Trypophobia Discussion (compiled)

[Guest Lunarstone]

Anyone else has this? I have a really bad case of this.

[Lungker]

Afraid of making typo mistakes when you type? Typophobia?

I am worse. I use two fingers to type - SLOW, and I have to keep my eyes on the keyboard all the time. What kind of phobia is that?

Good night and be Happy.

[Guest Lunarstone]

Afraid of making typo mistakes when you type? Typophobia?

I am worse. I use two fingers to type - SLOW, and I have to keep my eyes on the keyboard all the time. What kind of phobia is that?

Good night and be Happy.

It's freaking me out even as I type it out. It's this strange fear of small holes or clusters. If you goo ogle Trypophobia, you'll see pictures that will freak sufferers out.

[derryfawne]

Just curious, how does the 'fear' manifest? Google seems to suggest that you'll feel itchy and such, is that true?

Also, is trypophobia equal to fear of seeing such things, or is it more of fear that it will happen to you?

Is it any cluster of small holes? Or specifically those in human bodies?

I don't like those pictures I saw, but I guess I'll attribute it more to general feeling of disgust (that you get in seeing any disturbing pictures) rather than a fear in itself.

[Guest Lunarstone]

If I see those pictures, I'll start to cry and get all tingly and it itchy all over. As long as its like those tiny tiny things and a whole bunch like lotus seed pods, osteoporosis,

Edited November 24, 2011 by Lunarstone

[Lungker]

OK, I was kidding there just now. I googled and knew roughly what it is. I just wanted to lighten things up a bit.

This is so new wiki does not have an entry for it in their main portal.

I think you are too sensitive. Don't hang around here too much. Go out with your friends and take your mind off things for a change. Hang out with cheerful happy people of both sexes. Avoid those dark, moody gothic types.

You might have just planted that phobia in your head by reading it.

Cheers and be happy.

[derryfawne]

Awww hope you can relax your mind so that you don't have to think about these.

These pictures are quite unpleasant, I have to say. =x

[Guest Lunarstone]

The name of this phobia isn't the official name. They haven't decided on one yet. I had this phobia before knowing about this forum; started when I was very small. I thought I was a freak or going mad since no one else could understand my phobia.

Not your fault. I mean, I can tolerate the weird feeling but it's quite hard.

My sec FN textbook had pictures of osteoporosis and villi (those finger like projections on the inside of your intestines) l; I was so creeped out I used my nails to try and scratch it out of the pages so I won't have to see them.

Oh my! I'm sorry if I sound crazy.

Edited November 24, 2011 by Lunarstone

[derryfawne]

Oh my! I'm sorry if I sound crazy.

It's called phobia for a reason. Uncontrollable fear on something. Definitely not crazy.

Thankfully we don't have to see such things very often in daily lives.

[Guest Lunarstone]

Phobia means something you fear right? Which means that you hate it? For some strange reason, something makes me want to view these images again and again, even when I know I'll feel tingly and itchy.

[derryfawne]

Sounds complex.

Yeah, phobia means fear. Its opposite is philia (attraction), which would resemble what you describe about wanting to see them again.

I think fear should naturally lead to avoidance. But then again, horror movies scare me yet I love them, so who am I to say? Lol.

Maybe someone with a science background will be able to explain better hehe.

[dreamer]

i have a female friend with this condition too. but then again there are certain clusters which are generally disgusting too - like lotus pods and that frog... yucks.

[Spencer]

okay fxxk. trypophobia.. at first i was like "what the hell is that?" and than (after googling the image) fxxk THIS!

[Guest Lunarstone]

LOOOOL

[Guest Ironrod]

There is a test on youtube abt this quite cool.

I realize I have the "urge" to extract things stuck in the hole lol when I sees it may it be on human or animal.

something in the pod makes me feel like performing operation "Extraction" lol

[Lungker]

Ironrod, if Lunarstone starts crying after seeing your posted vid, you have to go and comfort him.

Btw, my cock is itching now not because I see too many holes but because I have Nomanphobia. The damn toad in the vid is just plain disgusting.

Be happy.

[slut]

There is a test on youtube abt this quite cool.

I realize I have the "urge" to extract things stuck in the hole lol when I sees it may it be on human or animal.

something in the pod makes me feel like performing operation "Extraction" lol

wtf is that at 1:29???! why are frogs jumping out of the holes in its back?

[qez]

That's how that toad reproduce.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surinam_toad#Reproduction

Edited November 25, 2011 by qez

[Guest phobia]

fxxk this. even by reading this thread without seeing the images, i got tingling and goosebumps all over my body.

[Guest Ja]

I think we'll all have reactions towards the video. These images are naturally repulsive. Duh!

[Guest Lunarstone]

Ironrod, if Lunarstone starts crying after seeing your posted vid, you have to go and comfort him.

Btw, my cock is itching now not because I see too many holes but because I have Nomanphobia. The damn toad in the vid is just plain disgusting.

Be happy.

I watched that video way before long long time ago lol

[Heh.]

I ABSOLUTELY HATE THAT FROG VIDEO. SEEN IT ONCE AND TOTALLY GAGGED

[Lungker]

Lunar Bro, If you are the sensitive type, and you keep seeing these kind of vids, no wonder you will cry.

About this phobia, even the scientific people do not agree if such a phobia actually exists. It could be just all in the head. It is like the power of suggestion. You see something really gross, and the commentator says some people has phobia to such images and if you are the easily brainwashed type, you will start thinking you have such phobias if you are grossed out by the images.

Like I said before, go out and have some fun. Want a nice body to attract other men? - then go work out to achieve that body. Grow a good character - meaning make a serious effort to be nice and helpful, be cheerful, be generous with your time and if possible money, be kind and before you know it, you will be the one everyone want to be friend with. And if that happens, who gives a shit about lotus pods and a toad from Surinam?

To borrow a cliche, get a life, a good life and your troubles will fade away.

Be Happy.

[greysuperhero]

A phobia is a fear which is not logical and hinders your everyday life. For example if you see those images (which by right are harmless) and your legs get so weak you cannot walk - that's a phobia.

Come to think of it, maybe what you're afraid of is not the holes, but what might come out of the holes....possibly creepy crawlies, slimy creatures etc?

[keyboard]

Most people have phobia to certain degrees. If it does not affect your normal operations, just live with it. It's not going to magically disappear. If it becomes a problem, you faint or have heart attack kind, i would suggest you look for a phobia counselor or psychologist for treatment.

[Guest Holysheet]

Imagine worms wriggling out of the holes!! That will be gross s**t

[Guest Ironrod]

I watched that video way before long long time ago lol

Lunar - The video quite cute right? I actually kinda like the frog thing so cute.

If u guys think the video is disgusting it's becos u haven't watch.......The Human Centipede II (Full Sequence) (2011)!!!

I feel like abusing somebody after having a "GLIMSP" of it - it pisses me off.

[ShadowRay]

Whoa new word for me. Im sorry for you. Dont think I can enjoy eating pancakes if I have this phobia.

[Mercutio]

Actually, I think most people are just getting the willies.

To qualify as a phobia, that is to say a pathological anxiety disorder, the fear should be (a) persistent - lasting for at least several months; (b) of significant degree such that the sufferer will go to inordinate and disproportionate lengths to avoid the object of fear; © recognized by the sufferer to be irrational, and we'll come back to this; and (d) consistent.

So unless you keep making lame excuses just to avoid seeing lotus seed pods and golf balls, *and* still sticking to such excuses to justify your absence when it's patently obvious to everyone that your excuses are indeed lame, I don't really think you have a phobia. Are you for example unable to sleep when you know there are a pair of Gucci brogues under the bed? Or do you begin to stammer and are unable to continue dinner conversation because someone left the pepper shaker in front of you? If the answer is 'no', then there's a very high chance you're just grossed out by organic thingies and not have trypophobia as it is currently claimed to be described.

Oh yeah, the 'irrationality' part. It's a common misconception that phobias are 'irrational', meaning that people get them without cause. That's not really true. A phobia is 'irrational' only in the sense that the object typically presents no threat under most normal circumstances and therefore there is no reason to regard it with caution. Fear of cats for example - while an angry or frightened cat might scratch you, a cat scratch is not in most cases life threatening, so there is no rational reason to be afraid of cats. Phobias are thought to derive in most cases from early life experiences, and therefore do have origins and causes.

I have a mild phobia of needle injections for example, thanks to the rough handling by my dentist as a small child. I know the pain is nothing - I'm quite happy to use a penknife to cut an embedded stone out from my own skin if necessary, but I get panicky at the prospect of a syringe injection. At its worst, I can't sleep the entire night before I know I'm getting an injection, and I've actually stood in lift lobbies, pressing the 'up' button and watching elevator doors open and close, but be physically unable to step into the lift because the doctor with the evil syringe is waiting for me up there.

[Mercutio]

Oh, what I do find telling is that most of these trypophobia websites focus on deliberately gross and/or alien images.

I should think a true trypophobe should also be disturbed and revulsed by the images below (sorry, I was half doing my online shopping at Mr Porter as I write this):

Dolce & Gabbana Distressed Belt

Gucci Embossed Messenger Bag

Alessi colander

Dolce & Gabbana Patent Wingtip Brogues

Bulgari cufflinks 18k pink gold

Audi S8 Bang & Olufsen speakers

I'm honestly curious if anyone continues to be repulsed.

[Lungker]

Mercutio, you are brilliant! :thumb: You are exactly correct.

As a follow up to what you had deduced, what about the holes in a shower head or a floor trap in a bathroom? Don't people suffering from this phobia ever take showers?

I am starting to think this is just selective hypochondria. :twisted:

Be Merry.

[Guest Lunarstone]

Oh, what I do find telling is that most of these trypophobia websites focus on deliberately gross and/or alien images.

I should think a true trypophobe should also be disturbed and revulsed by the images below (sorry, I was half doing my online shopping at Mr Porter as I write this):

Dolce & Gabbana Distressed Belt

Gucci Embossed Messenger Bag

Alessi colander

Dolce & Gabbana Patent Wingtip Brogues

Bulgari cufflinks 18k pink gold

Audi S8 Bang & Olufsen speakers

I'm honestly curious if anyone continues to be repulsed.

I am. First, fifth, sixth and 7th

[Mercutio]

I am. First, fifth, sixth and 7th

So you avoid the ground floor at Ion and stepping into Audi cars?

[Guest Lunarstone]

If you're asking if I deliberately look for things that make me uncomfortable, then no.

[Lungker]

Do you take showers Lunar?

[Guest Lunarstone]

Yes, I do. I also am aware of the holes in the shower head. See, it's not just any hole. It has to be a big group of small tiny holes; asymmetrical. Like osteoporosis, or the cremains of someone.

[Mercutio]

If you're asking if I deliberately look for things that make me uncomfortable, then no.

No, I'm asking if you deliberately avoid situations where you could probably come into contact with things that have masses of small holes.

I'm not questioning the reality of your fear; only if it's just the willies, or something that makes you physically and/or mentally unable to function normally should you find yourself confronted with such objects.

[Guest Lunarstone]

No, I'm asking if you deliberately avoid situations where you could probably come into contact with things that have masses of small holes. I'm not questioning the reality of your fear; only if it's just the willies, or something that makes you physically and/or mentally unable to function normally should you find yourself confronted with such objects.

I don't conscientiously avoid these situations. If I do get myself into them, I just move away.

[Mercutio]

I don't conscientiously avoid these situations. If I do get myself into them, I just move away.

It's likely then that it isn't a phobia, but an unusual disaffinity for such things, probably because they remind of decay and death. Similar for example to most people's reaction to maggots. I would dare venture that many people would not be able to function normally in the presence of a mass of writhing maggots, but that doesn't constitute a phobia.

Phobia comes from the Greek phobos, anthropomorphized as a son of Ares. Phobos would reduce otherwise strong and abled men into blubbering, cowering babes at the thought of war (Ares). The English word 'fear' covers too broad a spectrum, with phobia only being a more extreme subset of that.

A phobia results in dysfunctional behaviour: I mentioned my inability to get into lifts, for example. Even then, I have at most a mild phobia since I can eventually conquer it and force myself to take the injection.

Edited November 27, 2011 by Mercutio

[Lungker]

Just read this from Popular Science website. Wikipedia consider this phobia a hoax and would even let it list on the wiki website.

http://www.popsci.com/trypophobia

Is Trypophobia a Real Phobia?

If you’re like me and you have a visceral reaction to the image above—if it makes your skin crawl, your hair hurt, and your stomach turn—you can count yourself among the trypophobic. According to its Facebook page, which is more than 4,000 members strong, trypophobia is fear of clustered holes. It is usually small holes in organic objects, such as lotus seed heads or bubbles in batter, that give trypophobics the extreme willies, triggering reactions like itchy skin, nausea and a general feeling of discomfort. (A picture of a candy bar with a pattern of small air bubbles did me in. Goodbye, dear chocolate. For now.)

My editor tasked me with investigating what causes this bizarre and irrational fear, which I had never heard of before.

It turns out that I’m not alone. I contacted roughly 10 psychologists for this story, and of those who got back to me, none had heard of it. The evolutionary psychologists I emailed were unwilling to speculate on the potential biological underpinnings for a fear of small, clustered holes. Trypophobia is not an official phobia recognized in scientific literature. For many (though perhaps not all) who have it, it’s probably not even a real phobia, which the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders says must interfere “significantly with the person’s normal routine.” Having just looked at a bunch of holey pictures and videos, I’m severely grossed out, but I can still write this story.

Although this may be of no comfort to those who suffer from it, trypophobia is simply one of an infinite number of fears that people experience, some more idiosyncratic than others. The online Phobia List, run by an amateur etymologist, contains the names of hundreds of fears, from the well-known (fear of heights: acrophobia) to the fringe (fear of the great mole rat: zemmiphobia). Trypophobia hasn’t made the list yet.

According to Martin Antony, a psychologist at Ryerson University in Toronto, past-president of the Canadian Psychological Association and author of The Anti-Anxiety Workbook, with the exception of a few terms (agoraphobia, claustrophobia and arachnophobia among them), professionals who study and treat phobias tend not to use all the Latin and Greek names that get tossed around on message boards and in the press.

Antony wasn’t surprised to hear that some people have an intense aversion to clustered holes because “people can be afraid of absolutely anything.” The factors that contribute to fears and phobias include traumatic experiences (getting bitten by a dog leading to a fear of dogs, for example), observational learning (watching others be afraid of heights), information and instruction (learning to fear being alone in the dark after watching too many horror movies), and various biological factors (like an inherited predisposition to anxiety). “Although the studies on causes of fears have all focused on more common ones, such as spiders and snakes, there is no reason to think that different factors would be responsible for more unusual fears, Antony says.

Trypophobia may also be catching. An element of so-called emotional contagion seems to be at work on Facebook, where some group members say they didn’t realize they were trypophobic until they started reading others’ comments and clicking on the pictures. “It’s not unusual to laugh harder at a funny movie if others around you are laughing,” Antony explains. “In the same way, we may be more likely to experience fear in a particular moment if others around us are fearful.” For me, however, all it took was a verbal mention of a “fear of small holes” to illicit a shudder. I became disgusted before looking at a single gnarly image of a skin graft or lamprey eel (look ’em up) or reading an online comment. I also immediately assumed that we were talking about biologic objects—holes in wood, in particular. Clearly, in me the fear was preexisting.

One trypophobic reported on Facebook that her fear stems back to childhood, when she had a Renaissance Faire dagger with a handle covered in little holes. Another member wrote: “I was stung by a bee in high school on my outer thigh. I had an allergic reaction, and my skin started to swell. The swelling was so bad, I could see each individual pore on my leg and I freaked out. Since then, I have not been able to look at clusters of holes without getting the heebie-jeebies.” Just. Gross.

Fear and disgust often go hand in hand, Antony says. “Evolutionarily speaking, almost all of the things that arouse a strong disgust-reaction--spiders, mice, blood, vomit--are things that could have been triggers for fear of illness.” Perhaps the same could be true for little holes, especially in natural objects where they seem particularly out of place. I suspect that we’re disgusted by pockmarked objects because they don’t look quite “right”; these perceived deformities signal danger, which we manifest as revulsion. But then again, a fear of asymmetry (another form of things looking not quite right) in some people with obsessive-compulsive disorder is not associated with disgust, Antony says. Perhaps holes, particularly in organic objects, subconsciously remind us of the symptoms of contagious illnesses that affect the skin, such as the rash or blisters associated with measles and chicken pox, respectively. All of this, of course, is speculation, and just goes to show how little we know about trypophobia.

Masai Andrews hopes that will change. Andrews, who runs Trypophobia.com, founded the Facebook group page in 2009 when he was a sociology minor at SUNY-Albany. “I started the website and Facebook page because I suspected this was a very common phobia and I wanted a place where people could compile information,” Andrews says. “It is my hope that one day the academic and scientific communities will, at the very least, acknowledge the aversion to holes and certain patterns.”

When that happens, a Wikipedia page dedicated to the fear should follow. Surprisingly, one doesn’t exist today. “I can barely keep a page up on the subject without it getting taken down,” Andrews says. In March 2009 the powers that be at Wikipedia determined trypophobia to be a “likely hoax and borderline patent nonsense.” The deletion page also says that Wikipedia is “not for things made up one day.” As for who actually made the word up, that distinction probably belongs to a blogger in Ireland named Louise, Andrews says. According to an archived Geocities page, Louise settled on “trypophobia” (Greek for “boring holes” + “fear”) after corresponding with a representative at the Oxford English Dictionary. Louise, Andrews and trypophobia Facebook group members have petitioned the dictionary to include the word. The term will need to be used for years and have multiple petitions and scholarly references before the dictionary accepts it, Andrews says. I, for one, would prefer to forget about it forever.

[Guest Lunarstone]

It's likely then that it isn't a phobia, but an unusual disaffinity for such things, probably because they remind of decay and death. Similar for example to most people's reaction to maggots. I would dare venture that many people would not be able to function normally in the presence of a mass of writhing maggots, but that doesn't constitute a phobia. Phobia comes from the Greek phobos, anthropomorphized as a son of Ares. Phobos would reduce otherwise strong and abled men into blubbering, cowering babes at the thought of war (Ares). The English word 'fear' covers too broad a spectrum, with phobia only being the most extreme subset of that.

I mean, it makes me feel all tingly and itchy all over and I've got that weird urge to try and remove the parts in between the holes

[Mercutio]

I mean, it makes me feel all tingly and itchy all over and I've got that weird urge to try and remove the parts in between the holes

That sounds like a mild case of OCD. Trypophobia would cause you to want to flee screaming from such things, and not wear leather belts because of the holes punched through the cowhide.

[Guest Lunarstone]

That sounds like a mild case of OCD. Trypophobia would cause you to want to flee screaming from such things, and not wear leather belts because of the holes punched through the cowhide.

I do feel squeamish at the same too. I wouldn't run off like that but I wouldn't be able to stop scratching myself because of the itchy feeling. My leather belt doesn't have that much holes and they're pretty big. it's the group of small holes that make me feel like just getting rid of the holes. That's probably why I have the urge to get rid of the holes.

[Lungker]

Ok enough.

If all the psychologists didn't seemed to think such a phobia exists, and this all started from some facebook postings and groups, and the wiki people think it is actually a hoax, and the name was coined by some amateur blogger in Ireland and not some scientific people, then I can fairly announced this thread will be locked by tomorrow morning.

Lunar, you take good care. Go out and enjoy some dicks.

Mercutio, are you Teochew with chunky fingers and big feet?

Everyone else...stop posting funny morbid creatures with holes here. They are just simply disgusting.

Remember, this disgusting topic will be locked by tomorrow morning.

I am tired. Going to bed. G'nite all.

Be Merry.

[Mercutio]

It's probably still OCD, based possibly on some associative memory.

I just remembered that a friend of mine has a phobia of fish. He's better now but it used to be that he would avoid flipping through National Geographic despite being an avid photographer, just in case that issue of National Geographic had photos of fish in it.

That's the extent of dysfunctional behaviour a phobia evokes.

[Mercutio]

Mercutio, are you Teochew with chunky fingers and big feet?

Be Merry.

I regret that none of the above are accurate unless you mean something other than feet by 'big feet'.

[Lungker]

Mercutio, can't PM you. Can you reset your account to accept my PM or email me at Lungker@Gmail.com.

NOT talking about OCD or Happy Feet.

Thanks.

==============================================================

Thread locked for reasons mentioned earlier.

Be Merry.

[Guest univyang]

People get used to the idea that all bodies of all biological creatures should be in closed form all the time. When he or she sees a body with uncommon holes, it completely violates this idea, his or her biological balance suddenly collapses and feels as disgusting as possible. When a person with trypophobia sees a non biological body with holes, he or she automatically metaphors that body into a biological body and feels as disgusting as possible.

[Guest Guest]