Page 4 | If you have fear of holes (trypophobia)..

Swalewhale · 2023-03-19T21:14:28+00:00

...what does it feel like? I'm asking because DD (7) has this and I want to understand it better. She's not really articulating why she hates the look of holes. Does it make you feel sick like, for me, someone dragging their fingernails on a carpet would? Or does it make you anxious like before you have to have an injection or medical treatment? If you have this fear do you also have OCD or obsessive thoughts? I'm wondering if the two go hand in hand but I hope not.

DigbyTheDigger · 20/03/2023 05:20

@Howtostart I’m the same with birds, particularly dead ones. I feed them in the garden but can’t have them near me at all.

garlictwist · 20/03/2023 05:21

I have this and I was so relieved when the internet was invented and I found out I wasn't the only one.

For me it's like a physical revulsion and a sudden nausea.

Original poster

Swalewhale · 20/03/2023 05:29

Thank you, I really appreciate all the comments. I feel like I can understand the feeling better now

OP posts:

Ladyofthesea · 20/03/2023 05:43

I don't have a fear as such but I start feeling sick and disgusted and to me it looks like a contagious disease that I need to get away from very quickly. I can suppress somewhat it to not appear rude in public but I do feel sick till I can't see it anymore.

Chocchops72 · 20/03/2023 05:48

I developed, or became aware of it, when researching home verruca treatments. Some of the verruca images were very disturbing and at some point the algorithm threw up that picture of the toad that has all its babies in its back, and lotus seed pods: yuk, I felt utterly repulsed and fascinated at the same time. I’d never heard of trypophobia before.

no ocd, no adhd, no intrusive thoughts and no phobias. So it makes sense to me that it’s an evolutionary response rather than a mental health or neurological issue.

Ladyofthesea · 20/03/2023 05:50

I also have no OCD or ADHD. Because it reminds me of a disease I need to get away from NOW I also thought it was evolutionary. DH has it too, a bit worse than me. Also no adhd but maybe sometimes a bit obsessive.

JavaChip · 20/03/2023 06:40

Does anyone else have a similar thing too with finger like projections?
Like villi in the gut.

I dislike the hole and cannot look but the fingers are far worse.

Also ND.

grapehyacinthisactuallyblue · 20/03/2023 06:41

Oh sorry OP and others who have seen the image, that wasn't my intention to offend anyone! I'm sorry, again.

year3k · 20/03/2023 06:43

It gives me the same feeling as motion sickness

Surely2023IsTheYearForMyRainbowBaby · 20/03/2023 07:00

It makes me feel sick and I get that weird horrid feeling of something crawling over my skin. The type of feeling that makes you go ugh and shiver at the same time. No ADHD for me though.

ProfYaffle · 20/03/2023 07:03

I saw someone on here describe it as an extreme disgust reaction rather than a phobia per se. That more accurately describes it for me.

inigomontoyahwillcox · 20/03/2023 07:09

It makes my face, ears and scalp itch, my stomach turn and an intense feeling of anxiety. A proper shudder moment.

It's funny so many of you should mention ADHD. My DD has it and I strongly suspect I do too.

Denise82 · 20/03/2023 07:16

I have this, I'm more affected by images to do with skin or animals rather than the lotus flower/honeycomb type images. I also hate seeing swarms of birds in the sky so it's possibly related. I feel disgust mainly and need to clench my teeth, a shiver of uneasiness goes through my body and I don't forget the image for a while.
I have misophonia but don't feel like it's related to that.

Idratherbepaddleboarding · 20/03/2023 07:58

I feel exactly like everyone above had already described but I feel all of my revulsion in my boobs 😂. It was that horrible flower thing that triggered it for me.

WeAreFromThePlanetDuplo · 20/03/2023 09:22

I was looking at the pictures after reading this thread and have a similarly visceral reaction, but for me it's a urge to squeeze something out of the holes so a hole is remaining. I'd find it hugely satisfying to squeeze the pips out of a strawberry I'm sure. So I wonder whether the evolution of our reaction to holey things goes one way or the other. Weird!

JavaChip · 20/03/2023 09:24

WeAreFromThePlanetDuplo · 20/03/2023 09:22

I was looking at the pictures after reading this thread and have a similarly visceral reaction, but for me it's a urge to squeeze something out of the holes so a hole is remaining. I'd find it hugely satisfying to squeeze the pips out of a strawberry I'm sure. So I wonder whether the evolution of our reaction to holey things goes one way or the other. Weird!

Even reading this triggering!

OneFrenchEgg · 20/03/2023 12:46

WeAreFromThePlanetDuplo · 20/03/2023 09:22

I was looking at the pictures after reading this thread and have a similarly visceral reaction, but for me it's a urge to squeeze something out of the holes so a hole is remaining. I'd find it hugely satisfying to squeeze the pips out of a strawberry I'm sure. So I wonder whether the evolution of our reaction to holey things goes one way or the other. Weird!

Urgh. Like the pimple popper type videos - they make me really feel sick.

EssexCat · 20/03/2023 12:48

SittingNextToIt · 19/03/2023 21:24

My spouse has this and I’ve just asked him and he’s said “it’s specifically a feeling like something like maggots might come out of the holes or parasites - and it causes a feeling of being repulsed and sick, and thee images are persistent. It’s not at all like a monster coming out - it’s little worm/maggots/oozing things coming out. Just speaking to you about it now I’m feeling queasy”

Show quote history

That is exactly how it makes me feel. Queasy and like maggots are going to pop out.

Woahhohoho · 20/03/2023 13:15

BertieBotts · 19/03/2023 21:35

It makes me clench my teeth. Like I have to get a firm grip on them and know that they are solid because they feel like they might be made of sponge

I also have ADHD! WTF, I had never heard of that before.

Do you all get Alice In Wonderland Syndrome / Exploding Head Syndrome too? I used to get AIWS very often while falling asleep as a child and I found it really frightening. I would feel like my body parts (frequently teeth/jaw, hands or feet) were too big and I was trying to do normal things like eat or walk or use my hands and it wouldn't work properly and it would freak me out.

There is an advert that comes up when playing mobile games - something about a fish eating tons of smaller fish with giant jaws - and I have to hide my phone screen as that gives me exactly the same horror feeling as having these huge teeth that I can't use properly. In fact you know I think this is what I'm trying to stop when I clench my jaw on seeing that horrible holey texture.

DS2 has absolutely exactly my trypophobia response to buttons. He won't wear anything with buttons on and would prefer nobody else did either.

There is an image (please god nobody put it on the thread) that comes up if you google trypophobia, which apparently invokes the feeling of it even in normal people if you REALLY want to understand OP!

Yes!! I have exploding head syndrome and AIWS, both worse when I'm stressed. Lately I've been getting out of bed to find the source of the bang before realising it was just me falling asleep. The AIWS tends to be my hands and mouth, I feel like my mouth is expanding from the inside and have to wake up and move around to get rid of it. I hate it.

When I see lots of holes my scalp instantly gets a very intense itch all over, it feel as though my hairs are all prickling and I have to rub my head. It's a feeling of horror rather than fear. I'm scared of needles and heights but it's a very different feeling.

I've also wondered about ADHD but hadn't considered the link.

Woahhohoho · 20/03/2023 13:21

I'm really itchy now, ugh!

Weirdly I'm fine with crumpets. Cooking penne pasta is a no go, when they rise vertically... absolute nope. For me I think it's uniform holes rather than random ones. I think I need a bath now.

midnightblue12 · 20/03/2023 13:25

It makes me feel really squeamish and uncomfortable.
I don't know why, and it's sounds ridiculous, but it also makes me feel really annoyed and on edge?!

Nooyoiknooyoik · 20/03/2023 13:25

ProfYaffle · 20/03/2023 07:03

I saw someone on here describe it as an extreme disgust reaction rather than a phobia per se. That more accurately describes it for me.

Me too. I’m not phobic but it disgusts and repulses me.

DigbyTheDigger · 20/03/2023 13:41

OneFrenchEgg · 20/03/2023 12:46

Urgh. Like the pimple popper type videos - they make me really feel sick.

Show quote history

Oh god no, those are horrific! I mean something that would pop out cleanly and leave the hole behind. Nothing wiggly or squelchy.

AlienSupaStar · 20/03/2023 13:44

So many great descriptions of the feelings on this thread.

I am tormented by the images for ages afterwards - awful. Makes me want to scratch my scalp and skin off and it is soooo unsettling. Awful awful feeling but the images are so hard to get rid of.

there was one that wasn’t holes but was of a face covered in teeth - kept me up at night for almost 2 months.

Sierra26 · 20/03/2023 13:53

Two things happened in my garden recently.

I dug up the inside bit of a sunflower from a flower bed. The dark bit with all the seeds sticking out. I think a squirrel buried it. I got such a fight and couldn’t look at it, it was so so gross and triggering with all the holes and seeds 🤢

There’s something in my vegetable patch at the moment which I think/thought is a cat poo. But it has really long straight HAIRS growing from it, vertically upwards towards the sky. It makes me want to never engage with the garden again. I need to pluck up courage to get DH to investigate it.

fine with crumpets 🤷🏻‍♀️

Roast chicken when you can see the feather follicle holes on the skin 🤢🤢