Anthropophobia or Anthrophobia^[1] (literally "fear of people", from Greek: ἄνθρωπος, ánthropos, "man" and φόβος, phóbos, "fear"), also called interpersonal relation phobia^[1] or social phobia, is pathological fear of people or human company. It is prevalent amongst Chinese and Japanese societies.^[2]

Anthropophobia is an extreme, pathological form of shyness and timidity. Being a form of social phobia, it may manifest as fears of blushing or meeting others' gaze, awkwardness and uneasiness when appearing in society, etc.^[3] A specific Japanese cultural form is known as taijin kyofusho.^[4]

Anthropophobia can be best defined as the fear of people in crowded situations, but can also go beyond and leave the person uncomfortable when being around just one person. Conditions vary depending on the person. Some cases are mild and can be handled while more serious cases can lead to complete social withdrawal and the exclusive use of written and electronic communication.^{[5] [6]}

Like most phobias, anthropophobia can be traced back to traumatic experiences. Since social phobias are more complex than a fear of spiders or other organisms, it is believed that this specific phobia of people may be due to genetics and heredity.^{[citation needed]}

Case Studies[link]

In 2009, a study investigated the impact of anthropophobia in specific cultures. 50 patients diagnosed with anthropophobia, 50 patients diagnosed with neurasthenia, and 50 control subjects were recruited from hospitals in Beijing, China. Measures of anthropophobic and anxiety symptoms were administered to the subjects. The patients with anthropophobia could not even make eye contact with others and were afraid of being watched. The conclusion drawn was that anthropophobics, like neurasthenics, experience anxiety and depression, but "more cognitively and less somatically".^[2]

References[link]

See also[link]

• List of phobias
• Social anxiety
• Social anxiety disorder
• Social phobia
• Shyness
• Taijin kyofusho

External links[link]

• Support Group Providers for Social Phobia/ Anthropophobia at the Open Directory Project