Multi-coloured Iris

Ommetaphobia (also Ommatophobia), is fear of eyes. This phobia can be experienced in a variety of ways, and while for some this can occur at the thought of touching one’s eyes, for others the fear is experienced just by having to look into someone else’s eyes.

As with all phobias, the degree of fear and discomfort experienced by the sufferer can vary, but anyone suffering from ommetaphobia, will feel extreme anxiety, which manifests itself as shortness of breath, dizziness, shaking, palpitations, excessive sweating, nausea and panic attacks. Some people can also have obsessive thoughts about eyes, leading to a constant feeling of heightened anxiety.

The degree of fear experienced by an individual is often dealt with by avoidance strategies, e.g. not having to touch one’s eyes, or avoiding eye contact with others, and while avoidance strategies can be maintained by an individual, the containment of their phobia can be a stressful task impacting on their health. Such a fear as ommetaphobia can also become a problem when an individual has to seek medical help for their eyes and the thought of having to undergo medical procedures on their eyes can be an overwhelming source of distress. It is often at this point that an individual will seek help for their phobia and ommetaphobia can be treated well using hypnosis.

As a hypnotherapist in Kent, I offer tailored hypnotherapy solutions to your problem. If you are experiencing ommetaphobia, then please feel free to contact me to discuss how hypnotherapy may help you overcome your fear. My web address is www.fernberry.co.uk. I’m based at King Street Therapy Rooms, West Malling, near Maidstone, and can be contacted by email on [email protected], or by phone on 07788 767 966.

(Photo from Fotolia – ‘Oeil de profil, iris multicolore’, by Delphimages)

By james

4 thoughts on “Ommetaphobia – Fear of Eyes”
  1. So I have this phobia and I wanted to learn more about it so clicked this and the first thing I see is a close up of an eye…
    For the sake of everyone with this phobia please remove the picture.
    Thanks

  2. I agree with Sally… I was going to say the exact same thing. It's like presenting a photo of a spider to someone with arachnophobia. I just broke down because I got something in my eye and tried for about 2 hours to simply flush it with saline solution, to no avail. It has heightened my feelings of panic about the eye so I decided to look it up to help myself be more at ease…the picture of the eye really made me conscious of the obstruction in my eye, and the fact that I can't do anything about it, making me panic all over again. Please, please remove this photo for future viewers!! 🙁

  3. Yes, please remove the eye picture… I really wanted to learn more about my phobia as well, and, it didn’t make me feel too good.

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