http://debianws.lexgopc.com/wiki143/index.php?action=history&feed=atom&title=ScopophobiaScopophobia - Revision history2026-06-02T01:37:50ZRevision history for this page on the wikiMediaWiki 1.43.1http://debianws.lexgopc.com/wiki143/index.php?title=Scopophobia&diff=7880221&oldid=prev2605:8D80:13E8:BAE4:82F:61D2:65B9:FA22: /* Related syndromes */Removed information that is no longer relevant and has been removed from the DSM2025-06-29T17:01:52Z<p><span class="autocomment">Related syndromes: </span>Removed information that is no longer relevant and has been removed from the DSM</p>
<p><b>New page</b></p><div>{{short description|Fear of being stared at}}<br />
{{For|the video by Therapy?|Scopophobia (video)}}<br />
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'''Spotligectophobia''', '''scopophobia''', '''scoptophobia''', or '''ophthalmophobia''', is an [[anxiety disorder]] characterized by an excessive [[Phobia|fear]] of being stared at in public or [[staring|stared]] at by others.<ref>The Free Medical Dictionary, 2012, http://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/scopophobia</ref><br />
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Similar phobias include [[erythrophobia]], the fear of [[blushing]]. Scopophobia is also commonly associated with [[schizophrenia]] and other psychiatric disorders. Often, scopophobia will result in symptoms common with other anxiety disorders. Scopophobia is considered both a [[social phobia]] and a [[specific phobia]].<br />
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==Signs and symptoms==<br />
Individuals with scopophobia generally exhibit symptoms in social situations when attention is brought upon them, such as in [[public speaking]]. Other triggers may also cause [[social anxiety]], such as: being introduced to new people, being teased and/or criticized, or even answering a phone call in public.<ref name="Social Anxiety Fact Sheet"/><br />
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Often scopophobia has symptoms in common with other [[anxiety disorder]]s.<ref name="What is Scopophobia">{{cite web|title=What is Scopophobia?|url=http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-scopophobia.htm|publisher=Wise Geek.com|access-date=8 November 2012}}</ref> The symptoms of scopophobia include irrational feelings of [[panic]], feelings of terror, feelings of dread, rapid heartbeat, shortness of breath, nausea, [[dry mouth]], trembling, anxiety and [[Avoidance coping|avoidance]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Symptoms of Scopophobia|url=http://www.rightdiagnosis.com/s/scopophobia/symptoms.htm|publisher=Health Grades|access-date=8 November 2012}}</ref> Other symptoms related to scopophobia may be [[hyperventilation]], muscle tension, dizziness, uncontrollable shaking or trembling, excessive eye watering and redness of the eyes.<ref name="All About Counseling"/> For an [[Epilepsy|epileptic]], it may precipitate an attack.<ref>M. Matsuura/Y. Inoue, ''Neuropsychiatric Issues in Epilepsy'' (2010) p.??</ref><br />
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===Related syndromes===<br />
Though scopophobia is a solitary disorder, many individuals with scopophobia also commonly experience other anxiety disorders. Scopophobia has been related to many other irrational fears and phobias. Specific phobias and syndromes that are similar to scopophobia include [[erythrophobia]] (the fear of [[blushing]], which is found especially in young people). <br />
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Sociologist [[Erving Goffman]] suggested that shying away from casual glances in the street remained one of the characteristic symptoms of [[psychosis]] in public.<ref>Erving Goffman, ''Relations in Public'' (1972) p. 415</ref> Another related, yet very different syndrome, [[scopophilia]], is the excessive enjoyment of looking at an object or another person.<br />
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==Causes==<br />
Spotligectophobia is unique among phobias in that the fear of being looked at is considered both a [[social phobia]] and a [[specific phobia]], because it is a specific occurrence which takes place in a social setting.<ref name="All About Counseling">{{cite web|title=Scopophobia|url=http://www.allaboutcounseling.com/library/scopophobia/|publisher=All About Counseling|access-date=8 November 2012}}</ref> Most phobias typically fall in either one category or the other but scopophobia can be placed in both. On the other hand, as with most phobias, scopophobia generally arises from a [[Psychological trauma|traumatic]] event in the person's life. With scopophobia, it is likely that the person was subjected to public ridicule as a child. Additionally, a person with scopophobia may often be the subject to public staring, possibly due to a physical disability. <ref name=Duffey>{{cite web|last=Duffey|first=Tammy|title=Phobias: Scopophobia, The Fear of Being Stared At|url=http://voices.yahoo.com/phobias-scopophobia-fear-being-stared-at-2316904.html?cat=72|publisher=Yahoo|access-date=8 November 2012}}</ref><br />
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According to the Social Phobia/Social Anxiety Association, U.S. government data for 2012 suggests that social anxiety affects over 7% of the population at any given time. Stretched over a lifetime, the percentage increases to 13%.<ref name="Social Anxiety Fact Sheet">{{cite web|title=Social Anxiety Fact Sheet|url=http://www.socialphobia.org/fact.html|publisher=Social Phobia/Social Anxiety Association|access-date=8 November 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121112204258/http://www.socialphobia.org/fact.html|archive-date=12 November 2012}}</ref><br />
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==Psychoanalytic views==<br />
Building on [[Sigmund Freud]]'s concept of the eye as an [[erogenous zone]],<ref>Sigmund Freud, ''On Sexuality'' (PFL 7) p. 84</ref> psychoanalysts have linked scopophobia to a (repressed) fear of looking,<ref>D. W. Allen, ''The Fear of Looking'' (1974) p. 6</ref> as well as to an inhibition of [[exhibitionism]].<ref>O. Fenichel, ''The Psychoanalytic Theory of Neurosis'' (1946) p. 177</ref> Freud also referred to scopophobia as a "dread of the [[evil eye]]" and "the function of observing and criticizing the self" during his research into the "eye" and "transformed I's."<ref name="Henelly Jr.">{{cite journal|last=Henelly Jr.|first=Mark|title=The 'Surveillance of Desiree': Freud, Foucault, and ''Villette''|journal=Victorian Literature and Culture|date=September 1998|volume=26|issue=2|pages=421–440|doi=10.1017/s1060150300002497}}</ref><br />
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In some explanations, the equation of being looked at with a feeling of being criticized or despised reveals [[shame]] as a motivating force behind scopophobia.<ref>Fenichel, p. 139</ref> In the [[self-consciousness]] of adolescence, with its increasing awareness of the [[Other (philosophy)|Other]] as constitutive of the [[looking-glass self]], shame may exacerbate feelings of erythrophobia and scopophobia.<ref>Fenichel, p. 112</ref><br />
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==Treatment==<br />
There are several options for treatment of scopophobia. With one option, [[Desensitization (psychology)|desensitization]], the patient is stared at for a prolonged period and then describes their feelings. The hope is that the individual will either be desensitized to being stared at or will discover the root of their scopophobia.<ref name="All About Counseling"/><br />
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[[Exposure therapy]], another treatment commonly prescribed, has five steps:<br />
* Evaluation<br />
* Feedback<br />
* Developing a fear hierarchy<br />
* Exposure<br />
* Building<br />
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In the evaluation stage, the scopophobic individual would describe their fear to the therapist and try to find out when and why this fear developed. The feedback stage is when the therapist offers a way of treating the phobia. A fear hierarchy is then developed, where the individual creates a list of scenarios involving their fear, with each one becoming worse and worse. Exposure involves the individual being exposed to the scenarios and situations in their fear hierarchy. Finally, building is when the patient, comfortable with one step, moves on to the next.<ref name="Change That's Right Now">{{cite web|title=Treatment and Cure: Two Very Different Things|url=http://www.changethatsrightnow.com/scopophobia/treatment-and-cure/|publisher=Change That's Right Now|access-date=8 November 2012}}</ref><br />
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Other suggested treatments for scopophobia include [[hypnotherapy]], [[neuro-linguistic programming]] (NLP), and [[Energy medicine|energy psychology]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Scopophobia Treatment|url=http://www.phobia-fear-release.com/scopophobia.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040616125030/http://www.phobia-fear-release.com/scopophobia.html|url-status=usurped|archive-date=June 16, 2004|publisher=Phobia Treatment|access-date=8 November 2012}}</ref> In extreme cases of scopophobia, it is possible for the subject to be prescribed anti–anxiety medications.<ref name=Duffey/> Medications may include [[benzodiazepine]]s, [[antidepressant]]s, or [[Beta blocker|beta blockers]].<ref name="Change That's Right Now"/><br />
==History ==<br />
Phobias have a long history. The concept of social phobias was referred to as long ago as 400 B.C. One of the first references to scopophobia was by [[Hippocrates]] who commented on an overly-shy individual, explaining that such a person "loves darkness as light" and "thinks every man observes him.” <ref name=Cuncic>{{cite web|last=Cuncic|first=Alan|title=A Brief History of Social Anxiety Disorder|url=http://socialanxietydisorder.about.com/od/overviewofsad/a/history.htm|publisher=About.Com|access-date=8 November 2012}}</ref><br />
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The term "social phobia" (''phobie sociale'') was first coined in 1903 by French psychiatrist [[Pierre Janet]]. He used this term to describe patients of his who exhibited a fear of being observed as they were participating in daily activities such as talking, playing the piano or writing.<ref>Leora R. Heckleman, Franklin S. Schneierer; Social Phobia Diagnosis, Assessment, Treatment. 1995</ref><br />
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In 1906 the [[psychiatric]] journal ''The Alienist and Neurologist'', described scopophobia:<ref name=hughes>"The Alienist and Neurologist", edited by Charles Hamilton Hughes, 1906, [https://books.google.com/books?id=Pi1YAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA165&vq=scopophobia&dq=scopophobia&lr=&source=gbs_search_s&cad=0 p. 165], [https://books.google.com/books?id=Pi1YAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA285&vq=scopophobia&dq=scopophobia&lr=&source=gbs_search_s&cad=0 p. 285] (digitized by [[Google]])</ref><br />
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{{quote|Then, there is a [[Fear processing in the brain|fear]] of being seen and a shamefacedness, which one sees in asylums. [...] We called it scopophobia &mdash; a morbid dread of being seen. In minor degree, it is morbid shamefacedness, and the patient covers the face with his or her hands. In greater degree, the patient will shun the visitor and escape from his or her sight where this is possible. Scopophobia is more often manifest among women than among men.}}<br />
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Later in the same paper (p.&nbsp;285) scopophobia is defined as "a fear of seeing people or being seen, especially of strange faces".<ref name=hughes/><br />
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==Etymology==<br />
The term ''scopophobia'' comes from the [[Ancient Greek|Greek]] σκοπέω ''skopeō'', "look to, examine",<ref>[https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0057%3Aentry%3Dskope%2Fw σκοπέω], Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, ''A Greek-English Lexicon'', on Perseus</ref> and φόβος ''phobos'', "fear".<ref>[https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0057%3Aentry%3Dfo%2Fbos φόβος], Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, ''A Greek-English Lexicon'', on Perseus</ref> ''Ophthalmophobia'' comes from the Greek ὀφθαλμός ''ophthalmos'', "eye".<ref>[https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0057%3Aentry%3Do%29fqalmo%2Fs ὀφθαλμός], Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, ''A Greek-English Lexicon'', on Perseus</ref><br />
Another, lesser known, term for this disorder is '''spotligectophobia''', a humorous blend of the [[spotlight effect]] and the combining form ''-phobia'' meaning fear.<br />
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==In popular culture==<br />
* In ''[[The Neverending Story]]'' (1979), the [[List of The Neverending Story characters#Fantastican creatures|Acharis]] are a race of beings so ashamed of their ugliness that they never appear in daylight.<ref>Michael Ende, ''The Neverending Story'' (1983) p. 260-1</ref><br />
*The character Ryoshi Morino in the [[light novel]] series ''[[Okami-san and Her Seven Companions|Okami-san]]'' (2006- ) has the condition, wearing his hair long to avoid eye contact, and breaking down crying when he notices people staring at him.{{cn|date=May 2020}}<br />
*The character Marimo Kaburagi in the second season of the 2016 [[anime]] television series ''[[Active Raid]]'' has scopophobia, but her symptoms are alleviated by her wearing special glasses which digitally censor the eyes of whomever she looks at.{{cn|date=May 2020}}<br />
*The [[SCP Foundation]] character [[SCP Foundation#Examples of SCPs|SCP-096]] (also known as the Shy Guy) is a humanoid monster that expresses great distress and reacts violently whenever its face is seen through any medium, relentlessly hunting down and killing whoever views it, either in person or through a photograph or video footage; when it is necessary to present 096's appearance in a visual medium, this is typically avoided via showing an artistic depiction to prevent direct viewing.<br />
*The Endermen, mobs found in the Swedish [[sandbox game]] ''[[Minecraft]]'' (2011), are said to possibly have scopophobia, as they become hostile when looked in the eyes.<br />
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==See also==<br />
{{div col}}<br />
*[[Gaze]]<br />
*[[Generalized other]]<br />
*[[Ideas of reference and delusions of reference]]<br />
*[[List of phobias]]<br />
*[[Social stigma]]<br />
*[[Stage fright]]<br />
{{div col end}}<br />
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==References==<br />
{{reflist|2|}}<br />
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==Further reading==<br />
* [[Moss Hart]], ''Lady in the Dark'' (New York 1941)<br />
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[[Category:Situational phobias]]</div>2605:8D80:13E8:BAE4:82F:61D2:65B9:FA22