Anxiety, procrastination, blockage… Administrative phobia has been popularized since the “Thomas Thévenoud” affair, a former MP accused of tax fraud who had invoked it to justify his unpaid invoices.
Does this phobia have a name?
The fear of administrative tasks is called “administrative phobia“.
What is the definition of an administrative phobia?
In 2014, the politician Thomas Thévenoud (former Secretary of State for Foreign Trade/MP) tells Le Canard Enchaîné that he is the victim of an administrative phobia to justify his unpaid invoices. Administrative phobia corresponds to the excessive and irrational fear of administrative procedures such as paying bills, terminating contracts, renewing papers… This type of behavior enters the register obsessive disorders. Many people suffer from it but the term administrative phobia is not official.
Is it a disease?
No. This “phobia” is not listed as a psychiatric illness in its own right but rather as a symptom relating to different pathologies.
Administrative phobia is characterized by a strong anxiety faced with administrative procedures, which leads to a procrastination :
- the person postpones administrative procedures until the next day,
- she doesn’t open her letters,
- she does not go to the Post Office to collect her registered letters.
“The more they postpone, the more difficult the situation becomes to deal with, the more the anxiety increases and the less the person feels capable of coping with the situation, which leads them to postpone taking steps again. In general, in the face of insistence of the administration and the unfortunate consequences with which it is threatened, the person ultimately ends up doing what is asked of them but in certain extreme casesshe lets things get worse”comments the psychiatrist.
Administrative phobia can be linked to multiple causes such as difficulty getting organized and to to planthe fear of not doing correctly what is asked, the lack of self-disciplinethere difficulty submitting to authorityinability to assume responsibilities,inability to perform boring tasksTHE lack of concentrationan attention disorder or even a profound apragmatism. “It is also because the causes are multiple that this phobia is not listed as a psychiatric illness in its own right but rather as a symptom relating to different pathologies. In certain cases, this phobia sets in after recovery. tax or laborious administrative procedures that have not brought the expected result, which causes a feeling of having suffered injustice or of being powerless in the face of an administration experienced as oppressive, rigid and inhumane. explains Dr Gérard Macqueron, psychiatrist in Paris.
When to consult?
It is appropriate to consult since administrative phobia causes financial problems and becomes disabling on a daily basis.
“Psychological help is sometimes necessary: it relies on positive reinforcement, task planning and therapeutic education to learn how to optimize organization and implement effective routines” explains the specialist. Behavioral therapies are rather well suited. If the anxiety is very strong, medication treatment may be considered.
Some useful advice can be given:
- Process as you go papers so as not to let them pile up
- Store administrative papers efficiently by domain (EDF, Insurance, Banking, Taxes,)
- Take a time every weekdedicated solely to the storage of administrative papers
- Give yourself a specific objective and feasible
- Throw away any expired or unnecessary papers
- Sort through successive steps rather than wanting to do everything at once
- Make sorting and administrative procedures more attractive: listen to music at the same time, reward yourself after reaching the objective, get help from a friend,
- Seek help from professionals: administrative assistance, contact “Public service houses” service offered by the public service to help complete the procedures…
Thanks to Dr Gérard Macqueron, psychiatrist and co-author of the book “How to overcome shyness” and the collective work “The psychology guide to everyday life” written under the direction of Christophe André and published by Odile Jacob.