The idea of confronting others terrifies them and handicaps them in their daily life. Speaking in public is a real test for blemmophobes. This article will help us understand this fear of others and how to overcome it.
Blemmophobia: where does the fear of the gaze of others come from?
It is not uncommon for adolescence to be marked by a lack of confidence and self-esteem. This transition from childhood to adulthood is a special time for teens because it is accompanied by hormonal and bodily upheavals.
This loss of self-confidence could create a fertile ground for the development of blemmophobia: The fear of the gaze of others corresponds to a negative judgment that one carries on oneself, but that one attributes to others. Phobics imagine that people judge their physical appearance.
Sports locker rooms, swimming pool, friendly meetings … A person suffering from blemmophobia avoids all situations that involve his body. Because of these many avoidance behaviors, phobics are often mistaken for reserved or shy people.
However, distinguishing the shyness and phobia in the eyes of others is no easy task. Here’s the difference between the two: You have to pay attention to the degree of cutoff and isolation. The more a person isolates himself, the greater the degree of severity. This is not a situation that he or she is isolated. must be allowed to settle.
Blemmophobia: can it occur in adulthood?
With age, an adult can also be affected by a lack of self-confidence, but they do not deal with it in the same way as a teenager. In adults, blemmophobia can start after a trauma or a particular change. He will succeed in overcoming it thanks to different internal resources.
Take the example of breast cancer with removal of the breast. To overcome their fear of the gaze of others, an adult can use other levers that a teenager does not yet have. Of course, esteem of oneself and the image of the body are attacked, but they were already unified and constituted.
How to overcome the fear of the gaze of others?
Example: find an activity that features the body. Playing sports, theater or meditation allows you to better tame your body and gain self-esteem. Other activities also help cure blemmophobia. For example, by reaching out to others, joining an association or becoming a volunteer.
Another solution that can be recommended: psychoanalysis, which makes it possible to find explanations for the phobia. In some cases, it’s just about self-esteem, so we will try to gain a relationship with oneself and other resources. For others, it is new knots of anxiety that arise. associate with the elders. Psychoanalysis allows us to better understand them.
What is difficult with this phobia is that it does not say itself alone. Before a patient can say ‘No I don’t like people looking at me’, there is a way . The phobic will rather say “no I don’t like people, I don’t want to go outside.” Going to see a psychologist or a psychoanalyst allows you to have a clearer idea on the nature of this anxiety.
Can blemmophobia lead to other phobias?
Due to blemmophobia, other fears may arise or become attached such as agoraphobia. The person is afraid of being in front of people, whether they are relatives or strangers.
Blemmophobia is a disabling but surmountable and often transient fear. It does not necessarily create behaviors of repetitions or obsessions. It is the avoidance behaviors that make it visible and palpable.
Reference: https://eng.doctormazo.com/5879700-blemmophobia-or-fear-of-other-people39s-eyes
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