Ever since I was a kid, I have had an aversion to things with tightly packed circles in or on them, the classic example being a honeycomb or wasp’s nest. I get very uneasy when they are in my presence, and in the case of the latter, I am not satisfied unless they are destroyed with extreme prejudice. Other things that remind me of that pattern also sicken me, and even mentioning mumps, measles, chicken pox, boils, hives, or even severe acne is enough to make me itchy, sick to my stomach, and even sometimes break out in hives.
I’ve mentioned this to various people over the years, and without exception, everyone’s found it weird. I’ve never met anyone else who’s felt the same way about little clusters of circles or hemispheres, and some people, like my friend Rebecca, enjoy poking at it by mentioning hives in conversation and watching me squirm. I found out today, though, that I’m not alone in my condition, and that it’s apparently common enough to have its own name - trypophobia.
I discovered this through a hijack in this thread in the Pit where someone linked to the Snopes article on the [NSFW link removed by Moderator]. I was already well-acquainted with the thing, having been linked to it years ago, and it’s haunted my nightmares ever since. I am not exaggerating at all when I say that I cannot think of anything more disgusting, and if Hell existed, my body or those I was forced to interact with would be covered in those holes and bumps. Apparently, plenty of other people share the same aversion, and the thread is full of people freaking out over it.
I’m not trypophobic, but that is one nasty photograph. I’ve seen it before, and even though it’s fake, it’s very disturbing.
I do have a weird phobia of my own–mold. I’m trying not to think about what could be lurking in my own fridge right this moment. :eek: That Poe short story, The Cask of Amontillado, is extremely disturbing to me.
I’ve never met another person terrified of mold. So you are at least not alone in having a weird phobia.
Well, I am not even thinking of clicking those links. From the reactions in the Pit thread by some of the people that have posted completely gross stuff from my perspective, I’m not going near those links with a 50 foot pole.
So sign me up for whatever it’s called. . .I don’t even want to find out.
I am (though not as much as you are. Also, I don’t care about measles, boils and the like). I’ve mentioned it a number of times on this board, and without failing got every time a number of “me too”, even though, like you, I used to assume that I probably was mostly alone.
Anyway, I understood on this board that regardless how weird or unusual your experience/phobia/quirk/whatever is, there are plenty of people like you (except maybe if you know someone who agreed to be killed and eaten. A poster said so once, winning a thread without contest in the process. I’m yet to read a single “me too” on this one).
And for people about to post a “me too” : If you have never seen the “lotus pod” picture, just don’t click on ** Aesiron **'s link. Take my word for that. You won’t be able to wash your brain, no matter how much bleach you use.
And if you have seen it before, there will be this little voice in the back of your head saying, “Click the link! Click the link!”
I first encountered lotus pod at a Korean restaurant in Newmarket. It was disturbing to look at there too. I expected it to be slimy, but it was crunchy and quite good.
I think I have a mild version of this. This picture doesn’t bother me at all but this picture freaks me the hell out. The lotus boob is probably the grossest thing I have seen in a long time but I think that might be in part because the breast otherwise looks so healthy. The snopes article mentions that there is no redness or swelling or anything else, just the lotus pattern, and I think that is a big part of the issue with me because it looks so normal in every way except the damned holes! Just thinking about this is making my entire body itch!
I have no problem with honeycombs or swiss cheese or anything else with holes, really, but the occasional lotus blossom and, of course the lotus boob, make me itch and want to smash things with a hammer.
Hi, my name is MsWhatsit and apparently I am a trypophobe. Much like Aesiron, I’ve had this aversion/phobia/revulsion/etc. since I was a small child, for no real discernable reason. As I mentioned in the other thread, the first and only time I ever cut open a persimmon, I had to get MrWhatsit to come and scoop out the seeds, because I couldn’t bear to look at it. He also was charged with removing the infestation of white maggoty-looking things in one of the 2x4s in our raised garden bed. (I wanted to douse the entire thing with gasoline and burn it, and actually, envisioning the bonfire still really makes me feel a lot calmer about the whole thing.)
I have actually had my “thing” triggered by particularly cluster-y wallpaper patterns, so it’s not just organic matter, either, although organic stuff tends to be worse.
I opened the link to the lotus boob and looked at it for about a millisecond before realizing, wow, that is the most awful thing I have ever seen in my entire fucking life, and one millisecond is enough. I had to walk away from the computer for several minutes afterward, just the same.
I am really kind of relieved to find out that I am not the only one who has this bizarre-ass phobia.
** Aesiron ** mentioned this urge to destroy the offending structure, and I feel it too. I’m wondering if it’s specific to this phobia, or if phobic people all have the same burning desire to physically annihilate whatever it is that they dislike.
I once bunched a few dozen straws together and looked at them end-on, which caused a wave of nausea to wash over me. It’s definitely the pattern that bothers me, but the source being organic does make it worse.
I think it might be because it looks like something is dead and decaying. I know I’m also bothered and made very uncomfortable by animals or people that are severely deformed, which I assume is related.
Okay, this picture freaks me out too in much the same way but it isn’t a cluster of holes. It is a picture of a thanksgiving turkey, actually, but it gives me the same skeevy feeling that I get from the other images. I might need some kind of professional help.
Just curious. What’s the least severe deformity that wouldn’t bother you. If you see someone who has been burned or has scars, would it freak you out so much that it would be obvious and hurtful to them? Or are you able to control it enough to deal with these types of situations? When you’re strolling along in your office or the mall or wherever, what happens when you see someone with a deformity? Are you stressed out in general wondering “what if?” Is it always in the background? Sorry to pry, but just wondering how you are able to get through the day sometimes. Do you avoid hospitals? God, I’m nosy!
I’m unconvinced because I’m not particularly bothered by dead and decaying things. And not any more than everybody else by severely deformed people or animals, I think.
I do have a general fear of birds too, so I think this combines a giant hole, “turkey bumps”, and a GIANT BIRD (though it is dead it is still creepy because it is still bird shaped…no, I don’t eat turkey at thanksgiving and I won’t eat a whole chicken either, only chicken breasts or other non bird-shaped parts of the chicken.)
