Fear of Being Naked

Ever run into someone who is uncomfortable with the mere mention of nudity?

Or someone who can't fathom the thought of interacting with "naked people?"

Or just can't wrap her or his brain around the idea of being nude in the presence of other similarly unclad people, particularly in a coed setting?

The cause may be more than religious. It may be more than moral. It may be more than just a lack of body confidence and body acceptance. It may be Gymnophobia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gymnophobia

Now Godiva will say first and foremost here that I have no formal training, nor will I ever, in psychology. There is however plenty on the web about the fear of being naked, and this phobia is real for more people than you ever could imagine. There is also the opposite, Vestiphobia, which is the fear of wearing clothes

As most nudists know, the Greek word "Gymnos" means "naked" and of course, "Phobos", which means "fear." We are conditioned in Western society from a very young age to keep our bodies covered up because nudity really should be reserved for personal hygiene, MD visits and eventually...well you know.

According to several websites, some kind of negative event early in one's life may result in this dread of being seen au naturel. CTRN or ChangeThatRightNow http://changethatsrightnow.com/gymnophobia/ describes the common origin of Gymnophobia in this way:

"Gymnophobia is usually caused by an intense negative experience from your past. But your mind can also create that fear seemingly without basis. The key is digging down to the source and replacing negative associations with positive ones. Those at greatest risk include:

• People with a general tendency towards fear and anxiety
• People characterized as ‘high strung’
• People suffering from adrenal insufficiency

CTRN described the symptoms of Gymnophobia in the following way: "Does the thought of nudity make you nauseous? Does it trigger a dry mouth and clammy hands? Does your heart feel like it’s going to pound right out of your chest? Do your legs turn to rubber bands?"

Search Your Love, an online dating service, http://www.syl.com/articles/vestiphobiaandgymnophobiawhichareyou.html describes the symptoms in a similar way: "Symptoms typically include shortness of breath, rapid breathing, irregular heartbeat, sweating, nausea and overall feelings or dread. Some experience the condition almost all the time, others do so just in response to a certain stimuli."

Fortunately Gymophobia can be overcome, but it takes time and a willingness to directly confront the source of the fear of being naked. "Learning to quickly stop the root cause of the fear, those awful thoughts, images and movies or sounds will cause the vestiphobic and gymnophobia sufferers feel safe and will teach them how to respond appropriately," the Search Your Love authors wrote.

Many naturist leaders claim that becoming a nudist is relatively simple, take off your clothes in an appropriate setting and enjoy the liberation that comes from being clothes free. But for some this is a tremendous act of bravery and in particular cases they simply can't overcome the phobia. We need to celebrate our courage...yes, courage...to live a portion of our life in an au naturel and also to be understanding and accepting to those who just can't make the plunge.