New, fear of the

An irrational fear of anything new, of innovation, of new situations, places, or things. Also called neophobia. In animal behavior, neophobia refers to the tendency of an animal to avoid or retreat from an unfamiliar object or situation. All phobias are unreasonable sorts of fear that can cause avoidance and panic. They represent a relatively common type of anxiety disorder. Phobias can be treated with cognitive behavioral therapy using exposure and fear reduction techniques. In many cases, anti-anxiety or anti-depressant medication proves helpful, especially during the early stages of therapy. The word "neophobia" should not be Greek to you. It comes from the Greek "neos" meaning new + "-phobia" from the Greek "phobos" meaning fear = fear (of anything) new. "Neophobia" is not a neologism (a new word); it's been around a while.