How to spot and challenge fear of failure (atychiphobia)

You know that feeling when your stomach drops just thinking about messing up? That’s fear of failure, or if we’re getting clinical, atychiphobia. It can sneak into your life in all kinds of quiet (and not-so-quiet) ways.

Maybe it’s that job you didn’t apply for. Or the project you keep procrastinating on. Fear of failing may cause you to stall, overthink, or talk yourself out of things that actually matter. Sometimes it shows up alongside anxiety disorders or depression. Other times, it just hangs out solo.

While failure might be part of growth, the intense fear shouldn't be. 

The good news? There are treatment options. Psychotherapy, CBT (cognitive behavioral therapy), and exposure therapy. All of these can help. But first, let’s unpack what fear of failure really looks like, what causes it, and how to move forward.

What is the fear of failure called?

The fear of failure is called atychiphobia. It's a specific phobia and type of anxiety disorder that involves an intense, irrational fear of failing or making mistakes.

What does a fear of failure and procrastination look like?

Most of us will experience this specific phobia at some point in our lives. That’s not necessarily a bad thing. Certain projects or tasks may be a stretch for our abilities, and we may procrastinate or have more negative self-talk than usual. 

But overcoming that fear and negative thoughts, managing our mental health needs, and trying our best anyway are important parts of growth. 

An irrational fear of failure that's persistent is a bit more of a problem and can contribute to chronic procrastination. 

If you’re so terrified of taking on a new project at work, you pass up the opportunity. If your work is in a supportive, growth-focused environment that will empower you with training, you may want to address that fear of failure.

Fear of failure may affect people in different ways, but some common experiences include:

1. Self-sabotage

“If you never try, then you never fail” is a statement that lots of people with a fear of failure live by.

Common kinds of self-sabotage include procrastination, lack of self-accountability, the dreaded writer’s block, and deliberately not trying hard enough or doing your best.

It's a fear response mechanism of failure phobia dressed up as strategy.

2. Avoidance

Sometimes the scariest thing isn’t failing, it’s what failing might "tell" about us.

When it comes to an intense fear of failure, avoiding new opportunities, projects or experiences can sometimes be the safest way to protect ourselves. This effectively keeps us stuck in the same place as we’re avoiding anything that might lead to something we want, like a new job or life goal.

3. Perfectionism

Perfectionism and fear of failure are innately linked. In her book, The Gifts of Imperfection, Dr Brené Brown, a social worker and professor who studies emotions and symptoms you’re experiencing, defines perfectionism as:

Only doing things you believe you can do ‘perfectly’ means you avoid failing. It also deprives you of things that will help you grow or get what you want in life.

Real progress is messy by nature. Remember that.

4. Low self-efficacy

Self-efficacy is the belief that we’ll follow through with what we say we’ll do. This could be as small as getting up at a certain time of day, or as large as starting a new business.

People with atychiphobia can be paralyzed so much that over time, they stop believing in themselves. This (you guessed it) only cements our fear of failure more deeply.

Fear of failure often leads to low self-esteem and can make us feel powerless. 

5. Physical Symptoms

Experiencing atychiphobia and coping with fear can lead to physical symptoms. If you’re regularly trying something new that scares you, you know this feeling. Persistent fear of failing can show in heart rate increasing, feeling a tightness in your chest, sweating, dizziness, or even digestive problems.

6. More subtle but equally powerful symptoms of atychiphobia

If you’re having questions about the symptoms you’re experiencing, especially physical ones tied to fear of failure, it may be worth exploring whether atychiphobia is playing a role.

High‑authority research and psychology summaries point to a few more fear of failure phobia symptoms or ill-effects worth considering.

• Self-handicapping
  Creating obstacles or excuses in advance (like poor planning or distractions) so you have something else to blame if things go wrong.

• Rumination and anticipatory anxiety
  Constantly overthinking what might go wrong. Playing failure scenarios in your head before anything even starts.

• Shame and guilt
  Feeling not just afraid to fail, but ashamed of what failing might say about who you are. This can spiral into depression or learned helplessness.

• Self-discrepancy distress
  Struggling with the gap between who you are and who you think you should be. This creates emotional tension that blocks action.

• Experiential avoidance
  Avoiding not just the task, but the feeling of discomfort. Dodging anxiety, memories, or vulnerability that failure might trigger.

Why do we fear failure and procrastinate?

We know almost everyone experiences a fear of failure at some point in their life. But a chronic fear of failure can be pathologized as atychiphobia. 

Let’s take a look at some of the things that can cause a recurring fear of failure.

1. Parenting styles

If your parents taught you that you must always achieve excellence and put lots of value on your success or accomplishments, this can contribute to a fear of failure in later life. 

Especially if they were overprotective and never let you experience failure as a child.

In fact, some researchers have suggested that certain attachment styles in childhood lead to relationship sabotage in adults. 

Your parents may have had the best of intentions, but reflecting on your childhood can help you unravel which long-held beliefs may be undermining what you want to achieve as an adult.

2. Genetic predisposition 

No, there is not a fear of failure gene. But there is a gene that makes us predisposed to anxiety. 

This gene means you are more likely to feel intensely anxious about stressful things, like a task you could fail at.

Learning how to manage your anxiety is a useful tool in helping to overcome a fear of failure. 

3. Experiencing trauma

In his seminal book, The Body Keeps Score, Dr Bessel Van Der Kolk explains how trauma interferes with the brain circuits that involve focusing, flexibility, and being able to stay in emotional control. 

A body that’s stuck in flight, fight, freeze or befriend mode can struggle with an extreme fear of failure if it perceives failure as a threat. 

4. Definition of failure and a fixed mindset

Depending on your life experiences at home, school, and early on in the workplace your understanding of the word failure will look very different.

Dr Carol Dweck’s work on growth mindsets exemplifies this most clearly. Dr Dweck proposes that a growth mindset views intelligence, talent and performance as changeable based on effort and skill developed over time.

Someone with a fixed mindset will view these as innate, unchangeable qualities.

Someone with a growth mindset can view failure as a springboard, an opportunity to grow their skills or try a different approach. 

A growth mindset sees failure as an inevitable and necessary part of getting smarter, stronger or better. A fixed mindset sees failure as a nail in the coffin of their sense of self.

The good news here is that your mindset itself is not set.

5. Difficulty managing emotions

Sometimes it’s not just the fear. It’s what that fear stirs up inside.

People with atychiphobia may feel so overwhelmed by the emotional weight of possibly failing that they shut down completely. This intense reaction may cause people to avoid challenges, even small ones, just to stay in control of their feelings.

But when your nervous system sees every risk as a danger zone, even answering emails or starting a new habit can feel like too much.

Learning how to regulate those emotions, through talk therapy, deep breathing, or lifestyle changes, can help calm your response and ease the fear.

6. Irrational beliefs and thought patterns

The fear of failure can also be fueled by internal stories we tell ourselves. You know, ones that aren’t true but feel very real.

“If I fail, I’m a failure.” “If I don’t succeed, people won’t respect me.”

These kinds of negative thought patterns are classic symptoms of atychiphobia and perfectionism. And they’re loud. They whisper doubt in every decision and add pressure to every professional or academic goal.

Treating atychiphobia starts with recognizing those beliefs and slowly replacing them with ones rooted in self-compassion.

7. Self-handicapping and procrastination

Someone with atychiphobia may be more likely to sabotage their own efforts. Not out of laziness, but as a shield. If you don’t try your best, you can always blame something else when it doesn’t work out.

This kind of academic procrastination or creative avoidance gives temporary relief, but long-term regret.

The fear of experiencing failure starts to shape your habits. It makes it harder to even imagine personal growth. But that pattern can be broken with time, self-awareness, and support.

8. Impulsivity and lack of self-regulation

Not all procrastination is deep and emotional. Sometimes it’s impulsive - driven by boredom, stress, or the need for quick relief.

For people who may develop atychiphobia or already experience strong fear around performance, this kind of behavior becomes a loop: avoid the task, feel guilty, fear grows stronger. Over time, it can quietly feed the type of anxiety disorder that atychiphobia is part of.

An effective treatment for the fear of failure includes learning how to slow down, pause, and make choices that reflect your real intention setting.

Is kakorrhaphiophobia and atychiphobia the same?

Atychiphobia is the fear of failure, while kakorrhaphiophobia is the fear of being ridiculed or humiliated because of failure. This makes kakorrhaphiophobia more socially driven.

In short, atychiphobia is about the act of failing itself, whereas kakorrhaphiophobia is about how others might react to that failure.

What does kakorrhaphiophobia mean?

Kakorrhaphiophobia is the irrational and persistent fear of being ridiculed, judged, or humiliated after failure. It’s a socially driven phobia that goes beyond fearing failure itself to fearing the negative reactions that might follow.

What is the difference between atychiphobia and atelophobia?

Atychiphobia is the fear of failure. It's the intense anxiety around failing at tasks, goals, or responsibilities. Atelophobia, on the other hand, is the fear of imperfection — a deep fear of not being good enough or of making even minor mistakes, often tied to self-image and unrealistic standards.

But if a fear of failure meets certain diagnostic criteria, it can be pathologized as a phobia. Those diagnostic criteria include:

• Excessive and unreasonable amounts of fear

• Extreme distress or avoidance

• Limits your ability to function

• Causes immediate intense anxiety

• Lasts for at least 6 months and is not caused by another condition

How to overcome procrastination and fear of failure?

Overcoming fear of failure is a journey that may take some time, experiments and (ironically enough) failures along the way. Make sure you’re kind and compassionate towards yourself, as even admitting that you’re afraid is a huge step in a positive direction.. 

There are two broad strategies you can use to overcome a fear of failure:

1. Managing the symptoms of your fear when it does arise

2. Challenging the root beliefs and experiences that cause your fear 

Managing your feelings around your fear of failure

These are techniques you can use to help feel in control when your fear arises, and ways you can recognise and de-escalate your emotions around failure.

Remember, we’re all different, so some of these techniques might not be for you, and that’s a-okay. 

1. Plan ahead and break down the task

When it comes to coping with atychiphobia (and the inevitable procrastination that follows) it’s far more likely to take hold if you feel like you have an insurmountable task or goal ahead of you. Create systems, where you break down and prioritise tasks as a matter of habit.

Try not to think about the big picture, such as delivering the presentation, buying a house or getting married. Worry about the next smallest chunk of work ahead. Like structuring a draft of the presentation script, finding 5 properties to view, or calling 3 venues to visit.

Breaking large abstract concepts down into smaller tasks lessens the psychological weight of the business or an academic goal. This can help reduce your fear.

2. Create a ‘failure’ plan

Let's imagine the ever-so-feared scenario. You fall over at the public speaking event, the marriage crumbles, or the new business venture fails. 

What next?

Realizing there’s a life after failure is a great way to take away its power over you, and knowing you have a plan B may be the reassurance you need to try it anyway. 

(This technique is a bit like Marmite, so if imagining the failure sends you spiraling and the hypothetical solution doesn’t help, perhaps this isn’t the way forward for you.)

3. Remind yourself of previous successes

Try making a list of things you’ve already accomplished, big or small, to remind yourself of what you're capable of. This simple exercise helps build your sense of self-efficacy, which is your belief that you can follow through and reach your goals.

Reflecting on past wins, even ones that seem unrelated, gives you proof that you’ve faced challenges before and made it through. 

If you ran a 5k, for example, think about the discipline, consistency, and mindset that got you there. Those same qualities can support you in new situations — whether it’s a 10k or something that feels completely different.

Tapping into this confidence can help you overcome atychiphobia by shifting focus from fear to ability. And the more you reinforce your inner strengths, the easier it becomes to overcome this phobia, one step at a time.

4. Have a growth mindset mantra

If you think you have a fixed mindset, and that’s part of what’s holding you back then start observing your thoughts when your fear of failure comes up. Are you internalizing the belief that failing once means you’ll never be able to do better? 

If so, be ready to counter those thoughts with a growth mindset mantra or story that reminds you that those thoughts are not helpful or accurate. 

A mantra might sound like ‘sometimes you win, sometimes you learn’ or ‘if it doesn’t challenge me, it won’t change me’.

Read our article on procrastination quotes to find more inspirational phrases that might resonate with you.

Keep reading to learn about famous people’s failures who found success through a growth mindset. 

Challenge your extreme fear of failure by working with a mental health professional

If you think your fear of failure is more deeply rooted and may be Atychiphobia, then you may want to consider talking to a medical professional, like a therapist or psychiatrist.

They can help you look into treatment options like psychotherapy, CBT (cognitive behavioral therapy) or medication.

If you think your phobia or deep fear is a result of trauma, it's really important you speak to a mental health professional. You deserve expert support to work through your past experiences.

1. Work with a mental health professional

One of the most effective ways to challenge the deep-rooted fear behind procrastination is to seek professional help.

If you're constantly afraid of failing or tend to avoid situations where failure is possible, working with a licensed therapist can help you safely explore the source of your fear. This type of mental health treatment can be especially helpful if your fear interferes with daily functioning or if you've been diagnosed with a specific phobia like atychiphobia.

A therapist can guide you through personalized strategies based on what you're experiencing and help you move forward without judgment or pressure.

2. Use cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT)

CBT is one of the most trusted forms of treatment for phobias, backed by decades of peer-reviewed studies.

It helps you recognize and challenge the irrational thoughts and beliefs associated with failure. If you catch yourself saying “If I fail, I’m worthless,” then you can work to replace it with realistic, more helpful thinking patterns. 

CBT also helps you notice how fear-based thinking influences behavior, such as avoidance or procrastination. It gives you tools to take constructive action instead. For many, it’s a foundational step in understanding atychiphobia and learning how to shift both mindset and behavior over time.

3. Practice cognitive restructuring

Cognitive restructuring is a core CBT technique that helps you unpack the distorted thoughts behind your fear of failure.

For example, if you often think, “I’ll never succeed at this,” you learn to question that thought: What evidence supports it? What might contradict it?

Over time, this helps people with atychiphobia build a more balanced self-view and a healthier response to risk. It's especially powerful when atychiphobia affects your confidence and leads you to give up before even trying. Shifting your inner narrative can create space for growth instead of paralysis.

4. Try exposure therapy

Exposure therapy helps you face your fears gradually, rather than avoiding them altogether.

If you typically avoid situations where there’s a possibility of failure, this approach involves gradually exposing yourself to similar challenges in safe, manageable ways.

For example, if public speaking is one of your biggest triggers, you might start by talking in a meeting, then giving a short presentation, and eventually speaking in front of a larger group. This exposure rewires your brain’s fear response and builds resilience.

5. Explore acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT)

While CBT focuses on changing your thoughts, ACT helps you accept them.

This method teaches that you don’t need to eliminate fear to move forward; you just need to stop letting it run the show. ACT helps you recognize your fear without judgment, reconnect with what matters to you, and commit to actions that support your values.

It’s particularly helpful for people who feel stuck because they’re afraid of failing, yet still want to move toward meaningful goals. ACT is widely recognized as an effective treatment for fear of failure and promotes long-term emotional flexibility.

6. Use behavioral activation

Behavioral activation helps you break out of fear-based avoidance patterns by encouraging small, goal-directed actions, even when you're not feeling confident.

This technique works well when atychiphobia include symptoms like procrastination, low motivation, poor self-accountability, or indecision. Instead of waiting to feel ready, you act first, then let the motivation follow.

This can be especially helpful if your fear is connected to risk factors like perfectionism, past criticism, or trauma. By showing up consistently, you prove to yourself that fear doesn’t have to be a barrier and that effective treatment options are available beyond just managing symptoms.

What are examples of famous people who failed?

One of the most popular examples of a failure leading to huge success is Michael Jordan. 

Today, he’s considered one of the greatest basketballers in the history of the sport, but he was cut from his high school basketball team by his coach. When reflecting on the experience, Jordan has said:

Even Oprah experienced significant failure when she was demoted from a TV reporter to a cohost on a talk show in her early twenties. Though it was technically a demotion, Oprah now refers to it as a lightbulb moment where she found her purpose.

Oprah is now worth $2.5 billion and has her own TV channel, which she owes all to that demotion.

How do I start again after failure?

Rock bottom is a beautiful place to build up from. 

If you have perceived yourself as failing before in life, take time to reflect and learn from the experience. It can be tempting to rush into the next project, relationship, or goal, but reflection is how we learn and do better.

Over time, you’ll recognise what you can learn from your failure, and be able to create a positive, even if bittersweet, narrative around a failure that allowed you to grow.