Eye phobia

Eyes are an important organ for us to observe the world, but have you ever heard of eye phobia? In fact, ophthalmophobia is what is commonly called visual phobia in clinical practice, which is mainly manifested in three aspects: fear of eye contact, fear of "peripheral vision" and fear of loss of control of the eyes. In fact, many people do not take visual phobia seriously when they encounter it because they do not understand it. In fact, visual phobia still needs to be taken seriously.

The symptom of "fear of looking at people" is often the main complaint of patients or the main problem they want to solve, which is clinically called "visual phobia". Clinical manifestations and classification: The clinical manifestations and experiences of visual phobia are complex and varied. Most patients are often not aware of their vision problems when they first develop the disease. After a period of time, they suddenly feel that they dare not look at people, and this becomes the focus of distress. Some patients have visual phobia as the main symptom in the early stage of the disease. The objects of fear are mainly young people of the opposite sex. Severe patients are also afraid of the same sex. Some patients are even afraid of the elderly, children or family members.

The main performance tests are divided into the following three categories:

1. Eye contact terror:

The patient complained of being nervous and afraid when making eye contact. When looking at people, he always thought about the other person's eyes. Even if he forced himself to look at the other person, he would dodge and glance past, and the time he looked at the person was less than 1 second. Some patients complained that when looking at each other, they felt panic, their minds went blank, they were unable to speak, and their eyes could not focus. They felt that the other person's eyes revealed "doubt, anger, disgust or hatred". Some patients firmly believed that their eyes could hurt people, were too poisonous, and were not gentle, making the person being looked at appear uneasy, embarrassed, or feel uncomfortable and unnatural in their hands and feet. A considerable number of patients believe that their eyes are "lustful", that they have evil thoughts or strange expressions, and that they have "inappropriate thoughts" when looking at people. So they have to squint at people or simply close their eyes, and pessimistically believe that "the problem will be solved if I go blind." A female patient complained that the image of a boy's genitals kept appearing in her mind and she could not get rid of it. She felt so ashamed and disgusted that she dared not look at any male person. Some patients have been afraid to look people in the eye for a long time, and always feel that the people in front of them are like shadows with vague and tall outlines. Most patients are afraid to make eye contact with the doctor during their first visit, but instead lower their heads, turn their faces to one side or squint. Careful observation shows that patients with a long course of illness have more wrinkles around their eyes due to the habit of squinting and hiding their gaze, which is inconsistent with their age.

(ii) “Afterglow” terror:

The patient complained that he felt uneasy and afraid when looking at people with the peripheral vision, especially the opposite sex. The patient said that looking at people with the peripheral vision does not mean squinting, but the eyes are fixed on the front while the attention is highly focused on the target in the side vision. Over time, it becomes a habit and is difficult to control, which attracts the attention and disgust of the opposite sex on the side. The patient complained that when looking straight ahead, his eyes diverge and his attention cannot be focused, and the movement or people in the "peripheral vision" become the target of his attention involuntarily. This target is often the opposite sex or the breasts or genitals of the opposite sex. Due to emotional uneasiness, he has to steal a peek to relax, and soon the "peripheral vision" makes his attention distracted again and difficult to control. Some patients are unable to attend classes and have to pile up two piles of books on both sides of the desk or hold their faces with their hands to block their peripheral vision in order to concentrate their vision. Some patients are afraid to look people in the eye at first and can only look at people with their peripheral vision, and looking at people with peripheral vision becomes the main symptom.

(III) Eyes out of control and terror:

The eyes always look around uncontrollably. When looking at people, he feels that others don't want to be looked at, as if they are angry; when looking at other people's hands and feet, the hands and feet seem to be "uncomfortable, avoiding". The patient says that he does not want to disturb others, so he has to shift his gaze to other targets, but immediately feels that this target takes up too much energy, so he has to shift his gaze elsewhere. He keeps shaking his head and cannot concentrate on anything. Other patients always feel as if their eyes are being pulled by someone, moving involuntarily with the people around them, unable to concentrate and feeling deeply distressed. Some patients also feel that their eyeballs cannot move freely, their eyes are stiff and dull, and they look at people rudely. They suspect that there is something wrong with their optic nerves and go to the hospital for repeated examinations, but no organic cause can be found.

Among teenagers between the ages of fifteen or sixteen and around 20, some suffer from a "strange disease". The symptoms are: afraid of making eye contact with others, not daring to speak in crowded places, always thinking that others are staring at them or talking about them. This is a neurosis, which can be called "eye contact phobia" or "social phobia". The patient's characteristics are: tension, uneasiness, distraction, obsessive thoughts, and often accompanied by negative emotions such as anxiety, depression, irritability, and fear.