Phobiaas History: fact and fiction

Phobias are not a phenomenon of contemporary life; through the ages people have suffered from a variety of phobias, but it is interesting to find that there are few historical references to omen being affected. This does not mean that women did suffer from them, but probably reflects the sexist bias that only events happening to men were worth recording!

Apparently there was no shame attached to a man admitting to a specific phobia, but when agoraphobia, with its background of sudden panic attacks, became recognised, it quickly came to be considered a woman's problem. Described the housebound housewife's complaint or the 'empty nest syndrome', it was linked with menopausal women whose children had left home. Even more alarming, until recent years agoraphobia was known as the 'Latent Prostitute Syndrome' and still is in some Scandinavian countries. This assumes that these women are afraid that unmanageable sexual urges might cause them to attack a man in the street. Therefore it is safer for them to stay indoors away from temptation!
It is hardly surprising that agoraphobic men disliked being identified as suffering from the condition as they battled on, determined to lead as normal a life as possible. Many men have a horror of anyone knowing they are agoraphobic, as there is often a definite possibility of jobs being at risk and careers ruined if their 'weakness' is exposed. At one time there were a number of well-known men in The Open Door -television and other media personalities, an eminent lawyer, several doctors and even a Member of Parliament. The late Roy Plomley, famous for his programme Desert Island Discs, admitted (privately) that he could imagine nothing more traumatic than being stranded on an island with no possibility of escape. Roy's agoraphobia was so bad that his wife had to drive him to and from the BBC; he couldn't travel on his own by public transport, nor could he drive his car alone.

There are, of course, a few recorded incidences of male agoraphobics, including - of all people - Sigmund Freud, who for several years had a fear of travelling and became so anxious that he would arrive at a station an hour before his train was due to leave.



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