Can you imagine looking into a mirror and having an anxiety attack? Many pe
ople suffer from Eisoptrophobia and mirrors can literally cause them to have an anxiety attack. Eisoptrophobia is the abnormal and persistent fear of mirrors. It is also known as Catoptrophobia.This phobia is often caused by superstitions and movies. Some fear that breaking a mirror will bring them bad luck or that looking into a mirror will summon the supernatural. Some also feel that they are being watched through the mirror. No matter the cause or how irrational the fear is, it is very real to those who suffer from it.
I know of a few movies that use mirrors to create fear among the viewers. One in particular had me freaked out for a while, but my fear was nothing close to what those with Eisoptrophobia have to deal with. If this phobia is part of your life I would like to hear more about it from your perspective.
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100 comments:
Salutations.
I have only recently discovered that I have this phobia. Frankly, all my life, I thought it was ridiculous that I couldn't look into a mirror without being nervous. Now, just to clarify, I guess that my phobia is in an extremely mild form, because I don't suffer anxiety, or have panic attacks when I view a mirror.
Also, this comes more from a supernatural aspect, rather than a psychological one for me. I have discovered that staring into fake mirrors, or cheap little dollar store mirrors do nothing at all. It's just that when I look into mirrors, I'm not afraid of seeing myself, because what I see, isn't really me.
Let me explain, at the risk of sounding like a lunatic. When I was young, around the 13/14 mark (I'm 26 now) I had an EXTREMELY bad experience with a 90 year old spirit board. Long story short, since that age, let's just say that I am an open vessel to the supernatural. Since that night, certain things in my life have changed, like my problem with mirrors.
Almost immediately after my experience, I noticed that I felt wierd in front of mirrors, but I never paid it any attention. Then one day, I stopped, and started paying attention. The reflection I see is physically of me, but the 'persona' behind the eyes (in the reflection) is not me. Those eyes are cold, and cruel, and inhuman. There is a strange feeling of intimidation I feel from this foreign creature staring back at me. And the worst part is that it knows that I am aware of it's presence.
Frankly, reading what I just wrote, I even think it's crazy. But I don't know how to explain it any better than this:
Go up to a mirror. Get close to it, and press your forehead against the glass. Stare into your own reflections eyes for as long as you can, without blinking. Focus, and concentrate. When you blink, do it all over again.
Do this 3 or 4 times, and suddenly, when you are so focussed on not blinking, take a look, and you'll see something else staring back at you.
This is my world every time I stare into a glass mirror.
Winklerandco@aol.com
hello wonderful post here
Its been since over a year, I have stopped completely looking eye to eye in a mirror that too a full length mirror . But none of those superstitions but i feel that i am weakened in some way when i stare at my own eyes and become more consious about myself.
I also feel like i cant make effective communication to people around me , but i think i am emotionally unstable , since i lot my dad when i was 15 years old , since then there has been not been any men in my life and i think the love and care i miss is showing up as this phobia .
I have tried very hard to come over it but every time i pass a mirror at my bedroom i try to be positive and glaze at it but cant close my eyes and just walk away , this is a daily affair .
But my family dosent know it not even my mother , Most of all I avoid mirrors on my own account and its probably they cant guess it .
I dont know if its very serious or not but i am not prepared to stare in a full length , mirror or mirrors for all my life.
Cant get over it guess its the phobia for sure.
You can contact me if you think you could help me , anyone is free to help
my email THARANIROBUSTER@gmail.com
I have catoptrophobia. I cannot look at a mirror for literally more than two or three seconds at once. I also find it hard to explain, but I think Winklerandco put it into good words: about the "something else staring back." I also cannot stand to see things being reflected into a mirror or see things backwards. They have to be noticeably backwards though, i.e. letters, numbers, photos / drawing that I am familiar with, etc...
Seeing backwards letters on signs and things is something that is EXTREMELY unsettling to me. I don't why. But this fear is severe enough for me to dictate my choice of gas station, restaurant etc...
Hope you found my story interesting.
Sean
I have had anxiety attacks my whole life, right along with Nightmares and not the typical nightmares ones that are multi levels where I think I am awake yet I am still dreaming and its like 5 levels deep, I have learned to wake myself up by saying in the dream (or screaming) wake up wake up, and I do only to find that I am right back in the dream starting off at the same point. I have a Horrible fear of Mirrors but only in the dark......I cannot be in a dark room with a mirror at all, and I absolutely cannot look at one if its dark. If I watch a movie where a mirror is the element I jump right into a panic attack. I am 42 yrs old and have never been able to over come or figure out why this is happening to me. Just writing this and reading some of the posts is scaring the crap outta me. Don't know why I am posting here just felt compelled too. So I did. What can I do to stop this maddness, been to therapy been on Meds tried everything just cannot stop it from happening....
I've had this phobia for.. as long as i can remember. I'm 25. Female.
Mine has NOT spawned from the paranormal or horror films.. infact, i adore both of those subjects.
Mine is most likely from years of abuse. Begining from when i was very young child. first two boyfriends.. blah blah.. lots of rape. so many different forms of abuse its useless to list.. I also have PTSD from this.
With me, Mirrors are pretty much non existent around my house. I have them in bathrooms but i walk in sideways so i dont have to look. full length mirrors are NEVER around me. and NO PHOTOS. not even voice recordings.. anything reflective, a shiney car, someones sunglasses, even if i can see myself in a reflection of someones eyeballs.. i cannot handle it. CANT.
For me, all i see is disgust. A horrible repulsive monster. I see the definition of ugly. Revolting. Nausiating. Pathetic. Jagged... Thing. It freaks me out. if i can see it - i'm afriad others can as well.
I've manged to be able to "fool myself" a bit so i can wear make up for school or work etc.. other then that.. no mirrors. no reflections...
and i'm a Cosmetologist!!
I'm really. really. tired of it.
I want to thank everyone for sharing their stories! It makes it so much easier for those who don't have phobias to understand why certain things are so troubling. Hang in there everyone...you are stronger than your phobia!
Hello,
I never really realized it, but I have this fear as well. For me, it is mostly with mirrors in the dark. I think on a subconscious level, this fear stems from some horror movie I probably saw when I was younger. The times I've noticed that I suffer from this fear the most is when I'm in hotel rooms. If the hotel room I'm sleeping in has a mirror facing the bed, I will attempt to take the mirror down if it's possible to do so. Other than that, the only mirrors in my apartment are the ones in the bathrooms. And even then, they still make me a little uneasy every time I walk into the bathroom with the light off.
I have this phobia. It was so sever at its worst that I had to cover mirrors at nightfall or take them off the wall and turn them around. On occasions I would become so scared that if I woke in the night needing the bathroom I was not able to walk there for fear of passing a reflective surface. I collapsed into tears at University (aged 24) as 'friends' knowing my phobia locked me in a dark room with an exposed mirror. I was so afraid it triggered an asthma attack and I almost had an accident. However - an aquaintance who is a practising hypnotherapist was 'practising' on me one day and asked what held me back most in life. While hypnotised I told him about this fear and he heped me to deal with it. Whilst I still cant look into a mirror in the dark (I'm fine in the daylight) I can now walk through a room with one in. I feel a little uneasy but it is managable. I hope this inspired some of you to try hypnotherapy - I didnt believe in it until this.
Hello there.
I am a 19 year old female and I too have only recently dicovered that I have a very mild form of this phobia.
I cover all of my mirrors in my room at night, and also close doors to the lounge if the other rooms have mirrors in them that I can see. I am also afraid of looking outside into the darkness through windows, which is unfortunate seeing as a lot of my house consists of large windows and glass doors. I believe my fear is based on superstition and even though I feel very uneasy and afraid, I can still face a mirror in the dark and look through a window at night. I believe my fears are based on fears of the unknown or fear of seeing something I don't want to see.
I am just now fessing up to my fear. I am terrified of mirrors at night. There are absoulty no mirrors in my bedroom at all! There is a mirror in the bathroom and a bigger size one in the livingroom. I feel that I am being watched. It frightens me beyond belief. I know that it's just a mirror, but I guess in my mind it's so much more. I know I am being watched but by whom or what I am unsure. I guess I really need some help. any suggestions?
I'm not sure if I have this phobia or not but mirrors do make me uneasy. I used to love them, because I am an artist, and I loved drawing mirror pictures- example being, one picture I created was of a woman looking into a mirror, but in her reflection, she is bruised and bleeding, which is meant to represent herself after being abused. Another shows a half-starved young woman looking into a mirror and seeing an overweight woman looking back at her. This is meant to represent anorexia. The purpose of this collection of paintings and sketches is to express through art the feeling of not seeing yourself clearly, or not resembling on the outside who you are on the inside.
I rather liked mirrors, and considered them symbolic and beautiful.
What changed that was the day I looked into the mirror and suddenly realized that I, in fact was, someone else, other than than who I saw in the mirror. My reflection was not myself. I became aware that, without realizing it, I had created that art to express how I felt, not how others felt, as I had originally thought.
Now when I look in mirrors I get a strange feeling. It's unsettling to me that the person in the reflection is what people see when they look at me, and that that person is not real. It doesn't really make sense, but it's almost like I can't convince myself that the 'mirror girl' is me, that she is alive. It's almost like I consider us to be to separate beings.
I choose not to look at mirrors lately, but when this first occurred I could not look at them at all. It was very nice to read other people comments on here. I thought maybe I was the only one, haha.
I am a 25 year old male, and just recently realized that I do not like to see my reflection. I'm do not struggle with weight or feel that I am ugly, I just don't like the presence of my reflection.
I am awkward around mirrors. I can relate to the feeling (that others have expressed) of not wanting to look into my eyes when faced with a mirror. I don't think I so much fear my reflection, I just don't like it. I can also relate to the feeling that the person in the mirror/reflection is not me. It's like I saw my self at one point in my adolescence and thought I would look like that forever or something.
On occasion, when I do look at myself in the mirror, (not to sound arrogant but)its not that I am not disappointed...more confused I guess.
On reflection of all of this I think my phobia/condition my have started when I was a kid. I was raised in a religious family, and pride was to be avoided. I think as a kid I thought that if I looked at mirrors too much I might become arrogant or something.
Thanks to all those who have commented
Today has been extremely enlightening for me.
I have suffered from to different conditions of years and not known it.
one is Scrupulosity, which is a form of OCD that causes compulsive prayer.
The other is Eisoptrophobia: The Fear of Mirrors.
I honestly thought this was just me being ridiculous, and didn't think anyone els suffered from this. I considered it a phobia but never knew there was a name for it.
I also thought that most of the commented stories would be of mirrors breaking or bloody mary/candy man type stories.
I was shocked to find many of the stories are similar to mine.
I too, since I was incredibly young have had trouble looking in mirrors. I can brush my hair and put on makeup and even check myself out in mirrors, this is not a debilitating form of the phobia for me, unlike my ocd.
However, when I cannot focus on myself in the mirror, or look myself in the eyes. I too feel as if someone or something that is a separate entity from myself is staring back. I have even been so com pulsed as to verbalize a protest against the foreign entity staring at me.
Much like the others, my physical appearance is of me, that I do not doubt, it is more like a presence or as I said entity that is separate from the inanimate object of the mirror, or of myself.
In addition to this, I fear that in some way this entity will show itself by making some movement contrary to what I do or turn itself about, I have a hard time watching movies that portray these types of scenarios.
Another aspect of this phobia for me, may be partly because of other phobias of the dark and of restrooms. Basically, I cannot stand to be in a restroom by myself or flush a toilet with out bolting out of the stall,washing my hands and rushing out. (it takes a lot of effort just to remain long enough to wash my hands) Now this is mostly in unfamiliar places not in my own home, however if there is a mirror in the bathroom the fear is intensified ten fold. And 100 times that if it is dark.
I will even go so far as to close the bathroom door to my bedroom before going to sleep as just the thought of the mirror, in the dark or otherwise, having viewable access to where I am.
This is the first and only time I have ever fully admitted the aspects of my phobia. Thank You. I hope this helps others as well!
I've always had this phobia since as long as I can remember. It has nothing to do with the superstition of spirits associated with mirrors, I just never can stand to see my reflection. Same thing goes with pictures and movies of myself. For whatever reason I get this really weird feeling when I look at myself. I think, "that is who I am" and it scares me. I've never understood why I'm like this. Could it have something to do with genetics? This fear was never associated with a traumatizing event (unless you can have one as a baby and carry it with you forever...)
I have a fear that when I look at a mirror in the dark I will see something different like a deformed face-mine-or like that game bloody Mary I will see someone trying to kill me, or I will look into a mirror and see a person standing behind me. I always watch scary movies so a lot of my fear comes from movies. My bathroom is in the hallway and when the door is open you can see the mirror. And even if the light is on, I have to look away because of what I think I will see if I look. But the weird thing is I love to look at myself in mirrors. I just can't turn away or else i will be scared again when i look back in the mirror.
Hello, I'm 23 years old. I've been horrified of mirrors since I was a little girl. I remember going to the fair and I went into the Fun House, my dad had to come in and get me. I couldn't move, breath, or think. I just told him I was lost and got scared.
Supernatural things I can believe. I don't know how to explain the things I see but only in mirrors. I remember I was 9yrs old I woke up to go to the bathroom. I looked into the mirror and my face changed. My eyes where blue, which is impossible because I was born with very dark brown eyes. I freaked out and had a pantic attack. Later in life I told my mom that I was afraid of mirrors and not just any mirror but also picture frames where I can see my reflection, sometimes reflection in water too. My mom quit putting mirrors in the house. I don't believe in the 7 yrs bad luck, I've broken A LOT of mirrors from fear.
I remember I freaked my mom out when I was 15 I got my driver's permint and I wouldn't use the mirror on the car. Yeah, she didn't like that. I still have a hard time.
However, now that I understand what is wrong with me I've tired to work with the mirrors. When I put my make-up on, I start piece by piece. Then I'll walk out of the bathroom and into my room for something, then walk back to the bathroom, etc.. I only blow dry my hair in my bedroom. I would love for this to go away but it won't. People have always said to face your fears to help make it go away... Well, phobias are not the same as normal fears. With a phobia you can work around it. I do it everyday and sometimes I have a small panic attack still but I'm trying to make my life just a little easier on that part.
The other thing that is weird is movies with mirrors in it. It doesn't have to be a scary movie. My heart will skip a beat. Then I have to tell myself, "it's just a movie".
Something else I just remembered was when I was 21, I was living with my boyfriend of the time. And I dropped my eyeliner on the floor I went to pick it up. When I came back to the mirror I saw what I thought was a shadow and started swinging at it. That's when I heard my boyfriend say, "It's me! It's me! Stop hitting me!" That happened again. He told me, "you know what I'm not messing with you when you are in the bathroom."
I think I may have eisoptrophobia. I have this aversion to mirrors that has been steadily growing over the past few years. I'm 14, and the first time I remember looking into a mirror uneasily was when I was about 12, maybe 11. I used to have mirrors in my room- a rectangular one that hung on the wall and a hand mirror- but I took them both down. Now the only mirror I have in my room is the little one along the back of my jewelry box, but that one's okay, because I can't see it through the frosted doors, and even when the doors are open, my face is all I can see from a normal distance.
I guess my fear is what may be behind me. I read horror books and watch scary movies, but they never scare me until I look in a mirror, even if there's not a mention of mirrors in the entire work.
winklerlandco, I know what you mean about seeing something other than yourself. This only happens to me occasionally, and usually only out of the corner of my eye. I guess I'm lucky; I didn't realize some people have it happen all the time.
Great, now I'm all freaked out that that'll start happening to me, too.
My mother recently had my bathroom painted teal. Well, I say recently, but it was about a month and a half ago. We took the mirror down from above the sink so we could get behind it (obviously), and we haven't put it back up yet. I'm totally cool with that- the fewer mirrors I have to encounter daily, the better. I do my hair and makeup in my jewelry box mirror, and it works fine, so I don't really need that mirror.
I don't get scared as much as really anxious- I turn around to make sure nothing else is there behind me. I don't do this anywhere except in front of mirrors. Maybe I don't have mirror anxiety as much as anxiety of what the mirror may not be reflecting. Anyone care to psychoanalyze me?
I'm hoping it's a little thing that i might grow out of, but i really don't like being around mirrors, thinking too much about them, and especially seeing them, i'm 14. I can't remember the last time i looked into the mirror without feeling uneasy, it's hard to explain but i look into a mirror and i hate looking at my eyes, i'm afraid of my own eyes when i'm near a mirror, it's scary to see them. there is only one thing worse than looking at my own eyes in a mirror, and that is not looking at the mirror at all, if there is a mirror in the room or in the hallway i feel like there is something in it, looking at me until i check, and that is why if there is a mirror nearby i have to watch it at all times. i keep the doors closed so i know i cant see it, it doesn't matter if it is dark or light, if i'm alone or not. It has nothing to do with superstition, but they make my heart race.
I am somewhat afraid of mirrors. I try to avoid being visible in a mirror, because I fear what my reflection may do out of my sight. If I do have to be visible in a mirror, I retain eye contact with my reflection the whole time. I don't let it out of my sight.
The reason why I say somewhat is that it doesn't always occur to me to fear mirrors. I've been in shops before and felt ok looking into a mirror at myself, to check out a hat or try on a jacket. I'm normally better if others are around. But it'll suddenly occur to me that I'm looking at my reflection and suddenly I'll feel afraid. Half way through getting changed in one fitting room, it occured to me I was surrounded by mirrors. I couldn't look at all of them at once. I had to stand with my back against the door to get as much of the mirrors in my view as possible.
My fear is mostly formed from one horror trailer I saw on TV: Mirrors. I have never seen the film, but the trailer was enough to make me fear my reflection.
so, im 13 years old. female, and i cant look into a mirror without having a panic attack. i cant even see my own reflection in the fishtank, light bulb, picture frame... i just dont know what to do anymore.. the wiered thing is, i dont know how i got it. i've just had it for as long as i can remember.
ohh, btw, it's not frm movies.
mmkayy.
well ive always been a little uneasy around mirrors. i think it might have started in elementary school when i first heard the whole "bloody mary" myth. now im 17 and for the most part ive managed to get over it, until recently.
i received a picture message from my friend not too long ago (which is normal) where she was leaning against the bathroom mirror and everything in the reflection was the same except that her eyes were closed and she was pale. she informed me that she didnt tamper with it in any way. my friend is like a sister to me and would never lie. plus, she isnt exactly a computer wizard.
my mom is a psychic and said that there were negative entities messing with her. since then my fear has resurfaced. im afraid that when i look in the mirror i will see something that isnt supposed to be there or a slight difference in the reflection than in whats in real life.
also, looking out a window when its dark outside is a bit troubling because that strikes the fear of seeing something i dont want to.
It's sort of comforting to know I'm not the only one with this fear. I'm another one of the sort that can handle mirrors and reflective surfaces by day, but I'm absolutely terrified by them in the dark. I always knew I was uneasy with them, but I never really realized that I was actually afraid until a few years ago, when I was washing my face in the bathroom before bed and the power went out. I was so afraid that I didn't even think to open the door- all I could do was stand there and scream.
I'm not entirely sure where the fear comes from. A friend suggested that it could stem from the Bloody Mary thing we heard about in elementary school. I think that's entirely possible, but I can't tell for sure, because I don't know what it is I'm afraid of. I don't expect to see something coming out of the mirror to kill me, or seeing myself deformed, or that I'm summoning spirits or something. I'm just afraid, and I don't know why.
i have been having this phobia for a while now i cannot enter a room with a mirror either in the day or night at night my phobia is at its worst i have taken out all the mirrors in my house and all electroinc devices in my house have anti-reflectiv coating my phobia stems from the supernatural urban myths and when i look in to a mirror accidentaly (never intentionally)i see my evil and dark side the monster in the mirror is aware of my precence and i have had a hallucination in which the evil side of me has talked to me i am really freaked out when i see a mirror i either cannot sleep for weeks together or have evil nightmares of my body controlled by my subconcious getting out of my house and killing everyone i have even once looked into a mirror and had a panic attack and passed out for a week i woke up in the hospital where my friend had taken me to i dont even go out from my house any more for fear of seeing a reflective material i have left work to be a betatester for video games which are shipped from all over the world to my house for groceries i send a friend to buy stuff for me i could use help in getting over this phobia so any suggestions are welcome
Hello, my name is Anthony and I am almost 14. I thought I was the only one with this fear until now. I am ok with mirrors by day, and am completely fine when others are there. But when I am alone or at night, I just feel like someone or something is there. I don't know how to explain it other than that the thing in the mirror, the reflection isn't me. It's a creature that watches me. If anyone will talk to me about how they feel please send me an email at anthonysgems@earthlink.net I really like talking to others who feel this way too. It really helps. So please send asap. Thanks everyone!
Mine seems diffent i cant sleep with mirror being in same room other wise i get really bad nightmares. ever sence i was little my mum noiced it, now i am 28 still cant deal with it. sleeped at my girlfriends house and she had mirror on her dresser and keeped getting some really bad nightmares keep freaking out had go sleep on sofa...
even had dreams about black mirrors where there is no reflextion
Ed Harris
urbanmedway@hotmail.co.uk
im not so sure that my comment is warranted, given the nature of some others ive read on here, but i feel like telling people that understand may help. so here goes.
for me, mirrors are fine, as long as i can see the reflection in them. when i can, when its dark, i get uncomfortable. usually, if i find myself glancing at a dark mirror, i close my eyes, until theres a light on, but i try and avoid even that.
i dont know if its superstition,but id it is, its not on my behalf. when i was younger, my grandmother, for whom i have the utmost love and respect, told me that i shouldnt look into a mirror if i cant see the reflection, because i wont be able to see whos staring back at me.
i can see both sides of this. the ridiculous side, and the practical side. its ridiculous to think that someone else could be staring out of the mirror that you are staring into, but at the same time, it all makes sense to me, and it scares me.
im not entirely sure if this has been helpful in any way, but i think in a forum like this, i can share what i feel and not have to think i am being judged for it. id really like to talk to people with similar experiences, my email is dyingthoughts@live.com - i check it often enough.
Hi, I have Eisoptrophobia and I can not look in to any of the mirrors in my house without being afraid that there is someone in the mirror looking back at me, and that when I look away they will come out of the mirror and fallow me, or keep watching me. Sometimes I will look at a door knob and see a dark figure standing behind me... I hope it's mt imagination but I rarely find the cause of the shape. These thoughts make me tremble, make me short of breath and make my heart race. and sense there are so many reflective objects in a house (mirrors, windows, door knobs, some pot's or pan's, t.v screens ect...) I am usually afraid, or covering the objects with blankets or wash cloths. It's getting rather hard to function. This fear seems to have started when I watched the movie "Mirrors".
Hi everyone..
i want to share a story with you..
So just to clear it at the beginning..i think my phobia has to do with 1000 of horror movies watched during my life, although i was scared to death.. So yes..i was always afraid of the dark..and had the feeling smt is watchin me, but the best thinh is, i would not feel that in every room, just certain rooms..
Anyways, i moved in in this wonderful new appartment with the most goregeos view in Vienna...and i was amazed by beuatiful big bedroom with mirror-wardrobe.. At the beginning, i had no problems at all sleeping there..but somehow after 2-3 months i started to feel unease..and then i connected it with teh story of my landlady that said her husband was very sick and died.. I never asked if he died in the appartment, cuz i was too scared of an answer..but i imagined he did.. Soo, all teh time i had the feeling smt is watchig me.. And in the end..i was not able to go through the room after dark.. I was paralized from fear. The problem was the i had to go through th eroom to get to the bathroom. Intersting enough, i had no problem going through the room or sleeping there if someone was with me in the appartment.
Now i live with my boyfriend, and we have a mirror in the room..well i can not say i am total at peace, but i can fall asleep when i am alone, although i preffer to sleep in th eliving room when no one at home.
What i wanted to say with this long post.. I do not believe someone is watching us, or some strange expression, but it is our fear, out head that does that to us.. And i talked to my dear friend and psychiatrist..who said..my dear, there is nothing there..and no one ever died from their fears!!
Thank goodness! I suffer from some really outrageous phobias including high pitched beeps, toilets, and mirrors. I don't really know why I'm freaked out by mirrors. It's pretty unrational. I know I'm pretty, and I know I'm skinny, but I just can't look into a freakin mirror. It's pretty mild, I don't have a panic attack or anything. I'm guessing that I'm afraind of seeng something I don't want to see. But not something inside of me. More like creeping up behind my back. Whether It's light or dark, I can't bring myself to look. It's fine when there's other people in the room though.
Hello. I posted here years ago. My handle was "winklerandco", and I also posted my email address at the end of the post. I have recently begun my own blog on the more supernatural side of things, and one of my posts was simply about the entire topic of Eisoptrophobia, as well as how and why mirrors were used throughout history in the supernatural aspects.
If you are interested in this topic and wish for it to delve further into more depth with the exploration of more paranormal properties, check it out. It is located at:
http://diabolicalconfusions.wordpress.com
The post on Eisoptrophobia is located within the first 10 posts or so, so please look out for it.
To the original blog poster, I apologize if it seems like I am hijacking your topic. That is not my intention. I just for some reason never got this group of people out of my head, their comments stuck with me through years, and I wanted to also include any of them who still observe this section. I hope that you are ok with this.
Hi,
I'm absoluetly terrified of mirrors in the dark. I can see a mirror in the day or light and be ok but the moment it's in the dark I can't handle it.
I'm not sure why this is but it's been this way for a few years. I'm not scared of the dark though... Only when it comes to mirrors.
I'll walk into the bathroom at night and forget to turn on the light, then walk in front of the mirror and start to cry and panic. I have to turn on the light imediately. I can't have a night light or flashlight on, it has to be the regular light. Most the time I have to reach my arm in the bathroom and turn the light on first before I can walk in or I'll be scared.
What can I do?? It's been getting worse.. Help?
My fear is just like amandas I have to reach in the bathroom and click the light when I walk in then walkout and turn it off while I'm going I start having these thoughts and the mirror its right in front of me so its amazingly hard to avoid it I feel like passing out when I click off the light I run to the nearest secure place I can't look in my eyes either especially after 12am I had this fear at 8 I'm 12 it's ALL from scary movies even if there are nothing to do with mirrors in it mostly from the exorcist or bloody mary some from the ring and from the eye but I can't stop watching scary movies either this is the worst phobia ever for me since I have a small bladder and a fast metabolism I also have to shower everyday so every day I have a mini heart attack if I see my reflection for more than a minute in a full sized mirror I get extremely scared
I thought that I was alone in this fear but after reading all of these comments I realize that Im not. Im scared of mirrors in the dark. I cannot tell you when this fear started or when it developed but its becoming embarrassing. I went to a friends house and had to have her cover her mirror in her room before I could sleep. I literally run by my upstairs bedroom if its door is open at night because the mirror is visible from the hallway. I cant even walk into a dark room without reaching in and turning the light on before entering.
Has anyone got a way to deal with this phobia?
Living horrified of mirrors is really hard for me, I'm in school, so it makes drama extremely difficult, and going to the bathroom is nearly impossible.
I have been scared of mirrors for years, and just cannot get over it.
If there's a trick to it PLEASE, SOMEONE TELL ME!
Living horrified of mirrors is really hard for me, I'm in school, so it makes drama extremely difficult, and going to the bathroom is nearly impossible.
I have been scared of mirrors for years, and just cannot get over it.
If there's a trick to it PLEASE, SOMEONE TELL ME!
Hi!
You wrote this post so long ago that I don't know if you'll ever seen this comment, but I suffer from this weird fear too.
Mine definitely originates in movies and isn't only about mirrors, but any reflective surface at all. It's because scary people/entities always seem to turn up in the mirror or in a window. And there are several examples where a character looks into a mirror and sees something besides his/her own image.
It's silly, but it scares me.
I'm 28 & I too have had this phobia as long as I can remember. I don't think it stems from any horror movies, personally I don't like the idea of natural reflective surfaces & I'm not fond of mirrors in dark places, I'm also afraid of looking behind mirrors. I don't like the idea of another "me", I think maybe It's cause I was an only child....
Hi I'm a 28yr male & in my previous comment I stated I don't like naturally reflective surfaces, mirrors in the dark, & looking behind mirrors. I said I think my problem is because I was an only child & I don't like the idea of another "me", to be more specific it doesn't come from any horror/supernatural beliefs. I personally believe in a multiverse & I think its composed of layers & those layers all exist it the same space/time so its not very far fetched to think that COULD be another me. Basically I don't trust my reflection so I can't look away from it or trust it in the dark. I don't like looking behind mirrors either cause I feel like I'm exposing myself to another reality, almost like I'm the one in the mirror. I hate naturally reflective surfaces the most cause I think its a stronger link to other dimensions cause it is more likely to exist it the same place & condition in multiple dimensions. This may sound like something out of a sci-fi book to most but I hope it helps others put there fears into words cause its pretty obvious I've look at my fears from a scientific approach rather then a supernatural one. Thanks for letting me get this out, I couldn't before cause I didn't think anyone would understand but I know this group will :-) good luck to all
Hi,
I got my fear from researching bloody mary and a site said that she could show if you were near a dark mirror(you didn't need to summon her). Now I absolutely refuse to go anywhere near a dark mirror. I don't mind them in the day though.
hi, I think i have eisoptrophobia, it's weird tho because i'm fine with mirrors being around me in daytime, but at night time they start to freak me out and I cannot sleep when I know that there is a mirror in my room. You know how i said that I'm ok with mirrors at daytime? I am it's just when i look into them, It feels like it's not me and if anyone can help me please send me an e-mail at platypuslover@hotmail.co.uk and I'm only 12 and perents don't know about my fear of mirrors so don't reccommend any pcyciretreses to me thanks.
Like others, I can do "normal things" involving mirrors, like washing my face, brushing my teeth or my hair and generally checking myself out. My fear comes when I stare too long.
I've seen a lot of people mentioning the fear as something else staring out through your own eyes... When I stare into a mirror, I feel like something is behind me that I can't see. This started when I was very small. I can remembering looking into my mother's bedroom mirror and thinking that something was going to grab me from behind even while I couldn't see it reflected in the mirror.
As an author, I've used this fear as parts of stories I've written. Where the real world isn't reflected in the mirror at all or there is a shadow of something that will come out if stared at for too long. I realized after writing those stories that I found them scary because that's my fear of mirror boiled down.
I don't watch horror movies at all (I can't watch anything scary, even documentaries about ghosts or the paranormal, late night frankly). I am interested in the paranormal and old myths and legends, some of which I'm sure involve mirrors, so maybe that's where I've picked up my fear, but on a subconscious level.
Hi everyone,
I have suffered from Eisoptrophobia for a few years now. I'm 13 and every time I look in a mirror I always get scared and panic. I'm not superstitious (I don't believe in 7 years of bad luck) and I don't think it has to do with the supernatural, I think my fear is based off of horror movies.
I'm just afraid that if I look into a mirror I will see someone else behind me, like a murderer or something. It's not so much in the daytime, it's more at night or when I'm home alone. Even now, while I'm writing this, I'm getting kinda freaked out. At first I thought I was just being crazy, but it's nice to know that there is other people who know how I feel.
If you want to talk to me email me at oceanshores7@ymail.com
It would be nice to talk to someone else who has experienced this phobia.
I'm afraid of opposing mirrors because I see into infinity and infinity scares me.
Hi I believe I fear mirrors because of movies. I will not go in to the bathroom when Im home alone (the bathroom is the only room with a mirror in it) when I look in the mirror I and go to turn away I feel like something is watching me and run. I have turned quickly in hope to catch it but never do I just think I'm parrnoid. I'm also afraid that's what ever it is, is going to hurt me. I'm trying to over come my fear but I'm not making any progress I just end up freaking my self out more.
i have had a fear of mirrors in the dark since i can remember, it terrifies me to no end. i love horror movies but i have never watched one to do with mirrors. the strange thing is that almost every female in my family has the same fear. i work in a club where the walls are covered with mirrors and on several occasions a storm has caused the lights to go out. i would instinctively close my eyes and i would immediately begin to hyperventilate and cry uncontrollably. i too either cover my mirrors at home or simply dont have them in the room except the bathroom. i cannot say where this fear stems but it terrifies me to the core. i feel as if that if i look into the mirror... i dont even know how to explain it. i suppose it has alot to do with my heritage. i asked my grandmother, who was 100% apache, a couple years ago about it, she believed that if you were to stare into a darkened mirror that you would see death stare back. stare into his eyes long enough and you would see how you will die, and if you arent mentally strong enough to look away that you would lose your sanity as well as your soul. so now im even more terrified. i dont knw how much of that i really believe but i truly believe the insane fear that grips my heart when i am in the room with a dark mirror and no way to escape.
What a lot of great comments.
For those afraid of mirrors de-syncing, does this extend to shadows?
It essentially the same.
I used to get this very badly. It was mostly a feeling that the person in the mirror isn't me, and didn't like me and wished me harm, and was watching me when I turned away.
I've sort of got round it by giving in to the irrationality and saying or thinking friendly things to my reflection so 'she' would like me, and of course 'she's' started to look more friendly and relaxed as I've relaxed. I still avoid mirrors when it's dark though - because I can see she's there but not what she's doing, and that still bothers me in case she's angry and I don't know.
What didn't help at all was telling myself 'she' didn't really exist and I should be logical about this. I just can't be.
Ok, I believe I to have this phobia. I've lived in fear of supernatural things since I discovered a 4 generations old gift my family has and had given it to me. Ever since I relised I had it, I've been a paranormal magnet. I'm terrified of mirrors during the night time because I'm always afraid that when I look up from washing my hands or look down the hall way in the reflection that I will be able to see one of the demonic creatures that harass me. Trust me,I know how this sounds. But i've been to numerous shrinks and councelors and have had numerous brain scans and tests and I'm completely clean and normal. Well for the most part. But is there any kind of counsiling that I can go to inorder to help with this that won't think i'm crazy??
I must say, i just now found the name for this phobia. Since i was 5, (my dad likes scary movies) I've fear my reflection moving against me, bloody mary attacking me in the bathtub, and most of all, things coming to get me on "The other side". I cannot look into a mirror, or pass a mirror without ducking. Ever hear of that movie, Mirrors? And well, i only use the annitials so i'll put one word i guess; Drag MTH? That one was a big mastake, i cried forever and ever, so ya, no baths without watching the floor, and i constantly have to avoid mirror movies and stuff. Nothing works. For a period, i could pass a mirror without glancing to the side in fear, but that lasted about a mnth because the toilet made a big bubble at me the last time. So yah, this isnot temporary fear.
I may have this fear, because I can not look into a mirror without a feeling of extreme fear. I can explain my reason, though. What if one night you finish going to the bathroom, and when you look into the mirror and turn your head, your reflection doesn't?
Hello, My name is nicholas and ever since I was 9 years old I have been afraid of not just mirrors but my reflection in general. Every time I see my reflection I see something else standing behind me. I do not know what it is all I know is that it will not leave me alone. Every night I watch youtube on my ipod touch until I am so tired I pass out. This has been a problem because I am always tired and I find myself getting angry at my friends and loved ones very easily. I blame this all on this "Person in my reflection" and I can't find a way to get rid of this apparition in my life that has driven away many friends and caused alot of remorse in my life. I am now 12 years old and it has been 3 years since I saw the "Person in my reflection" and I am just trying to get by day by day but it is getting worse now insted of just mirrors it is all reflection like windows and glass. Thank you for listening to my story I hope you found it interesting. Sincerily: Nicholas
My story is similar to Sheena's. The thing is, I'm scared that I'll see somethingthat I don't want to in a mirror, at any point in the day. I'm sure it's paranoia, though. I'm pretty OK with mirrors, day or night. There will be a time where I'll see a pair of eyes other than mine. it's not the color, but the emotion. I have seen hate, sympathy/sadness, generally depressing feelings. I also hate looking into a mirror in the dark. Being a psychic makes it kind of worse, since you don't know what you'll see wherever you go. I'm a 12 year old girl and I've had this phobia for quite a few years, and it's not just the mirrors in my house. It's in my friend's house as well. It's nice to read the other comments. It's vry comforting to know that I'm not the only one! :)
-Cassie
i have this phobia like the rest of you. right now im only 13 and still living with my parents my mother loves mirrors and there is around 6 in the house (3 built in) there is one in my room(built in), 2 in my mothers, one in the hall way, one in the bathroom and one in the rumpus room. i cant stand going by one with out ducking or crawling out of its view.
i think im afraid of them because of a game i started earlier this year called "Fragile Dreams Farewell ruins of the moon" but i love the game to bits. and folklore probably has alot to do with mine
I am 10 years old and afraid of mirrors. Whenever I was young, I thought mirrors were fun, and I would pose in them and dress up. But one day that all changed. I saw that whoever I was looking at was not ME. Its hard to explain it, really...but all of a sudden it felt like I was a new person, like my whole entire life just suddenly changed. Since I was 5 to now, I feel akward around mirrors. Whenever I pass one I get a feeling someone is watching me. Like an essence that can spy on me, everywhere I go, everywhere I look, its there. Just staring at me...Is that a phobia or something? Or just plain fear. Im only 10 and the feeling of looking at myself in a mirrior praticlly eats me up. Wondering, what is looking at me?
I can't stand to look into a mirror of a night time, im frightened i wont see my reflection and i will see somebody else's. i have had this fear for as long as i remember. I thought i was just weird but it's great to know other people feel the same, I dont get panic attacks as such i just get scared and feel like im not alone, It's okay in the day time in small mirror, but by night, big or small mirror terrify me, no matter where i am or who i am with!!
i thought i was alot more alone in my fear of just having a mirror around. whats crazy is im not afraid of myself being reflected because in a sort of psychotic way i make myself believe if my mirror image attacked me i could take him, and looking into my own eyes is almost like talking to myself.
but thats not my fear, my fear is whats in the mirror. or objects reflected, and whats most terrifying is i cant see behind myself without a mirror, and i think the mirror would lie to me and something will be behind me, anything. so i guess its not what i can see but what i cant see, even though i am talking about mirrors here.
basically what i feel like is mirrors reflect but yhey reflect something different, just like how reflections are backwards, mirrors show the mr. hyde in everything, including myself.
and i read a comment someone got locked in a room by people with a mirror, i could not handle that no no no no no hell no. and if a mirror is turned around its just as bad to me.
this is also not just mirrors that disturb me,
cracks in doors closets or drop ceilings,
under beds
television screens turned off....
i still need hel[ i googled the phobia cuz its really effecting me i might even try to talk to a psychiatrist, if someone got advice tell me cuz i feel like im becoming more disassociated with reality and its really starting to effect my life style.
thank you
I agree with winklerandco.
I am fourteen, female and a child of the night. I live for the night. anytime after 10 I am the best enlightene. And as soon as it gets dark I get this feeling that something is watching me. I turn around and look and nothing is there. All of my mirrors are covered in my room because if I see myself in one I can't look away
Its me, but it;s not. not in the eyes. I lock "eyes" with myself and I'm stuck. I have to slowly inch past the mirro, but then I can't see anything behind me. It's only at night. And i've never seen a scary movie about mirrors. I don't want to increase my fear. I do not believe that it is unnessesary but I think that I do not posess the knowledge to find out more about it.
I've done little research on the matter but aside from petty old wives tales I've found that most people with eisotrophobia also are afraid of closed shower curtains and the dark. I love the dark and am afraid of closed shower curtain.
If anybody knows more information on theories on mirrora or problems with poeple that causes the fear, please email me...or just tell me how much of a fourteen year old I sound like
So, a LOT of the previous comments are similar to mine, but I also want to preface mine. I have a few other fears, such as a discomfort when alone or the sensation of others watching me. A lot of the time, I can picture in my head, using my imagination, something strange happening (something crawling over the top of the bathroom stall when I'm alone, someone or something hiding in the back of a car or in a hotel room, that freaky girl from the grudge that has given me more nightmares than I care to count). So, although I know I have eisoptrophobia, I don't know if it's my only problem.
As of now, I'm a 17 year old girl. My fear comes and goes in intensity, but is usually worse when I think about it. I'm uncomfortable around all reflective surfaces, especially when I'm alone or out night, and will not sit with my back to an empty space or window and will not look out of windows at night. I'm also uncomfortable when the shower curtain is closed (whether I'm just in the bathroom or if I'm showering) because I feel like something might be watching me from the other side. It's come to the point where it is mildly debilitating, and I'd love to fix it.
For the most part, my fear is seeing something I can't explain or having something appear in the mirror that isn't there (people, spectres, ect). I'm also uncomfortable with my reflection's eyes and the idea that it is a separate entity- that it can move and think and act on its own.
For the most part, I believe that my fear comes from my love of horror stories, my hyperactive imagination, and the fact that I used to have unusual spiritual experiences when I was younger (premonitions, the sensation of knowing other people's emotions, one case of what seems to be telepathy). The worst, however, began after watching movies like The Grudge and Mirrors, because they gave shape to my fear (especially the bathroom scene in mirrors- I still get the chills thinking about it). Also, when I was young I heard a story about this spirit called a fetch, which would appear in a mirror or empty room within a week of when you were supposed to die, and the idea freaked me out terribly.
My parents keep telling me to be logical, to face my fears, but I can't. I did the same as another poster, and tried saying nice things to it, but it still seems malicious or cold or smug. I don't know what to do at this point. Reading the other posts is comforting, but does anyone else have any idea how to make it better? I also can't walk into my bathroom at night without turning on all nearby lights first, and am afraid of my reflection doing things while I'm not watching. Sometimes I can picture what I imagine it doing very clearly- like watching a movie clip or seeing a creepy photo. It's really much too much....
Any suggestions would be much loved!
I have always had some kind of fascination and fear of mirrors. When I was around 8 years old, I had begun fearing mirrors and avoiding them in the dark after I had heard of Bloody Mary, which was the main cause of it. I use to keep the light on in the bathroom for closure and always had the door shut, I didn't like turning my back either so I always had my eyes watching for movements and shadows.It took a long time for me to overcome that and even to this day I have a strange feeling towards mirrors, mind you I am 19...I do not like to have mirrors in my room at night because I do not feel "right" and I avoid the long-standing mirrors more than any of them. I do not worry about the legends behind them nowadays. I have heard of mirrors causing spirits around you, especially at night, to become restless and unsettling so I keep them away. If I see a mirror in a room I sleep in I usually wind up removing it and placing it somewhere where I can feel comfortable.
Its great to know there are others out there! I'm relieved i'm not the only one! this video is exactly what i'm scared of happening http://m.youtube.com/index?desktop_uri=%2F&gl=NZ#/watch?v=9L7lJ_GMLLY
I haven't always had this fear. I'm seventeen, and I didn't actually start noticing it constantly until I was around eleven, maybe. I'm not entirely sure how old I was. I had a few episodes when I was little, but as I said, I didn't notice it constantly until about six years ago.
It started out as any time during the day, but it's coming to be more of a night thing. Don't get me wrong, I still freak out during the day sometimes, just not as much.
It doesn't necessarily come from horror movies and books. I just have a few beliefs, but even they aren't the full reason. I've had weird experiences.
First, I believe that pictures, videos, and mirrors steal a piece of your soul. I still take some pictures, but I usually refuse to. I tell people it's because I always look terrible in them (which is true), but it's mostly from my belief; the same with videos. And I feel as if I've looked into mirrors so much that I have no actual soul anymore. It's hard to explain, and I don't know how to, exactly.
Second, I'm afraid of seeing something else reflected with me. It's happened multiple times already, and I was alone.
Third, I have seen my reflection change. Not my eyes, but MY reflection. It's insanely creepy. I've also seen it move when I was still.
Fourth, I believe that mirrors show an alternate universe. It's not actually yourself that is reflected, but your alternate self is showing itself. It's also hard to explain.
Fifth, I just believe mirrors are dark object that people believe are more innocent than they really are.
The thing about the eyes other people have mentioned doesn't bother me. Eyes seem void of emotion to me in person, not just in videos, pictures, and mirrors. To me, eyes are only expressive if the person has an extremely strong goodness or evilness inside them.
These are not all the problems I have with them, but I figured that if I list all of them, it would take much too long.
I can still use a mirror to do my makeup and hair, but I try to focus on only myself so I can't see anything that may not belong.
I cant find much help for my problem. I am terrified of mirrors but all the sites list problems that I do not have. I dont consider the msupernatural, or magical. im not scared of how they've been used in movies and such (I actually really like optics and think its neat.)
Instead, I will without noticing stare at myself, blankely, doing nothing else. And then without warning a massive disturbing hallucination appears, in the mirror, usually some terrifying distortion of my features.
But I cant even describe it. Because the moment this happens, I panic HARD. as in, fearing i will die if i try to stand, every movement causing vertigo rushes, shaking and crying.
I know i saw something but I dont know what, and by the time i realise whats happened, im too far into panic to stop it.
Yeah I know how everyone feels. Frankly, I thought that I was the only one with this problem, but I see that all of us are on the same page. I don't know what triggered my phobia of mirrors in the dark. During the day I'm totally fine being around them. However, I had to get my mirror from my room removed, because after watching all those horror movies and hearing about bloody mary... When I see a mirror in the dark, I feel like someone is going to knock in there or come out of there and grab me... Or I might see something that I don't want to see. It's complicated and twisted at the same time.. I want this to stop.
I'm the same person who posted this:
I must say, i just now found the name for this phobia. Since i was 5, (my dad likes scary movies) I've fear my reflection moving against me, bloody mary attacking me in the bathtub, and most of all, things coming to get me on "The other side". I cannot look into a mirror, or pass a mirror without ducking. Ever hear of that movie, Mirrors? And well, i only use the annitials so i'll put one word i guess; Drag MTH? That one was a big mastake, i cried forever and ever, so ya, no baths without watching the floor, and i constantly have to avoid mirror movies and stuff. Nothing works. For a period, i could pass a mirror without glancing to the side in fear, but that lasted about a mnth because the toilet made a big bubble at me the last time. So yah, this isnot temporary fear.
I'm here to do an update. So, after the bubble in the toilet it has gotten worse. Not only am I scared of the giant mirror that scares me like nuts in my room, but I'm also getting scared of other things, like under the bed, or "Whats going to happen if I get out of bed? Will something grab my foot?" and the toilet is freaking me out so much I've stopped flushing, I can't seem to find the will power to close the shower curtain for fear of "Whats going to happen when I pull it back?" and I can no longer sleep in my tent because I'm constantly getting up and checking the bathroom, which, the giant mirror is on the way so I CAN"T EVEN PASS IT WITHOUT STARING AT IT THE ENTIRE TIME AND NOT MOVING MY HEAD! And when I don't look in the mirror, I'm backtracking TO the mirror to check and make sure nothing is wrong.
- Cassie W.
I also have this terrible fear. I have had it for as long as I have known. I can actually watch scary movies without having any fear and mostly i just enjoy them as entertainment. But Mirrors scare the hell out of me. I have believe my fear comes from the fact that mirrors are a reverse image of our world including ourselves.
The "mirror world" as I call it must contain the exact opposite set of rules that our world has. Being an opposite image of our world things that are not possible in our world are possible in the "mirror world"
I know this sounds ridiculous but i have a terrible fear of mirrors so much so i can hardly bare to look at them. when i look into my eyes in a mirror i feel like an opposite evil me is staring back at me wishing it could switch places with me..
I am a 16 year old female and I'm not sure if I have this phobia or not. I noticed in the past few months that I've developed an irrational fear of mirrors, especially in the dark. Every night when I go up to my room, I dread turning off the lights to get to my bedroom because when I stand in the doorway there's a direct line of sight to my mirrored closet doors, reflecting the dark, empty hallway behind me. Sometimes I'm afraid that there will be someone behind me, usually some kind of spirit or other entity now that I think about it. I remember once I was looking at myself in a mirror, and I experienced the same feeling of not knowing who was looking back that other people have talked about here. I was doing my makeup and looked straight into my eyes, right through my pupils, and suddenly I was overcome with such an extreme sense of fear I can't even explain it. I also have dreamed of myself looking in mirrors and having a severely distorted or even gruesome appearance.
Thank you for reading, and thanks to everyone for sharing their own stories as well.
Soo I don't know exactly when my fear started. Its not like I am afraid when standing in front on the mirror. No I'm more afraid of walking into a different reflection or the reflection not doing the same as me. The weird thing is that I'm only afraid at night and when I'm alone or awake by myself. I don't even want to look at my television when its off. Is my fear the same as yours?
Mirror Mirror on the wall, who's the fairest of them all.
I cannot stand looking at myself in the mirror and it has recently now folded into a fear of people watching me eat. Let me explain. I cannot stand my own reflection. I have a certain idea of what I look like, but when I see myself in the mirror or other reflection, it simply confirms that I am very much wrong! That is, I think that I look like Brad Pitt, but it turns out that I actually look like Drew Carey! :)
Recently, I was forced to eat lunch across from an entirely mirrored wall at a business meeting. That was horrific! The site of me eating was totally disgusting and I simply cannot get that image out of my mind!
Now, I cannot eat in public without becoming sick to my stomach.
A few years back, I realized that I had Eisoptrophobia.
How did I find it out? Well, here's how.
This horror movie named Mirrors had released, and my parents wanted to watch it (remember, my age wasn't even in the double digits yet), and so did I. I really loved horror movies, and Mirrors didn't seem as scary in the commercials as it really was.
I had watched it, and I almost couldn't go into the bathroom. If I wanted to use the bathroom, I basically would shield my eyes.
What I feared was that my reflection would do things that I wouldn't do, as it did in that movie.
I have this little spinning mirror that you can adjust or whatever in my kitchen, it's a small mirror, and any time I go into the kitchen, I would have to spin it to wear only the edges face me.
If there was a small mirror that could be held in my hand, I would have to flip it over or cover it so I couldn't see it.
What used to scare me was Bloody Mary. I was scared that if I just thought of her, she would appear. Not anymore.
I'm still scared of mirrors, reflections in the windows, T.V.s, basically any reflection.
My fear of mirrors is also because of my fear of ghosts, and spiders.
The spider one is that I've had quite a few nightmares where I was in a mirror house at a carnival, and there was a spider on one, and I had no clue which mirror it was one, thus it looked like it was on every single one.
I've told my mom and my friends, and they surprisingly understand! So, I'm glad I don't have to hide it.
Should I see someone about it to help me? One day I might.
~Mckensy
I am a teenage girl.I think I may have a form of this phobia, there have been a few nights when I have broke down crying because I did not want to get up to do the toilet because it would mean I had to walk by a mirror.
I have been terrified of mirrors for several years now. It is not from movies, I think it might be my fear of the supernatural.
There was an incident a few months ago, it had made me so scared that all the mirrors in the whole house had to be covered or taken off the wall.
I am fine with mirrors in daylight but terrified in the dark. I think it might be a bloody Mary type character that I am scared of. I hope my experiences may help you with yours.
Beth
I have the same fear that asboo has... looking in the mirror and not seeing my reflection but something else. For example, I get freaked out when I brush my teeth and go to spit out into the sink sometimes because I project that there will be a demon looking back at me instead of myself. I don't know what this is called. If anybody knows, please feel free to contact me!
hello
my name is joe bradshaw and i am 13 years old.
if any of you read creepypastas online you will know what i am talking about.
everytime i look into a mirror i cannot have any doors open (incase i see something behind me). But my worst fear is being in the dark and seeing something reflective in my periferal vision. i just cannot bring myself to look at it and i have heavy breathing and i must run into my room and close all my doors.
i am very worried about this and i think i might need some help if this fear dosnt stop
i have stopped reading creepypastas but the fear has not yet dimineshed
hi
my name is joe bradshaw and i am 13 years old
i have an irrational faer of mirrors that was probably brought on by reading scary stories on the net.
i understand exactly what everyone else is saying abot panic attacks.
every time i look in a mirror i have to have all enterances closed and i must be in an enclosed space so i know that noone is in there with me that i could see in a mirror.
my worst fear is seeing a mirror in the dark in my periferal vision.
this brings on heavy breathing and shivers and i have to run into my room and close all my doors.
i have stopped reading creepypastas(scary stories) but the fear has not dimineshed
do i need help?
Oh my god, I'm not insane. This is helpful, knowing others go through the same thing. I literally thought I was the only one.
It's the exact same as some others here have said, I can't stand looking at my reflection in anything, regardless of whether it's a mirror or not. It's just mirrors are the main symbol of reflection, so eisoptrophobia is the closest thing, right?
But yeah... I feel like my reflection... isn't me. It's the weirdest feeling, but I can't admit the person I see in the mirror is me. Pictures too. It's beyond just being self-conscious. I think, "is that really me?" and I start to flip out. When I have to look in a mirror to see my hair or something, I try to do it really quickly and just focus on my hair and nothing else.
I also can't imagine myself, either. Like, if I imagine my human self, I get really freaked out and start to have an anxiety attack. If I imagine myself as a character from a video game or an avatar I use on the internet or something, I'm totally fine. I don't know what this all is caused by, but I'm gonna try and find out.
I can't believe that so many other people felt the way I felt! I'm 29. There was a year in college when I experienced what so many others did: When I looked into my eyes in a mirror, the person looking back at me was evil. One time, I said (out loud) "I hate you, and I'm going to kill you." I was terrified, because I didn't know I was going to say that until it came out of my mouth. I didn't know if the real me was saying it to the reflection or vice-versa.
Eventually, that feeling went away and I am no longer terrified of mirrors with the lights on. I am still uncomfortable with mirrors in the dark, but it's manageable.
I even have a full length mirror in my bedroom and one entire wall is a mirror. (NOT my choice, believe me! We moved states and this was the only apartment available on short notice.) But the point is, I can sleep in there. This big enormous giant mirror right in my bedroom all night long, and I'm able to sleep. So if you're reading this, maybe that will give you some hope that you can manage your fear too, eventually.
My name is shellie and I'm 17 and I've suffered with this for a while. It's kind of weird really when I was about 11 my mum told me that when I was little I used to have an 'imaginary friend' who lived in the mirror was the spitting image of me but everything was the opposite way round in her world and when my mum asked me who it was my 4 year old self told her it was my soul. When she told me this it didn't affect me straight away but a few months later I looked in to the mirror and what I seen looked like me but at the same time I knew it wasn't me. I've also seen strange shadowy figures in the background behind me whilst looking in the mirror. My worst experience though was when I was in the bathroom in the shower now the mirror we had wasn't opposite the shower and you cant see a reflection of the shower only the opposite wall, however I looked over and seen myself fully clothed in the mirror staring out- I made my mum take the mirror down after this as I was really creeped out!
But the thing that scares me the most is mirrors in the dark as I believe that everything in the mirror is the opposite way round so when it's night time here it's day time in the mirror and I swear when I've been lay in bed I've seen a figure moving in the mirror. I've now covered it up and I'm waiting for my mum to take it down!
I can use it to do my hair or makeup but I focus just on my face or hair and not the surrounding area. Hotels are the worst when they have a mirror opposite the bed!
But it's good to see I'm not the only one!
I am scared of mirrors. Its ever since I was with my friend Katie and I was watching videos on youtube.I just want to say if you have a phobia like mine I've never had a bad experience so its ok to read on. there was this disturbing youtube clip about yeah I wont go into it. and I can't look into mirrors without freaking out. I tell myself nothing is watching me through the mirror but I get all jumpy. I don't get EXTREMELY panicy but im short sighted (i cant see things far away) and my friend has a mirror a few metres from where I was stood. My reflection was a black blur due to my vision and I jumped out of my skin. To make it worse I had just watched a horror movie (the ring if you must know, yes it contains mirrors) and Idk what to do :(
I am 15, turning 16 in a month. I'm pretty young compared to everyone who has posted a story/comment, but i still feel that i can contribute by telling my own little story.
I have a fear of mirrors in the dark, and occasionally during the day. I think it honestly originated from watching "The Haunted Mansion". Yes, that kids' movie. The main character looked into a mirror and saw his reflection, but his reflection then turned into a zombie-like figure, a freakish image in the eyes of a child. I was afraid to look in the mirror ever since, but my reason changed. During the first few years, it was in fear of my reflection changing. My imagination grew and the creatures and monsters i thought my reflection would turn into became worse, more realistic, and not just some cheap costume from a movie. Then i started getting over it, seeing the movie again and thinking it was no big deal. But this is around the time i became extremely paranoid, i believed in ghosts and spirits, and that people could be out to get me, even. Even writing this sounds silly, but it's true. Every time i look at my mirror at night, which is right across from my bed, i'll see the faintest outline of me, but since i don't see my own features, my mind registers it as someone else in my room. I jumble up my blanket when i sleep, so it will look almost as if someone is laying next to me. It scares the bejesus out of me.
Also, i often text at night, and the light of my phone shines on my face, and i can always see the light reflecting in my mirror. The reflection i see is reminisce of a person shining a flashlight under their face while telling a ghost story, only, you see your own face in the light. It's extra creepy if you make weird expressions like widening your eyes or scowling, even smiling would give me chills.
Plus i fear that i'll see something i shouldn't in the mirror or in a dark window, because anything could come from the shadows.
I have no idea why the second part of my reasoning for eisoptrophobia had suddenly popped while i was getting over the first part, and i hope the fear will go away with time, along with other fears. Thank you to all who read, and good luck with your own phobias.
I am 23 years old and female. This is one of many, many, many things that can send me into a full blown panic attack. I have at least one confirmed phobia, (ceasing to exist) which tends to shadow any other fears. But due to anxiety disorder and some mild paranoia I react very, very, poorly when afraid.
I avoid mirrors in the dark, I often times have to cover my TV in a blanket just so that I don't accidentally glimpse the reflection. Although that only helps minimally because then I feel like I'm just making whatever is lurking in it angry. I mean obviously I don't think there's anything lurking in the reflections...but I feel like there is and that's usually enough for me to doubt myself and my attempted certainty.
I also as a child was sure there was another world on the other side and I used to press against the mirror trying to get through to see what was different just outside of my sight and then I started to wonder if I'd made it through and I just didn't know it and I was living in a land of reflections, or what if I was always the reflection, I mean during the day when I can bring myself to look in the mirror I do some pretty stupid things, what if it's because she's choosing to do it and I have to follow...
And theres that mild paranoia I mentioned...
Uhm best solution to phobias I've found is try not to think of it, hide under a blanket, avoid being alone as much as possible.
Some of the distortions people are describing can be easily explained. If you stare at anything without a focus point your brain will eventually distort it. Essentially a spasm from sitting still too long and staring vaguely into the mirror.
My son is suffering from this problem. Counselling is nt helping. Its getting worse. He s 16. Please help me to deal with it.
im 16 and its so embarrassing when i have to get someone to stand outside the bathroom while im in there because there's a mirror in there!! i dont know what to do, i HAVE to look at it whilst im in there just in case theres something unfamiliar there, but i look at it from an angle that i cant see myself because i feel that its not me... im fed up... does counselling work??
im 16 and its so embarrassing when i have to get someone to stand outside the bathroom while im in there because there's a mirror in there!! i dont know what to do, i HAVE to look at it whilst im in there just in case theres something unfamiliar there, but i look at it from an angle that i cant see myself because i feel that its not me... im fed up... does counselling work??
I am a 29 year old army veteran who survived 3 horrible deployments and all the stress and fears of what war brings. However, ever since I can remember I have this grave fear of mirrors especially at night. I cannot sleep if I can see a mirror in the dark which sadly makes hotel stays stressful. I can tolerate it if another person is sleeping next to me, but not by much and I will borrow myself deep in the covers. By myself I will cover mirrors. I always say to people its because of a bad bloody mary trick when I was a kid but thats a lie. I had this fear b4 I ever heard of bloody mary. My absolute fear was reinforced when I saw a face of man on a dark road by a railroad tracks in san antonio tx. I almost crashed my car as I panickally parked and bailed out of my car and much public embarassment as oncoming passangers stopped to rescue me. Even more embarassing I was in uniform at the time so I bet they thought I was having some PTSD episode.
What I believe is that mirrors like cameras see both the paranormal and the living. Like how young children and animals can sense them. I believe also that pending on the spirit you can often soothe your fears by summoning your will and demand they leave at once give them something to fear so they leave you. I also say a little prayer. "Know that if you be demon or spirit, you are unwelcome in my house for God blesses all those who enter my house. Leave now or be cast out of my home by the angels who guard me."
Hey! I'm Robin!
I've always been terrified of mirrors and reflections! I truly dont know what brought it on. I've been this way for as long as I can remember! I was raped & abused grown up. I am 29 now and this fear has only grown as I have! I am afraid of myself as I am of the surrounding's! Nothing seems to be real in a mirror to me and I feel like whats in there is just waiting to get out and it feels pure evil. I can not use a public bathroom as well! My fear is just as strong with showers and getting water in my face! I cant see behind the curtain and with water in my eyes I cannot see nothing and it sends my in a panic attack we're I jump out quickly and get dressed just to get out of the bathroom! I feel like something is there something ungodly! But it's not just mirrors I feel the same way in the dark and cant be closed in alone I would rather be outside we're I can run and hide! Ive seen counclers and it was no help! Thanks
i freak out when i look into a mirror in the dark. i am also scared of my shadow sometimes, but i am ESPECIALLY scared, i almost scream when i see my reflection in a window. its weird.
i've had a fear of mirrors since i watched candyman with a friend when i was 8 or 9, that i said candyman in the mirror and it fell into the sink and shattered. and for a while my urine was red, when i gave samples no sign of blood but once at home i was peeing blood again.
this freaked me out for a long time and this combined with various films ive seen give me an unease about mirrors.
i hate looking into mirrors as i fear something supernatural and it doesn't feel like it is me, i've never told anyone because i thought it was just crazy and it always sounded stupid that i am scared of mirrors.
I have the same feeling sometimes. When I stare into my eyes in the mirror, I see something evil, something that's not my personality.
-Isaac
Same here, actually. I'm terrified of mirrors. I've had experiences with evil spirits too, and even when I thought I fixed it, I can still feel their presence. Like, I keep thinking.. What if this thing is inside me? Does it follow me around? Does it want me body? Why does it want me? What exactly does it want from me? I'm terrified of the answers, and in a result causes me to be terrified of mirros. I just think, 'What if one day I look in the mirror and I see it standing behind me? It's arms splayed across me in a predatory manner. Or what if one day I look in the mirror and I don't see my physical body, but this horrifyingly distorted body to display the great sin I've commited? I don't want that to happen... Mirrors are terrible, allies of the evil. I hate mirrors, I wished they'd all go DIE!
I know mirror is just a reflection but ever since i was nine. i think a mirror is a parrel universe and everyone has a copy, i fear that my evil copy will replace me and lock me in the mirror forever.
Although my fear of mirrors isnt crippling nor disabling in anyway it is very disturbing and at times distressing for myself.
It started after a bad supernatural incident when i was 5 years old (16 now). I was sat on my mums bed just staring into her wardrobe mirror when my figure vanished and in it's place a crying woman appeared. Anyway, this throughly creeped me out as when the woman looked up she looked very modernly dressed and extreamly real but when her eyes...oh god they were so evil looking. Anyway I ran out of my mums bedroom screaming like a banshee and have forever been wary of mirrors since.
Ever since that incident I dont feel like it's my reflection in the mirror, something always seems off. For some reason if i look into my refections eyes they dont seem like my own. It's almost like someone is inside the mirror that looks exactly like me in everyway exept i KNOW they're not me because the eyes seem off, too cold, crule and evil looking. And the fact that they/it the mirror person) knows that im aware they exist makes it all the more worse.
I'm really going to sound insane now but oh well here goes nothing. I honestly believe that when I look into a mirror it's not really MY reflection. I really do belive that there is something watching, waiting and studying. It feels too inhuman, too cold and calculating. There I said it, I think there may be a an alien/ supernatural presence in/on/inside mirrors. Funny thing is it only occurs with 'real' mirrors, not reflective surfaces or tin foil/ fake plastic ones, they have to be real glass ones which I think is kind of wierd.
Maybe they're portals to other worlds, who knows? All I know is I'm freaked out by mirrors and I sound like a total nutter even to myself.
i think i might have this phobia. whenever i pass a mirror and not look at it, i feel like something is there. or if i see myself with my perethial vision and not my whole self, i get really scared. if the room is dark and i look in a mirror, my skin sticks out a lot and seems to glow and that freaks me out. also when i am getting out of the shower and i see the blurry mirror, i freak out. but if i pass a mirror and look directly at it, i'm fine. but those bathroom mirrors where there are two mirrors next to each other on two separate walls and one opens to face the other and is a medicine cabinet, if i look at the center where there is kinda a mix of the two reflections and it shows the sides of my face but not my face, that creeps me out. but i'm always fine if someone else is there with me and i know they are there. i guess this phobia is basically based off of thinking i'm alone and then see the mirror and possibly realize i'm not alone. even if i tell myself it is just a mirror i just freak out. my mom says there is nothing there and i know that but they still freak me out.
I never really knew i had this fear until recently(in the past year or so). I don't believe that I have this phobia but I am somewhat afraid of mirrors..it happens mainly when I'm alone or if I'm home alone and look into a mirror(or anything reflective for that matter). It gets worse if its dark, I always feel like I will see something paranormal in the room with me and it horrifies me. I just feel like one day I'm going to look into the mirror and something is going to be behind me and take me. I know I sound like a complete lunatic but I know I'm not..
I'm not sure if I have this exact phobia, but I do have a fear of mirrors. I feel like I cannot look away from them, else a demon will appear either next to my reflection or AS my reflection.
Of course it's supernatural and I find it to be very stupid, but it's just in my subconscious that I believe that. It's hard to explain
I'm not sure if I have this exact phobia, but I do have a fear of mirrors. I feel like I cannot look away from them, else a demon will appear either next to my reflection or AS my reflection.
Of course it's supernatural and I find it to be very stupid, but it's just in my subconscious that I believe that. It's hard to explain
I don't really consider it a phobia, but it scares the s*** out of me when I see my reflection in a dark room, like I don't expect to see it or something. It startles me when I do. This is kinda funny, I have this huge mirror on top of my dresser, so when ever I get up in the middle of the night I crawl to my door to avoid seeing it. But I don't have a panick attack, as I said it just startles me. I've tried to overcome this before, so I turned off the lights in my room and stared into the mirror. Here's how it went:
Waited like 1 minute
*nope*
I guess I sort of fear mirrors, but it really depends. Well, when I say that I mean it scares the s*** out of me if I see my reflection in a dark room. It is just unsettling, it feels unatural,
like I shouldn't be seeing anything. It's not really mirrors though. Like in cartoons or something to be scary while telling a story and shine a flashlight under their face it really is creepy. I don't totally freak out, but like I said, it startles me when I see my refection in a dark room. It's like I don't exepect to see my reflection. Anyone else notice this?
It's midnight and I'm in my bedroom. The more I think about mirrors the more my body shakes. Nothing logical here, I know, but I can't get out. It's been 5 years; it just goes away then comes back way stronger. I need help but in my country this phobia is not concerned. I don't know what to do.
Knowing many people here feel the same relieve me a bit though.
my phobia isn't really 100% Eisoptrophobia. when I look into the mirror I can look at every thing but into my eyes. I just feel like I'm looking to closely at myself. it's like I'm peering into my soul. it creeps me out so much that when I put on my makeup it provides a problem.
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