Trypophobia - Fear of Holes
For the longest time I thought I was the only one in the world who was unnerved by holes. Not all holes mind you, just tiny holes in asymmetrical clusters, often times with things in them. Like a lotus seed pod. They creep me out, horribly. I can’t stand to look at them (Googling for it just now made me cringe). When I do, I start to get really uncomfortable and a creepy, itchy feeling crawls over my body.
After a while I found my sister and brother were also afflicted with this weird fear of clustered holes, so I felt a little bit better in knowing that I wasn’t 100% off-the-wall nutty. And after a little while longer I found out other people had this bizarre phobia as well. Strangers on the internet. That’s when I came across the unofficial name of this fear: trypophobia, derived from the Greek word “trypa” meaning “hole” and “phobia” meaning “fear.”
What is a phobia?
About 5% of the US population is diagnosed with a phobia. A phobia is an irrational fear of an object or situation that a person feels compelled to avoid. Some phobias are minimal, however some can inhibit the ability to work, socialize and live a productive life. Phobias are marked by extreme anxiety, such as:
• Uncontrollable feelings of panic, dread or horror
• Preoccupation with the phobia
• Rapid heartbeat, trembling, sweating, and shortness of breath when confronted with the phobia
• Constructing ways to avoid the phobia at all costs
What causes a phobia?
Phobias arise due to a combination of genetic disposition and external events. Many phobias develop due to trauma as a child, like being bitten by a dog and then fearing all dogs throughout life. Others are learned. If you grow up watching your mother freak out about spiders, you will probably feel the same way about them later.
Trypophobia is considered a specific phobia since a single trigger is what causes anxiety in an individual.
Treatments for phobias
A lot of therapists use a technique called desensitization to cure a phobia. Desensitization is the process of introducing the trigger of a phobia into a person’s life. With trypophobia I would start with looking at a picture of, let’s say, a lotus seed pod. Then when I feel comfortable with just a picture, I would get a real one. After feeling comfortable with that, I may touch it and so forth until I’m not rendered an itchy mess anymore.
Reverse your thinking when you are confronted with the trigger of your phobia. This can help train you into recognizing irrationality behind your fear. For trypophobia instead of thinking, “That thing is really itchy-looking and gross,” try shifting it to something more positive like, “It’s just a bunch of holes. They can’t do anything to me.”
As panic and fear begin to take hold because of a phobia, try thinking of something other than your fear. Count backwards from 100 by twos or talk to yourself about something totally not related, like your plans for the weekend. This can temporarily get your mind off the fear.
Take a deep breath. Meditation and deep breathing are just a couple ways you can clear your head of anxiety and unwanted thoughts.
–Magdalena
Do you have any remedies for a phobia? Comment and tell us about it!
im fourteen years old and i find myself feeling ill/ as if im going to throw up when seeing small holes in clusters and its not really that im scared, but more like i cant look at them, i find them disgusting and sickly.
do you understand this?
I 110% understand!! I can’t stand it either. I almost threw up right now when I saw and image with holes. It’s difficult because I want to be an orthopaedic surgeon, but bones have those tiny, not uniform, holes. It makes me shudder just to think about it. Ugh!!
It’s so great knowing there are others out there like me. God, for so long I couldn’t explain this fear and how sick I get at my stomach. Thanks so much
@ Paisley - YES! I do understand that. I don’t necessarily fear holes either, but looking at them makes me really uncomfortable. I don’t feel ill like you do, but I get really itchy and shivery when I see small holes in clusters.
@ Kate - I wish you luck in overcoming your Trypophobia! I’m sure you’ll become a great orthopedic surgeon.
@ Dawn - I thought I was alone in this as well for a really long time! It’s comforting to know that there are others with this same fear.
I get goosebumps and I feel really uncomfortable when I see holes, i think it’s the same kind of holes in the description. When I was a kid and I saw little holes in the ground after it rained where worms would come up for air, I would get uncomfortable. I have come across patterns that weren’t exactly holes, so I am not sure exactly what causes my brain to react to it. Does anyone know?
@ Lasette - I’m not exactly sure why it happens. I mean, I don’t ever remember being traumatized by holes or anything like that. The funny thing is that I found both my brother and sister share this fear. We talked about it one day, stunned that the others had Trypophibia as well. It was like a secret we never shared until one special day!
This makes me think that there’s stock in the genetic disposition of phobias. Do you have any siblings or children that also get uncomfortable with holes?
Hello,
Although I do not suffer from trypophobia, I am currently studying a masters degree, and my topic is phobias. One of the phobias I am looking at is trypophobia, and am looking for more information about the phobia through case studies. So if anybody is interested in giving a little time to providing me with an insight into your personnal experiences with this phobia then I would be very greatful.
regards,
Jonathan Wray
jonnywray@hotmail.com
Hello, I am very surprised to read everyone’s comments about this phobia as I have suffered from it for so long and could never really explain it to anyone. They all think I am crazy. What surprised me even more was that all your comments are so recent so it’s not like I’m reading someone’s blog from 5 years ago, so this is happening real time! It wasnt until last night when I couldnt sleep because I had a very disgusting image in my head from a video I saw earlier in the day, that I realized that I had to come up with some explanation as to why I get the uneasy feeling so I could explain it better to my husband, who thinks I am completely nuts. Everything I’ve ready so far on the internet is exactly what I experience: goosebumps, nausea, feeling like your skin is crawling, I even get queezy and lightheaded sometimes. It is just a feeling that I want to go away immediately. I wont even go into details of what the video was because I know it will make all you fellow trypophobians’ skin crawl. But I am still having trouble getting it out of my head.
To Jonny Wray, if you ever want to talk to me about the phobia I’d be more than happy to help you in your studies, as I would like to see your end results and any cures or therapies you might encounter.
I am tired of my “typrophobia” and I wish I did not get the feelings that I do. But I am happy to hear that I am not alone, and can actually (unofficially) tell my husband that there is a real phobia for this and I’m not crazy!!! Thanks everyone!
@ Johnny Way - If you want to ask any questions, please just let me know!
@ Mary D - It’s really comforting to find others with this phobia, isn’t it? I know I feel a little better (and less crazy!) about it too. Tell your husband that you’re normal!
OMG! I have this fear too. I randomly typed in fear of holes in google last night not expecting to find anything. I was so amazed my phobia even had a name and so many people suffered from it in the same way that I did. I also get really itchy and panicky when i see cluster of small holes (ew! even writing about it is making my skin crawl now). I hate this fear - it’s so strange and irrational. Has anyone overcome it and how?
@ Louise - Just reading about you writing about a cluster holes made me really itchy. I don’t know if anyone has overcome this fear, but I’m getting better by looking at that stupid lotus seed pod picture. Desensitizing seems to be the only way to get over an irrational fear like that.
I recently saw this picture that had holes in it, and it made me feel so weird, like i couldn’t bare to look at it, gave me goosebumps and i even started crying, so i googled this little phobia and i found this website.
I never used to be scared of holes until i saw that picture and now i can’t stand them.
it kinda sucks. i hope it goes away soon.
but yeah lotus pods are the worst
x
I was just looking at a picture of stacked bones in the catacombs in paris with a friend, and we both revealed that we have this mutual fear of clustered holes. I never thought of it as a “fear”…I just avoided looking at things like wood with holes from bugs, corn on the cob after its been eaten, honeycomb (the worst), etc. I’ve always had an aversion to these things. When I see them I feel dizzy and I have to stop and breathe slowly. Whenever I was asked if I had a fear or phobia, I never mentioned it. I never really put it together as a consistent fear, it was just that I “didn’t like” those things. Anyway, I would really like to know the root of this fear. Many phobias I think come from experiences…but I really don’t think any experience instilled this in me. Does anyone have any ideas? Most of the people replying are women (judging by the names). Is there a connection there? Either way, it’s a relief to read these responses. My heart races when I look at the picture at the top of the page. Ugh.
It’s nice to know that it has a name and that other people have it. I’m grossed out, yet fascinated every time i see the nasty holes. The worst things are the suction cups on the back of starfish and on octopi tentacles, yuuuuck. I also don’t like cracks in dried up mud (like in the desert).
@ Emie - I wish lotus pods never came into existence! They’re so creepy and make me itch something horrible. Bleh.
@ Kath - I wish I knew where this fear came from too. And like you, I don’t ever remember having a weird “hole trauma.” I find it interesting that both my brother and sister share this phobia, so it makes me think there may be some sort of genetic disposition to it. I dunno. I also hate looking at eaten corn on the cob. ICK!
@ Lee - The cracks don’t bother me so much as actual tiny holes. But the suction things on starfish, those are pretty creepy!
WOW, i am amazed that there are so many people that share my fear! I did the stupidest this about an hr ago, i look at an extremly disturbing pic of a breat rash, i had to take a break at work, as i heated up and thought i was going to start crying or being sick, i still cant get that image out of my head, and i know im going to be dreaming about it for a while to come now. All my family think im completly insain, and laugh at me. And i would really like to overcome this phobia, but not by looking at pictures or objects, as that just makes it worse. I’ve had this phobia since i was about 13, but i could easily avoid it but just looking away, but it had gotten alot worse over the years.
Please someone email me if you find something to tame or sure this phobia! katy1988_69@hotmail.com
@ Katy - I know exactly what picture you’re talking about. If it makes you feel any better, it’s also a hoax. You can check it out on snopes.com and search for “breast rash” or something like that.
I think pretty much the only way to get over this fear is to get more comfortable with it… and that means looking at uncomfortable holes. If I do find out another way, I will be sure to tell you about it!
Take care!
My fear of holes came from when I was younger and feel over onto the grass, I noticed a slug and stared at it for a while, the suddenly little holes opened up all over its body and these insects came rushing out and killed the slug.
Its a scary phobia to have, anybody ever seen Pirates of the Caribbean 2? When the coral guy pulls himself off the wall, it freaks me out sooo much my skin itches and crawls.
Anybody want to talk about anything just add me webstar08@hotmail.com
The first time i see holes, i get all like freaky, scared and disgusted. Holes, and tiny little holes are creepy, and i actually didn’t know that it was a phobia. To me its like normal. Well then, yesterday, i went to search on breast cancer, and look what i have found.
This is FREAKING CREEPY! it gave me goosebumps and a chill right down my spine! urgh!
http://urbanlegends.about.com/library/bl_breast_larvae.htm
note if you afraid of it, please don’t go to the link.
well, i guess everyones gotta see it to believe.
yaddisey=D
what about the MOON?. it has holes too.
but i dont feel anything when looking at the moon.
except for some yucky, creepy holes.
can anyone tell me, am i having Trypophobia or not ?
because some holes, to me are making me having goosebumps.
@ Maverick - That is a horrible experience! I can’t get the image of it out of my head, so I can only imagine how you felt at the time.
@ yaddisey - I’ve seen that picture before and it is pretty creepy. As for the moon, it doesn’t bother me. Actually a lot of holes don’t bother me, like artificial ones in metal or in clothes. It are just the small holes you find in nature, like wood and plants and such that bother me. So you probably do have a form of Trypophobia.
@ Magdalena - Yeah it’s really horrible and it still makes me cringe and my skin crawl to this day, I’m only 16 and after searchin Lotus Seed Pods lastnight, I dont think i’ll ever get over this dam fear!
oh my goddddddddd
OK
I had this rash on my arm, so i googled “rash” and i found that breast rash and that is the reason this all started
like seriously it’s even getting worse
i can’t stand to look at anything with holes anymore.
DAMN THAT PICTURE
that breast rash picture, whether fake or not, is the most disturbing thing i have ever seen. ive just seen it and now im trying not to cry and throw up. help!
One of my absolute hate things are red, green and yellow pepper
its filed with thees little seeds that looks like holes,
I am not sure when I got this fobia, But it’s somewere in the back of my mind,
I know this sounds stupid but i think it’s related to the film “Wizard of oz”
don’t wanna watch it in fright of seeing what triggered it all, but is there a human or mokey like with a lot of holes in that movie.? because that is what it in my head everytime,
strange ting, Actually also thought I was alone with this so “happy” to know that it’s not stupid thoughts,
Ohhh and thank you for the link to the “breast rash” curiosity took over and now the price for watching it will be paied over weeks of thoughts towards that picture.. q:0(
I’m so happy that everyone has this feeling too! I’m not alone!! I get the same creepy crawly feeling on my skin when I see asymmetrical holes. I’ve had the hardest time explaining it to my friends so I finally looked it up.
I get goosebumps just reading everyones post! I’m not affected by honeycomb, probably because it’s symmetrical. I hate looking at pancakes that have holes in them. Also, gravel that gets white from salt but the holes stay black. UGH. I had to walk home once without ever looking down. I looked up at the sky the whole way home because it grossed me out.
Ugh. I hate even remembering it. If you haven’t seen the very fake breast rash picture yet, DON’T. First of all, it’s fake, but it’s absolutely disturbing if you have this phobia. I can’t get it out of my head and I’m sure it’ll be in my dreams for weeks to come. Thanks stupid curiosity.
@ emie - I think that picture freaks a lot of people out. I’m sorry that it started this fear of holes for you.
@ heather - Yes. It’s horrible and creepy and really gross. Even as a fake, it still makes me shiver in disgust and dread.
@ Trimmie - You are definitely not alone! Cutting bell peppers kind of freaks me out too, but it’s when I cut off the top. The holes it leaves behind in the pepper “chambers” makes me feel really uncomfortable.
@ Jessica - I hate asymmetrical holes. Like you, honeycombs and other symmetrical holes don’t really bother me. It’s the little clusters in nature (like in wood and skin and plants) that really makes me itch.
it´t strange i hava i high position job, and this fobia really makes me feel stupid, so i am actually glad that im not the only one, no matter how selfish it sounds..
For me though it’s not just holes, it’s small circles aswell or black dots. they dont have to be a hole
I was writing music the other day and was putting lots of semibreves in and that was creeping me out?!
and at college someone doodled on the wall lots of black circles and i always need to cover it up with a book because it makes me feel uneasy.
anyone else have this? :/
Oooh my gosh, I thought I was the only one who felt like this!!! YAY I’m not as weird as I thought!!
One time my sister bought one of those toys that consist of 2 panes of plastic, one clear & one not, with a lot of little needle-like pegs through the not-clear plastic that you can put stuff against and the shape of it is recreated on the other side (hopefully you all know what I’m talking about, I can’t remember what the darn thing’s called…) anyway, needless to say this thing freaked the s**t out of me, because when you put anything against it it made it look like it was full of holes, and my dear lovable sis loved to stand right behind me with the thing pressed against her face… Eeeuugh -shudders-
Anyway. Glad I found this article, it makes me feel not so alone =)
@ Sadie - It’s so interesting to see what sorts of holes make us feel uncomfortable. I think I know what toy you’re talking about. And yes! You’re not alone.
Me and my friend are in school and we were searching for something and stumbled on this website and we both simultaneously realized we are afraid of clusters of holes! Strangely enough, not all things bother us. Cross-sectioned pictures of porous bones (Especially skulls) bothers him, while things like bell peppers, collections of mollusks and crab holes in the ground bother me.
Both of us shivered and got goosebumps while we discussed this.
I too have a crazy fear of clusters… not so much holes… but just little objects that are clustered together… For the longest time I thought I was crazy for having such a bizarre phobia… then i started finding out that more people out there have the same exact fear… I’m so glad I’m not the only one!
Also… is it just me…but when I see a picture of clusters I get incredibly itchy?
[...] - Fear of HolesThis fear is bizarre, but it is nevertheless real.http://aboutcures.net/2008/02/21/trypophobia-fear-of-holes/Digg - Trypophobia - Fear of HolesThis fear is bizarre, but it is nevertheless [...]
FINALLY a name to attach to this crazy feeling that I get when I ever I see “something stuck in something” Pomegranates, seed pods, that D*** Toad that gives birth through the wholes in her back….UGH!! I finally found that I was not alone when I was trying to “desensitize”
myself from that “breast rash” picture that I saw at work today via an e-mail, it totally ruined my entire day. I could not get the image out of my head, and I wanted to vomit all day.
I have had this oogie feeling since I was a little girl, and now I am 40, and just want to be rid of it. I have nightmares that there is something in my pores if I see a image of wholes or something similar.
Do anyone think that there is a link between this phobia and the fact that I am a “clean freak”, or is that because of the phobia??
Beth - and everyone else - I seriously cannot believe how many people go through the same thing - I had actually forgotten about it until I saw that awful breast image on face book that someone sent today - and it absolutely freaked me out and all day I cannot stop thinking about it - my skin is crawling and my muscles get all tense and I feel like I have to squirm and stretch and clench my fists - it is so strange. But I have to keep looking at the image and after looking at it for a while the reaction seems to get less and less - but if you have not seen it PLEASE do not look at it (even though it is fake) It is the MOST awful thing I think I’ve ever seen honestly. My sister has the same thing. We’ve both suffered with anxiety & depression and had a very dis-fuctional growing up (alcoholic father) so I wonder if this has something to do with it. Very strange and awful. At least there is a few of us around!!!!
Ahhh, no way! Me too!
For me it might be clusters of things more than holes. Writhing things too, especially clusters of small writhing things.
Frog eggs, warty toads—hurl. Lotus seed pod made me want to barf since the first time I saw it. I too saw that unbelievably revolting fake photo of a breast with parasites. I was ready to hurl for at least a week and obsessed with thinking about it. The thing is, I’ve looked it up at least 3 more times. I guess I’m trying to desensitize myself but every time I look at it I have the exact same horror–in fact it’s always worse than my memory. I have my own (OCD superstitious?) counter image of pouring hydrogen peroxide into the holes and having all those horrid parasites bubble out. Sorry if I just made anyone sicker.
Weird thing is that I’m not a germ freak or a clean freak in general.
Some of it seems to be about the meaning, so parasites=gross and pomegranate= not gross, but definitely not all of it because there is nothing inherently gross about a seed pod. Also, why are frog eggs and squid suction cups revolting but fish roe sushi OK? Actually why is the little fish roe cute but the big salmon roe disgusting? Go figure.
I’m suspicious this is hard wired though.
The holes are digusting and unfortunately for me, my eyes and my brain, I saw the breast pictures. I have been so disturbed by it. I hope this itchy, climb out of my skin feeling goes away soon. I think that image needs to be removed from the entire internet! LOL. (If only)
I made a mistake and looked at that breast rash picture .The first time I started shaking to the point I had to have a shot of gin to calm down. Now I can’t get the image out of my head I find myself trying look at it to get over seeing it that doesn’t work. I’m so very sorry I found that pic I don’t recommend anyone with this phobia to look at it. I still feel sick. For the longest time my family would laugh at me now I know I’m not crazy.
You guys have just saved my life. Or my stomach and skin at least. My friend sent a NASTY picture of something with tiny little hole clusters…sldkaioevnai i can’t even write it. I feel like i’ll convulse or something…But seriously, I vote that some doctors find out why this is so prevelant. And I completely agree with the genetics factor cause my sister has the same phobia. It’s really really weird and makes me itchy and shaky a nervous and want to barf and like I need to scratch of my skin. I’m afraid that if I try the desensitizing thing with the disgusting lotus thing or whatever I’ll just keep repeatedly getting sick. For now, I’m just trying to steer clear of those damn a-symetrical patches…
Well, I guess I should join the club. I feel the same way and have felt this way for a long time, holes in nature, or any “live clusters”. It skeeves me. I haven’t told anyone about it.
I’m so happy this has a name and others can relate to my fear of holes. Has anyone mentioned if they have OCD? I have OCD and have always been disgusted by clusters of holes, or pictures of diseases with bumps all togther. I managed to control these fears until I saw that “breast rash pod” photo on a website. That image triggered something in my brain, I wanted to block it out but was compelled to keep looking. My head felt like it was buzzing with electric currents everytime I thought about it. It has been over a week and thought I had gotten over it, but last night I had a nightmare. A caterpillar came out of a hole in my forehead and the doctor said it was making tunnels in my brain. This phobia is starting to make me feel a little insane. Thanks to everyone for there stories, it really helped me a lot! I hope we can all find inner peace living with this phobia.
I’ve had this disgust for clusters for as long as I can remember. I’ve always had this image that disturbs me, which is seeds inside my skin all together. Maggots bunched up together, the google image results for “neurofibromatosis”, bumpy rashes, the undersides of the chickens in chicken run, when the old woman in the movie Ratatouille shoots the ceiling and the light falls down, exposing hundreds of rats all together. Then I saw that breast rash picture and my skin just can’t stop crawling and having goosepimples. I really wanted to cry when I saw that picture. At least now I know there’s an actual phobia name for it.