being happy can make someone worse (both morally and otherwise). One example proposed by Ben-Shahar (2002), among others, is that people may fear happiness because they would feel guilty if they were to attain it; that is, individuals may feel like morally bad people because they know others are suffering.
3. Expressing happiness is bad for you and others.
In addition to actually feeling happy, there is the belief among some individuals and cultures that expressing happiness should also be avoided because of its potentially negative consequences for both the individual and those around them.
For instance, Ucida and Kitayam (2009) suggest that for East Asian cultures, outwardly displaying success and happiness may cause envy, such that the positive affect associated with happiness may be offset by the negative feelings of guilt and discord.
Similarly in Russia, individuals are often hesitant about pursuing or demonstrating happiness or success because of the belief in the “evil eye” – the idea that visible success can lead to envy or suspicion from others, leading to the ultimate misfortune and unhappiness of the individual (Haber, 2013; Sheldon et al., 2017).
4. Pursuing happiness is bad for you and for others.
The idea that actively pursuing happiness may have negative consequences also exists in individuals across many cultures. For example, it has been argued that the narrow pursuit of happiness is predominantly centered on the self, which may lead to people acting more selfishly, leading to detrimental effects on others (Ricard, 2011). This may operate via, for example, the passive harm of others through neglect.
Broadly speaking, happiness and wellbeing are thought to be essential components for a successful and fulfilling life.
There are currently no diagnostic criteria for cherophobia; however, fear-based conditions are typically classified as anxiety disorders in the DSM-5.
Cherophobia is not recognized as a clinical disorder by the DSM-5, and as such, there is a lack of standard treatment options that are recommended for the condition.
