Ommetaphobia (The Fear of Eyes): Signs, Causes, How to Cope

Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsSigns You May Have OmmetaphobiaIs Ommetaphobia Rare?Does Anything Specifically Cause or Trigger Ommetaphobia?How Can My Ommetaphobia Be Treated?How to Cope With Ommetaphobia in Your Daily Life

Table of ContentsView All

View All

Table of Contents

Signs You May Have Ommetaphobia

Is Ommetaphobia Rare?

Does Anything Specifically Cause or Trigger Ommetaphobia?

How Can My Ommetaphobia Be Treated?

How to Cope With Ommetaphobia in Your Daily Life

Ommetaphobia may be related to trypophobia, which is the fear of holes, and some people with trypophobia experience the fear of looking at a cluster of eyes, or images involving many eyes staring back at you.

Here, we’ll take a closer look at ommetaphobia, along with expert tips on what symptoms look like, what may cause it, and what you can do to experience relief from the stress and anxiety of having an extreme fear of eyes.

Specific Phobia DSM-5 Diagnostic Criteria

People who have ommetaphobia will experience high levels of fear or stress surrounding eyes, and situations involving eyes. Usually that anxiety will be experienced immediately or soon after exposure. People with ommetaphobia go to great lengths to avoid exposure to thoughts, images, or situations involving the eyes.

To be diagnosed with ommetaphobia or any type of specific phobia, you usually have to have experienced these fears for six months or more.

Ryan Sultan, MD,a psychiatrist specializing in anxiety disorders and aprofessor at Columbia University, says that signs of ommetaphobia will vary from one person to another. Commonsigns and symptomsusually involve the following:

Children who experience ommetaphobia may not be able to articulate their fears. In many cases, their symptoms may show up as crying, increased tantrums, and being generally more clingy. Children may also seek to avoid situations or images that focus on the eyes.

What Is Bathmophobia?

Research has found that 3%-15% of the worldwide population experiences a specific phobia like ommetaphobia. According toLancet Psychiatry, the most common specific phobias are fear ofheightsand fears involving animals.

Ommetaphobia is relatively rare compared to other phobias. In my practice, I’ve encountered it, but it’s not as common as other specific phobias like arachnophobia or claustrophobia.—RYAN SULTAN, MD, PSYCHIATRIST

Ommetaphobia is relatively rare compared to other phobias. In my practice, I’ve encountered it, but it’s not as common as other specific phobias like arachnophobia or claustrophobia.

—RYAN SULTAN, MD, PSYCHIATRIST

Dr. Sultan says that ommetaphobia is one of the least common specific phobias. “Ommetaphobia is relatively rare compared to other phobias,” he says. “In my practice, I’ve encountered it, but it’s not as common as other specific phobias like arachnophobia or claustrophobia.”

Understanding Illyngophobia or the Fear of Vertigo

The precise cause of ommetaphobia or other specific phobias is unknown. It’s thought that both heredity and environmental factors contribute. Usually, something traumatic or distressing happens in your life involving the thing you fear, and then you become conditioned to continue to betriggeredeach time you encounter it.

In the case of ommetaphobia, a trigger is usually a traumatic event relating to the eyes, Dr. Sultan says. “This could be a personal experience or witnessing a distressing event involving eyes,” he describes. “However, the exact cause can vary greatly among individuals.”

Factors That May Increase Your Risk of Developing Ommetaphobia

While anyone can develop a phobia, certain individuals are more prone to it than others. For example:

10 of the Most Common Phobias

Experiencing a phobia like ommetaphobia can make life challenging. You may feelashamedof how you feel.

CBT helps individuals understand and change thought patterns that lead to fear and anxiety.—RYAN SULTAN, MD, PSYCHIATRIST

CBT helps individuals understand and change thought patterns that lead to fear and anxiety.

Many people lack hope that they will ever get over their fear. These are common feelings to have, and you should know that you aren’t alone in feeling this way. Importantly, there is hope.

There are effective and compassionate treatments out there for ommetaphobia.

According to Dr. Sultan, the two most effective therapies for ommetaphobia are cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) and exposure therapy.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT)is a kind of behavioral and mindfulness therapy commonly used to treat phobias. “CBT helps individuals understand and change thought patterns that lead to fear and anxiety,” Dr. Sultan explains.

Exposure Therapy

Exposure therapy, which is a type of cognitive behavioral therapy, is particularly helpful in managing ommetaphobia, says Dr. Sultan. This type of therapy “involves gradual and repeated exposure to the fear-inducing object (in this case, eyes) until the fear response decreases,” Dr. Sultan describes.

Other types of therapy, although less effective, that may be used to treat ommetaphobia and other phobias include:

Taijin Kyofusho, A Culture-Bound Social Phobia

Getting through your day to day life with ommetaphobia can be difficult. There may be many situations that trigger your fears, and you may constantly feel on guard to protect yourself from being in a situation where you may have to think about or be required to focus intently on eyes.

Dr. Sultan shared his top tips for coping with phobias in your day-to-day life:

5 SourcesVerywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Garcia R.Neurobiology of fear and specific phobias. Learning  and Memory. 2017;24(9):462-471. doi:10.1101/lm.044115.116Chaya K, Xue Y, Uto Y, et al.Fear of eyes: triadic relation among social anxiety, trypophobia, and discomfort for eye cluster. PeerJ. 2016;4:e1942. doi:10.7717/peerj.1942Samra CK, Abdijadid S.Specific Phobia. StatPearls Publishing.Eaton WW, Bienvenu OJ, Miloyan B.Specific phobias. Lancet Psychiatry. 2018;5(8):678-686. doi:10.1016/S2215-0366(18)30169-XAnxiety and Depression Association of America.Anxiety Disorders - Facts & Statistics.

5 Sources

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Garcia R.Neurobiology of fear and specific phobias. Learning  and Memory. 2017;24(9):462-471. doi:10.1101/lm.044115.116Chaya K, Xue Y, Uto Y, et al.Fear of eyes: triadic relation among social anxiety, trypophobia, and discomfort for eye cluster. PeerJ. 2016;4:e1942. doi:10.7717/peerj.1942Samra CK, Abdijadid S.Specific Phobia. StatPearls Publishing.Eaton WW, Bienvenu OJ, Miloyan B.Specific phobias. Lancet Psychiatry. 2018;5(8):678-686. doi:10.1016/S2215-0366(18)30169-XAnxiety and Depression Association of America.Anxiety Disorders - Facts & Statistics.

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

Garcia R.Neurobiology of fear and specific phobias. Learning  and Memory. 2017;24(9):462-471. doi:10.1101/lm.044115.116Chaya K, Xue Y, Uto Y, et al.Fear of eyes: triadic relation among social anxiety, trypophobia, and discomfort for eye cluster. PeerJ. 2016;4:e1942. doi:10.7717/peerj.1942Samra CK, Abdijadid S.Specific Phobia. StatPearls Publishing.Eaton WW, Bienvenu OJ, Miloyan B.Specific phobias. Lancet Psychiatry. 2018;5(8):678-686. doi:10.1016/S2215-0366(18)30169-XAnxiety and Depression Association of America.Anxiety Disorders - Facts & Statistics.

Garcia R.Neurobiology of fear and specific phobias. Learning  and Memory. 2017;24(9):462-471. doi:10.1101/lm.044115.116

Chaya K, Xue Y, Uto Y, et al.Fear of eyes: triadic relation among social anxiety, trypophobia, and discomfort for eye cluster. PeerJ. 2016;4:e1942. doi:10.7717/peerj.1942

Samra CK, Abdijadid S.Specific Phobia. StatPearls Publishing.

Eaton WW, Bienvenu OJ, Miloyan B.Specific phobias. Lancet Psychiatry. 2018;5(8):678-686. doi:10.1016/S2215-0366(18)30169-X

Anxiety and Depression Association of America.Anxiety Disorders - Facts & Statistics.

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