The sick man 'afraid of girls'

Neil Dando never kissed a girl even though he was nearly 30 years old.

Neil Dando, who lives in the UK, suffers from " fear of love " - a psychological condition that makes him unable to reach girls without extreme stress and mental panic.

Neil Dando . (Photo: Eddie Mitchell)

He feared that his bizarre illness made him never have a serious love affair.

" At the workplace, the atmosphere is completely serious, so there is no problem. Only when I am attracted to a certain girl does the disease torture me ," Dando said. " There were times when I pretended to like someone to see if I could get over it. But the more I talked, the more I thought and the fear made me give up ."

His condition was described by an American professor Brian Gilmartin in his 1987 book Shyness and Love : Causes, Consequences and Treatment.

Dando accidentally grabbed this book while surfing the web. " I read the book and realized that there are many people who have the same disease as me. I find it foolish to lose my whole life thinking that I am unfortunate and believe that eventually someone will come to me ."

Professor Gilmartin said this situation affects 1.7 million men in the United States. " Shyness prevents people from being responsible for their behavior. It makes people believe that they cannot master their own lives and destiny ."