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Understand the psychology behind these eerie sensations
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The feeling of being watched is an uneasy one and is sometimes truly frightening. Fortunately, this sensation is one that everyone experiences from time to time, and there are several psychological reasons why you may feel like you’re being watched when that’s not really the case. If you feel like you’re being watched right now, do what you need to do to calm yourself: breathe deeply, turn on the lights, put on your favorite TV show, and read through our comprehensive lists of why you may feel like you’re being watched (and what to do about it).
Things You Should Know
- Humans are hardwired to believe others are staring at us. If our brains can't tell if we're safe, they'll make us feel fear rather than incorrectly assume safety.
- In rarer cases, the feeling of being watched may stem from paranoia or a personality disorder.
- Consult a psychologist if you often feel watched or if this fear is impacting your daily life.
Steps
Section 1 of 2:
Reasons You Feel Like You're Being Watched
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Your brain may be overcompensating for limited visual cues. Direct gaze can signal dominance, intimidation, or threat. It’s your brain’s job to pick up and inform you of nearby threats. But if your brain has limited visual cues—such as it would in the dark or if people around you are wearing sunglasses—it assumes people are watching you for safety’s sake. [1] X Research source
- Basically, humans are evolutionarily hardwired to feel like people are staring at us when they’re not.
- Feeling like someone is watching you is a common phenomenon.
- It doesn’t mean anything is wrong with you—it’s just part of your brain’s psychology!
- If you frequently feel watched or observed, however, it may be worth looking into counseling or other options to cope with these sensations.
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Your brain may have picked up on a faint noise. Sometimes, we hear noises that are so soft that we can’t consciously register them. However, the fear circuits in our brain, specifically in the amygdala, can and do pick up on extremely quiet noises. [2] X Trustworthy Source Cleveland Clinic Educational website from one of the world's leading hospitals Go to source
- Your brain responds by crafting a story (e.g., someone is watching you) to explain the noise without any visual context. [3] X Research source
- This phenomenon is a survival instinct based on evolution, like believing that people are staring at us when they’re not.
- Your brain doesn’t mean to scare you but doesn’t want you to miss a threat. It would rather you be on guard and defensive than caught unaware.
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You’re feeling a tingling sensation on your skin. Many people report feeling this tingling when someone is staring at them. However, several studies have shown that there is no evidence that we can physically feel when others are looking at us. [4] X Research source
- Although it can feel very real, the sensation you’re feeling is purely psychological—just a trick of your imagination.
- The tingling comes from the belief that you’re being watched, not because someone is spying on you.
- The sensation and belief of being watched are subject to confirmation bias.
- Confirmation bias means that if, out of every ten times you felt watched or felt a tingling sensation, there was one time when you turned and did see someone watching you, you are more likely to remember that one time rather than the other nine.
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You may be predisposed to feeling watched due to your life experiences. Certain groups of people are more likely to feel observed and scrutinized due to certain conditions or demographics, like social anxiety, childhood trauma, or gender.
- If you have social anxiety, you may feel self-conscious or panicked when lots of other people are around, even if you know you’re safe. [5] X Research source
- If you were raised by or around adults who intensely watched and berated your actions to the point of trauma, you may have a hard time shaking that invasive feeling as an adult.
- Women tend to feel more watched than men due to the frequency of street harassment directed toward them and the prevalent social messaging that their worth is based on their appearance. [6] X Research source
- Studies of open-plan office spaces have even found that female workers reported feeling observed in their workplace more often than men, which inhibited their ability to feel safe and productive at work. [7] X Trustworthy Source Science Direct Online archive of peer-reviewed research on scientific, technical and medical topics Go to source
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You may have scopophobia. In psychology, scopophobia is the fear of being stared at, to a more extreme level than the average person’s uneasiness. If you have scopophobia, the feeling of being watched is more so tied to being judged by others than it is to feeling physically threatened. [8] X Research source
- You may strongly dislike making eye contact with others, being the center of attention, or speaking to a large group of people.
- Scopophobia is treated like an anxiety disorder, with recommended treatments being cognitive behavioral therapy, exposure therapy, and learned relaxation strategies.
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You may be experiencing paranoia. Paranoia is a persistent fear that someone is threatening you in some way, such as watching or stalking you, without any evidence or reason to believe that it’s true. Paranoia symptoms include always acting defensively or always being suspicious of others . [9] X Research source
- Paranoia can be caused by altered brain chemistry, traumatic life events, a stress reaction, or a combination of these factors.
- The most severe type of paranoia is paranoid schizophrenia, which may include delusions that someone is watching or spying on you.
- Clinical paranoia should not be self-diagnosed—see a psychiatrist or medical professional if you think you are struggling with paranoia. These professionals understand the underlying causes and symptoms of paranoia and are equipped to help you.
- Treatments for paranoia include medication, talk therapy, and developing coping skills with a psychiatrist.
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- Many people feel a lack of privacy due to the modern world’s use and dependence on technology. [11] X Research source While it’s unlikely that you are actually being watched and monitored via your devices, you can ease your mind by checking if you’re under surveillance .Thanks
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References
- ↑ https://www.sydney.edu.au/news-opinion/news/2013/04/09/are-people-really-staring-at-you.html
- ↑ https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/body/24894-amygdala
- ↑ https://nyulangone.org/news/making-sense-senses-context-matters-when-brain-interprets-sounds
- ↑ https://www.researchgate.net/publication/228491462_The_Feeling_of_Being_Stared_at_A_Parapsychological_Classic_with_a_Facelift
- ↑ https://anxietynetwork.com/content/what-social-anxiety-is-like
- ↑ https://www.genderit.org/articles/not-so-strange-feeling-someone%E2%80%99s-always-watching-you
- ↑ https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0003687018303466
- ↑ https://psychcentral.com/anxiety/scopophobia
- ↑ https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/conditionsandtreatments/paranoia
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