Trypophobia

Not to be confused with Trypanophobia.

Lotus seed head
The holes in lotus seed heads elicit feelings of discomfort or repulsion in some people.[1][2]

Trypophobia is an aversion to the sight of repetitive patterns or clusters of small holes or bumps.[3][4][5] It is not officially recognized as a mental disorder, but may be diagnosed as a specific phobia if excessive fear and distress occur.[1][4] Most affected people experience mainly disgust when they see trypophobic imagery.[4] A minority of people experience the same level of fear and disgust, and a few express only disgust or fear.[4]

The scientific understanding of trypophobia is limited.[4] Although few studies have been done on trypophobia, researchers hypothesize that it is the result of a biological revulsion that associates trypophobic shapes with danger or disease, and may therefore have an evolutionary basis.[1][4] Exposure therapy is a possible treatment.[1]

The term trypophobia was coined by a participant in an online forum in 2005.[6] It has since become a popular topic on social media.[7]

  1. ^ a b c d Milosevic, Irena; McCabe, Randi E. (2015). Phobias: The Psychology of Irrational Fear. ABC-CLIO. pp. 401–402. ISBN 978-1610695763. Retrieved October 25, 2017.
  2. ^ Schacter, Daniel; Gilbert, Daniel; Wegner, Daniel; Hood, Bruce (2015). Psychology: Second European Edition. Palgrave Macmillan. p. 1391. ISBN 978-1137406750. Retrieved October 25, 2017.
  3. ^ Trypophobia: What Is It, Triggers, Symptoms, Diagnosis & Treatment, Cleveland Clinic
  4. ^ a b c d e f Martínez-Aguayo, Juan Carlos; Lanfranco, Renzo C.; Arancibia, Marcelo; Sepúlveda, Elisa; Madrid, Eva (2018). "Trypophobia: What Do We Know So Far? A Case Report and Comprehensive Review of the Literature". Frontiers in Psychiatry. 9: 15. doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2018.00015. ISSN 1664-0640. PMC 5811467. PMID 29479321.
  5. ^ Le, An T. D.; Cole, Geoff G.; Wilkins, Arnold J. (January 30, 2015). "Assessment of trypophobia and an analysis of its visual precipitation". Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology. 68 (11): 2304–22. doi:10.1080/17470218.2015.1013970. PMID 25635930. S2CID 42086559.
  6. ^ Skaggs, William (March 1, 2014). "Are You Afraid of Holes?". Scientific American. Retrieved August 18, 2022.
  7. ^ Abbasi, Jennifer (July 25, 2011). "Is Trypophobia a Real Phobia?". Popular Science. Retrieved October 2, 2012.