POP star Robbie Williams has said requests for selfies cause him discomfort and panic.
The ex-Take That singer, 51, said he can mask it well and urged fans to think about how they approach him.
He revealed on Instagram how he had multiple requests for photos on a recent flight when he'd had little sleep and was trying to get four kids through the airport.
One fan had passed him a "lovely note", praising his Netflix documentary that detailed his struggles with fame.
Robbie told the person that taking a selfie would cause his anxiety to "spike, because then the whole cabin would start wondering who I am".
More requests came with another person sending him a note, and one more passenger making him feel "obliged" to pose after walking up to him and asking outright for the photo.
He said: "Every interaction — with strangers or even people I know well — fills me with discomfort.
"I mask it well. But social interaction still frightens me.
"So much so I didn't go out for years. And I had to do it without drugs or drink.
"I used to find it impossible. Now I'm . . . OK-ish. But still crawling inside.
"Every time a stranger approaches — and they are strangers — I panic."
Williams said such fan interactions need a "caveat".
He said there was an "unspoken law" that celebrities should be accessible 24/7, and that he should greet all strangers "like you're the mayor of the best town — make sure their wishes are met, whatever they are".
But he added many are "fans of fame, not necessarily of me".
He said he thought more than half of people who approached him could not name one of his albums.
But he said if people were his fans, he wanted to hear it, adding: "That means a lot.
"I'll make time. I've gratitude for that. It warms my heart when I feel I've warmed yours."
He urged fans to give celebrities the "dignity of their privacy, their wants, their needs", as he could be "on the phone with my mum, talking about her dementia or thinking about my dad's Parkinson's".
People praised Williams for his openness and honesty.
One fan wrote: "Everyone is entitled to their boundaries."
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