“What if someone is trying to steal my identity?”
“What if people saw me Googling those shameful things?”
“What if a camera was in that hotel bathroom, and people watched me shower naked?”
Without any real evidence that you’re being watched, you might think having thoughts like these could be signs of paranoia.
Paranoia, however, is not a stand-alone condition. It’s a symptom of several other disorders, including paranoid schizophrenia, delusional disorder, and paranoid personality disorder. That said, repeatedly asking yourself “what if” questions like the ones listed above can indicate other mental health disorders, such as scopophobia and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).
In this article, we’ll look into what this fear entails, how to tell if it’s a sign of a mental health problem like an anxiety disorder, specific phobia, or OCD, and how you can seek treatment to manage these fears and focus on other aspects of your life.
Is feeling like you’re being watched a normal experience?
Before diving into what the fear of being watched entails, it’s important to understand that this type of fear is not always a sign of a mental health disorder. “Everybody has that feeling at some point in time that they’re being watched or if they’ve done something that would draw attention to themselves,” says Patrick McGrath, PhD, NOCD’s Chief Clinical Officer.
On the flip side, Dr. McGrath says there are signs that a fear of being watched could be a more serious problem. “If you keep checking and find no evidence, but you still think someone’s watching you, it could be a sign of a more serious health concern,” he explains.
What is a fear of being watched?
Fear of being watched is a specific phobia known as scopophobia or scoptophobia. Specific phobias are anxiety disorders that cause intense, irrational fears of something that poses little to no threat. While scopophobia is not currently recognized in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th Edition, it can meet the diagnostic criteria for specific phobias, including social anxiety disorder (SAD) or social phobia.
If you’re scopophobic, you may experience the following symptoms related to SAD:
- Being unable to make eye contact with other people.
- Having a fear of being negatively perceived by others.
- Having a stiff posture when you’re around other people.
- Feeling like your mind is going blank.
- Physical symptoms related to an anxiety or panic attack, such as increased heart rate, shaking, sweating, or dry mouth.
To cope with a fear of being judged, people who are scopophobic may do avoidance behaviors, which are any actions they may take to avoid any situations that can cause significant distress.
Some examples of avoidance behaviors specific to scopophobia or social phobia include:
- Avoiding eye contact with others.
- Avoiding situations where you might be the center of attention.
- Skipping out on or leaving social gatherings early.
Other mental health conditions tied to a fear of being watched
In addition to scopophobia, there are other mental health disorders associated with a fear of people looking at you. These include:
Paranoia and psychotic disorders
As mentioned earlier, an intense fear of being watched could be a sign of paranoia and/or a psychotic disorder. Paranoia is intense anxiety or fear related to a perceived threat, persecution, or conspiracy. Psychotic disorders are a group of severe mental health disorders characterized by psychotic symptoms, which are typically described as someone losing touch with reality.
“There are people who have paranoia that get really overwhelmed with this idea that there’s somebody out there who’s watching them,” Dr. McGrath says. “Some even go to the length of calling the police on people because they think that people are following them or that they’re doing things purposely to annoy them or get under their skin.”
While there are varying degrees of paranoia, severe paranoia (also known as persecutory delusions) is typically a sign of psychosis and certain mental health disorders—such as paranoid schizophrenia, delusional disorder, and paranoid personality disorder.
Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)
Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a treatable mental health disorder that causes a cycle of two symptoms: obsessions and compulsions. Obsessions are intrusive thoughts, images, urges, feelings, and/or sensations that cause significant fear and anxiety. Compulsions are physical or mental actions done to prevent something bad from happening and lower distress levels.
In his practice, Dr. McGrath hasn’t treated someone with OCD with only a fear of being watched, but he does see it as something that can co-occur with certain themes or subtypes of OCD, such as hit-and-run OCD.
Hit-and-run OCD revolves around obsessions and compulsions about hitting someone or something while driving. “Let’s say you’re afraid that you’ve run someone over with your car,” Dr. McGrath says. “You go back and check and happen to see a police officer drive by. You might think, ‘There’s proof they’re looking for me. They’re out to get me.’ So, it’s really a fear related to thinking you might have done something, and now you’re worried that they’re going to catch you.”
Here’s how a fear of being watched intertwines with other OCD subtypes:
Harm OCD
This theme of OCD involves disproportionate fear about harming others or being harmed yourself. Obsessions might be triggered by an intrusive thought about a stranger stealing your identity, a persistent worry that people are out to get you, or a random memory of someone laughing as they passed you on the street: What if they were laughing at me? It may also come from an awareness of security cameras around your neighborhood or city.
Responsibility OCD
This OCD subtype involves excessive feelings of responsibility and guilt. You may have intrusive thoughts that you are responsible for preventing harm or bad outcomes to others, including being observed falling short of that responsibility. This may lead you to compulsive behaviors to ensure safety and proper behavior.
Scrupulosity OCD
Scrupulosity OCD is characterized by intrusive thoughts about sin, blasphemy, or ethical transgressions. You may fear that any perceived wrongdoing is being watched by others or a higher power, leading to compulsive rituals such as excessive prayer or seeking reassurance from religious figures or others you see as leaders of ethical systems you subscribe to, such as veganism.
Relationship OCD
This subtype revolves around persistent doubts and fears about romantic relationships. If you have relationship OCD (ROCD), you might constantly question your feelings for your partner or obsess over being in the “perfect” relationship. You could have fears about your partner seeing you watch pornography or worry that talking to an attractive person will somehow be taken out of context by your partner.
Schizophrenia OCD
Schizophrenia OCD involves intrusive thoughts about developing schizophrenia. You may feel like you’re losing contact with reality and start becoming highly self-conscious because you feel others are watching you. This OCD subtype can lead to compulsions like excessively researching schizophrenia or mentally reviewing social interactions and others’ reactions to your behaviors.
How to deal with a fear of being watched
Good news—if you’re experiencing an intense fear of being watched, there’s help available. Here’s a look at what treatment might entail for paranoia, scopophobia, and OCD.
Treating paranoia
Before recommending treatment, a mental health professional will do an assessment of your symptoms to determine if you’re showing signs of real paranoia.
“If someone is afraid of being watched, we first want to rule out other forms of paranoia,” says Dr. McGrath. “Does this person truly believe they’re being watched? People with actual delusions truly believe that their fear is real, whereas someone with OCD usually knows that their fears don’t actually hold up to scrutiny; they have more insight into their condition.”
If you’re experiencing paranoia alongside an underlying mental health condition, your treatment may involve a combination of talk therapy and medications.
If someone is afraid of being watched, we first want to rule out other forms of paranoia. Does this person truly believe they’re being watched? People with actual delusions truly believe that their fear is real, whereas someone with OCD usually knows that their fears don’t actually hold up to scrutiny; they have more insight into their condition.
Patrick McGrath, PhD
Exposure and response prevention (ERP) therapy for phobias and OCD
For a phobia of being watched or OCD, exposure and response prevention (ERP) therapy is the recommended treatment for managing your fears. It is an evidence-based therapy supported by research to be the most effective for OCD and phobias. In fact, research shows that ERP improves symptoms for 80% of people with OCD and 80-90% of people with phobias.
As the name suggests, ERP involves exposing you to situations, objects, or thoughts that trigger your obsessions while preventing you from engaging in your usual compulsive responses—known as response prevention techniques.
A trained ERP therapist will begin by helping you identify the specific obsessions and compulsions you experience and developing a list of triggers for exposure exercises, ranked from least to most distressing. Sessions will involve gradually exposing you to these triggers, starting with the easiest ones, and you’ll be guided to resist your usual compulsive behaviors and learn to tolerate the resulting discomfort.
“If people have hit-and-run fears, I want them to drive and hit potholes, and I don’t want them to drive around the block and look,” Dr. McGrath says. “I might even have them purposely drive past the police station if they’re afraid that the police are looking for them.”
Repeated exercises teach you to break the cycle of obsessions and compulsions, and your worries about being watched will gradually become less distressing—and likely less frequent.
Find the right OCD therapist for you
All our therapists are licensed and trained in exposure and response prevention therapy (ERP), the gold standard treatment for OCD.
Many of us get that feeling or sensation that someone’s watching us now and then—it’s quite a normal experience. However, this feeling can crossover into something more serious if you constantly fear being watched. If your fears affect your daily life, please consider contacting a therapist. They can help identify the cause of your fears and recommend the best treatments to manage your symptoms.
Key Takeaways:
- An intense fear of being watched is known as a specific phobia called scopophobia.
- In addition to scopophobia, paranoia, a symptom of several psychotic disorders, and OCD are also linked to an intense fear of being watched.
- Depending on the underlying mental health issue, treatment for paranoia can involve a mixture of therapy and medication. Exposure and response prevention (ERP) therapy is the recommended treatment for phobias and OCD.