Status: Having just re-read this, I realised what absolute b*llocks it is. I may or may not rewrite it. Either that or I'll take it down, but for now it's in limbo. :)
Optophobia.
If you are reading this then you have your eyes open. You notice the different colors on this page. If you look around the room you in you will notice textures, hues and tones. For some individuals the very act of opening your eyes brings fear. Therapists refer to this fear as Optophobia.
You might wonder what would cause an individual to fear seeing the world around them. It may be hard to imagine an individual unwilling to drink in the color of a spring flower, artistic painting or the face of a loved one. Yet there are those who struggle with this fear everyday.
It is entirely possible to visit with an optophobe and discover they have no recognition of when the fear started. What they do know is that they fear opening their eyes.
There may actually be many reasons for this fear. It is possible the fear was introduced by watching a horror movie where closing the eyes was the only way to block out the fear of what they observed on the screen.
Watching a sporting event where someone got hurt may also trigger the desire to keep eyes closed to avoid fear responses.
In many ways the fear of opening the eyes may actually be the body’s responds to fear avoidance. By taking this route it then becomes a new source for fear.
It is also possible that the person who has this fear struggles with ‘what if’. They struggle with opening their eyes because there are things they simply do not want to see. If they open their eyes they are convinced they will see the object of their fear.
from http://www.fearofstuff.com/humans/fear-of-opening-your-eyes/
Entrant for Alexander Bernadotte's Phobia Contest.
Word Count: 607
Character Count: 3133
You might wonder what would cause an individual to fear seeing the world around them. It may be hard to imagine an individual unwilling to drink in the color of a spring flower, artistic painting or the face of a loved one. Yet there are those who struggle with this fear everyday.
It is entirely possible to visit with an optophobe and discover they have no recognition of when the fear started. What they do know is that they fear opening their eyes.
There may actually be many reasons for this fear. It is possible the fear was introduced by watching a horror movie where closing the eyes was the only way to block out the fear of what they observed on the screen.
Watching a sporting event where someone got hurt may also trigger the desire to keep eyes closed to avoid fear responses.
In many ways the fear of opening the eyes may actually be the body’s responds to fear avoidance. By taking this route it then becomes a new source for fear.
It is also possible that the person who has this fear struggles with ‘what if’. They struggle with opening their eyes because there are things they simply do not want to see. If they open their eyes they are convinced they will see the object of their fear.
from http://www.fearofstuff.com/humans/fear-of-opening-your-eyes/
Entrant for Alexander Bernadotte's Phobia Contest.
Word Count: 607
Character Count: 3133