What does this mean? And how does it affect you?

Autophobia, is the fear of being alone or lonely. Being alone, even in a usually comforting place like home, can result in severe anxiety for people with this condition. People with autophobia feel they need another person or other people around in order to feel safe.

I’m the opposite I prefer to be alone.

I personally do not. My 19 year old on the other hand does. It was hard on me last week when a physical issue put me in the hospital. My husband took them home and stayed with me. The next day when he went to get them and they had to go to the er because they panicked so bad all night they triggered their asthma. I could do nothing for them from a hospital bed. (Note: my 19 year old is non binary, which is why I used the pronouns I did when referring to them).

I'm so sorry to hear that. Mine happened around that age and it's one of the worst experiences I've ever had. Though I've been practicing staying isolated for 10-15 min and would try to play games with my friends online to be distracted. It's been helping but I want to function like how I did before so I don't have to keep relying on games. But it feels great to handle it little by little