Scopophobia

Scopophobia or scoptophobia (from Greek σκοπέω - skopeō, "look to, examine"[1] and φόβος - phobos, "fear"[2]) is an anxiety disorder characterized by a morbid fear of being seen or stared at by others.[3] It is related to Ophthalmophobia (from Greek ὀφθαλμός- ophthalmos, "eye"[4]).

In the 1906 psychiatric journal The Alienist and Neurologist, scopophobia was described:[5]

Then, there is a fear of being seen and a shamefacedness, which one sees in asylums. [...] We called it scopophobia — 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.

Later, on p. 285 scopophobia is defined as "a fear of seeing people or being seen, especially of strange faces."[5]

See also

References

  1. ^ σκοπέω, Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon, on Perseus
  2. ^ φόβος, Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon, on Perseus
  3. ^ http://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/scopophobia
  4. ^ ὀφθαλμός, Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon, on Perseus
  5. ^ a b "The Alienist and Neurologist", edited by Charles Hamilton Hughes, 1906, p. 165, p. 285 (digitized by Google)