Spectrophobia, or catoptrophobia, is a kind of specific phobia involving an abnormal and persistent fear of mirrors and anxiety about seeing one's own face reflected in them; it is sometimes related to the fear of ghosts or the undead, and is distinct from eisoptrophobia, the fear of one's own reflection specifically. Sufferers can fear that breaking a mirror will bring extreme bad luck, fear something frightening jumping out of a mirror or appearing inside it alongside their reflection, or fear that the mirror is a link to a preternatural world that could pull them in, and some fear their own reflection in darkness, where it can appear distorted.
Facts
Classification
Type of Phenomenon Diagnostic ChapterAnxiety or Fear-Related Disorders 2 Sources
1. Spectrophobia (Wikipedia)
Wikipedia Spectrophobia lead paragraph (w-bbfill-psych-diag-0926, keyword classification against phenomenon-kind enum definitions, hand-checked)View the Source 2. ICD-11 Browser (WHO)
World Health Organization
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