What does a heliophobic fear?

Heliophobia is the fear of the sun, sunlight, or any bright light. It is a type of specific phobia.

The symptoms of heliophobia depends on the person. Mild sufferers may feel uncomfortable, shaky, nauseated, or numb. Severe sufferers may feel anxious or suffer panic attacks.

This physical pain may be expressed, for example, as a phantom sensation of their skin burning under direct sunlight, even when it is visually apparent that their skin is not actually burning any more than healthy skin would as a result of sun exposure, but nonetheless still feels like real pain for the sufferer.

Phobias are classified as a type of anxiety disorder. There is often no discernible cause of phobia onset, though Rachman describes three possibilities: classical conditioning, vicarious acquisition and informational/instructional acquisition. Occasionally they are triggered by harmful events surrounding the phobic object or situation - in this case, for example, severe sunburn, chronic light-triggered migraines, or trauma accompanied by bright sunlight.

Sufferers may cover themselves with long, protective clothing or carry a sun parasol when going outdoors during the daytime, or simply never go outdoors at all when the sun is out, depending on the severity of the fear.