To have a massive fear of sunflower plants...?

[HauteGirlSummer]

I had never really noticed them until our son started school a few weeks ago...

There's a giant (I mean it's HUUGE) sunflower in the garden in front of the Reception class. I had never seen one that up close before but my goddess they are frightening. The seeds. THE SEEDS. The thing is covered in seeds. Just typing this is giving me the shivers.

How did I never realise this? Now I feel anxious during school drop offs and pick ups? It's so bad. I can't deal with this huge flower staring at me 😖😣😰 Makes my skin crawl.

How am I going to cope with facing this flower on a daily basis?
Is this even a thing?
I told my husband about and I felt silly and unreasonable describing my fear of it 😩😩

And I also annoyingly made the mistake of typing 'fear of sunflower plant' on Google which means my social feeds is flooded with suggestions of sunflower vids! Urghhh.

I don't like them at all, they turn around at night to face the sun in the morning (so I'm told)
They are scary things
Van Gogh's painting of them is fine though !

No way, I love sunflowers! But if it’s any consolation they don’t last very long and will die off very soon.

Agree with PP, it sounds like some sort of trypophobia. Do NOT, for the love of god, google it.

OP you have my complete sympathy. I always thought I liked sunflowers till this year. Turns out I had been lulled into a false sense of security by the small ones you get in bouquets.

We planted some 'giant sunflowers' and my god they grew to match their name. These things were HORRIFIC!!! The horrible hairy stalks, the giant meaty heads, the ratty floppy leaves. They were almost 9 feet high. Enormous and so so horrible.

My DH cut them down in the end because I couldn't bare to have the kitchen blind up in case I saw them out there in the garden.

They supposedly face each other if its dull to give each other energy which I find rather endearing

I knew before I opened thiswhy you hate sunflowers. I have this trypophobia thing too.

@PintOfBovril

OP you have my complete sympathy. I always thought I liked sunflowers till this year. Turns out I had been lulled into a false sense of security by the small ones you get in bouquets.

We planted some 'giant sunflowers' and my god they grew to match their name. These things were HORRIFIC!!! The horrible hairy stalks, the giant meaty heads, the ratty floppy leaves. They were almost 9 feet high. Enormous and so so horrible.

My DH cut them down in the end because I couldn't bare to have the kitchen blind up in case I saw them out there in the garden.

I love your description😄

I feel like that about honeydew melon seeds 🤢

@OP they have! the film is called 'Little house of horrors'.

@EnigmaCat

Your description sounds like Trypophobia (Don't google it, lots of pics) a fear of groups of small holes or bumps. My hypothesis is that it relates to disease or insect infestation and is a form of exaggerated disgust.

I wouldn't Google it. Now that I think of it, I can't think of anything that looks nice in clusters 😰🤢

Is there a way of turning off image suggestions on Google? Last thing you want to see is the image of the fear you're looking up! But how else do you find out more about it?? 😑

I have always been a bit bleurgh about all the seeds inside a pepper. So I get where you're coming from.

Probably best not to google trypophobia.

@Laiste

YANBU.

I have a touch of triophobia but it seems to manifest in odd/unexpected ways.

I'm fine with the poppy seed heads and crumpets, but i don't like lots of little bumpy things together

Deep breath ...

• the thing which really freaked me out recently was when i mowed the lawn and ran the mower over a big clump of dark coloured toadstools. The mower took the caps clean off and left this AWFUL patch of black rubbery stalks all close together and sticking up the same height as the grass. I ran my flip flop across them and they were stiff and wibbly and 'orrible! I wont walk near that patch of grass now.

UGH.

Omg this description alone has made me shiver. Sounds horrific. I cannot 😵‍💫😵‍💫

@CustardySergeant

I haven't got a fear of sunflowers nor trypophobia, but I absolutely hate sunflowers. Most people seem to love them, think they're cheerful or something, but I just think they're like huge really ugly weeds. I don't think I've ever got close enough to one to see the seeds.

I hadn't noticed them until I came face to face with this one 😶🤢

@eddiemairswife

Don't read 'The Day of the Triffids' then.

I will avoid it lol thanks ☺️

@PintOfBovril

OP you have my complete sympathy. I always thought I liked sunflowers till this year. Turns out I had been lulled into a false sense of security by the small ones you get in bouquets.

We planted some 'giant sunflowers' and my god they grew to match their name. These things were HORRIFIC!!! The horrible hairy stalks, the giant meaty heads, the ratty floppy leaves. They were almost 9 feet high. Enormous and so so horrible.

My DH cut them down in the end because I couldn't bare to have the kitchen blind up in case I saw them out there in the garden.

My goodness, also I underestimated how gigantic 'giant' sunflowers could get. HORRIFIC 🤢 I don't blame you at all for getting rid

What about corn on the cob 🌽 ...

I have an acquaintance who has the same phobia about sunflowers. It's not even a matter of size, any image of them upsets her and makes her feel physically ill.

If I were her, I would try to find some therapy as it's so difficult to avoid the images. There's the hidden disabilities campaign, for a start.

@FAQs

What about corn on the cob 🌽 ...

I don't find these freakish at all. In fact I love corn on the cob 😋😆

I'm not immediately triggered by sunflowers but don't like looking at them too long. I really don't like mushrooms especially when clustered together. If anyone has seen the Hannibal series there's a particular episode you'll know I hated!

It's usually honeycombs for me, though I like bees... not a big fan of seeds in anything. I also recently worked out I don't like when spider plants sprout new little baby spider plants. Or when potatoes are in the cupboard too long. I'm not terrified of it and obviously it's just nature but something just weirds me out about it!

I had to use a pomegranate for something recently and that's no fun either.

That is understandable. They can get freakishly big.
I can't look at cruise ships. They make me feel so uncomfortable, like something that big should not be allowed to exist.

Here is a serious article on trypophobia, the pictures are only thumbnails unless you click on them.
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5811467/

No idea about turning off google images.

@Chersfrozenface

I have an acquaintance who has the same phobia about sunflowers. It's not even a matter of size, any image of them upsets her and makes her feel physically ill.

If I were her, I would try to find some therapy as it's so difficult to avoid the images. There's the hidden disabilities campaign, for a start.

I would love to go to therapy for some of my worst phobias but unfortunately one of the first things you hear about these phobia sessions is that you have to be locked in a room with your fear and be forced to face it.

That alone is terrifying enough to make me never want to sign up for them 😩😭

@EnigmaCat

Here is a serious article on trypophobia, the pictures are only thumbnails unless you click on them. www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5811467/

No idea about turning off google images.

Thanks for the resource!😊

@MintyGreenDream

I feel like that about honeydew melon seeds 🤢

I was just coming on the write the same thing. Makes me want to scratch my eyes when I see them!

Oh I love that they face each other to give each other energy

That's so beautiful