You may be thinking, “I certainly hope I don’t have Pssta . . . Pasta . . . whatever that word is. It sounds awful.” Pistanthrophobia is the fear of trusting others.
For most people it comes about because they have been hurt by those in whom they have trusted. Childhood wounds are some of the deepest and most difficult to overcome, and where mistrust for many originates. It is indeed sad when I encounter individuals who feel that they have no one that they feel safe trusting.
We all want to have people that we can believe in, rely on, and . . . well . . . trust. If, simply dropping our guard and blindly trusting someone is not wise (and it isn’t), how do we overcome this hurdle? I want to make 4 brief suggestions today to help in this endeavor.
- Reveal a little and see what comes back. Sharing a little about yourself often will result in the other person sharing some. See if they are trustworthy with a little before you offer more.
- Trust your pet. Animals often offer unconditional love, unlike people, and do not usually betray us. If we can learn to first trust an animal, it may give us a more secure base to venture out from.
- Stop imagining that red lights are green. Sometimes we are so hungry for a trusted relationship that we are willing to overlook obvious warning signs, barreling ahead treating a person as trustworthy where there have been no indications that this is reality.
- Nurture the belief that you are worthy of a trusted relationship. This may be the hardest as it is easy to think we don’t deserve such. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Most of us have experienced betrayal and hurt. But be encouraged – you don’t have to stay there. Moving with intentionality, you can again learn to trust.