Scopophobia

Scopophobia, scoptophobia, or ophthalmophobia is an anxiety disorder characterized by a morbid fear of being seen or stared at by others. Scopophobia can also be associated with a pathological fear of drawing attention to oneself.

The term scopophobia comes from the Greek σκοπέω skopeō, "look to, examine", and φόβος phobos, "fear".Ophthalmophobia comes from the Greek ὀφθαλμός ophthalmos, "eye".

History

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".

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.

In 1906 the psychiatric journal The Alienist and Neurologist, described scopophobia:

Scopophobia (DVD)

"Scopophobia" is a DVD release by Therapy? on Eagle Vision, a subsidiary of Eagle Rock Entertainment on 27 October 2003. The bulk of the DVD is a full length 19 track concert recorded live at the Mandela Hall, Belfast on 6 June 2003.

Bonus features include 11 promo video clips, a quick Q&A session with the four band members, and a 30 minute hidden feature following the band on their European tour in May/June 2003 in support of their High Anxiety album.

In 2004, Eagle Vision released a 2-disk limited edition version of the DVD featuring an audio cd of the concert.

Mandela Hall, Belfast 6/6/03