Koutoumouphobia. Does anyone else have it?

[TheyRepulseMe]

Phobia of buttons.

I can barely type the word.

It's not that I'm scared of them. They just physically repulse me. Make me feel sick.

I hate them I hate them.

I have a slight button phobia, not quite as bad as some people. But mine stems back to button tins from when I was a child - they often had dirt and bits in the bottom of the tin and smelt. I particularly dislike loose buttons, those not sown on or on old clothes. For me it’s about cleanliness - I hate the thought of dirt in the sewing hole. Yuk.

Also piles of coins too, like others on this thread. I guess there is an association. It’s not so bad for me that I can’t touch them, but have to wash my hands thoroughly several times after handling them (I’ve worked in retail in the past!).

Yuk….always hated them. My brother the same. Also one of my two sons. I did everything to keep it from them as babies. Being given grandma’s old button box to play with made me recoil in disgust.

I have trypophobia too. It's awful. The worst thing ever is sponge, in all its forms. But there's a hierarchy, with natural much better than synthetic. Utterly disgusting. I've no idea why I have it. Even typing the word gave me goosebumps.

I think I have a mild case of it. It put me right off Prince, the late singer/musician. I couldn't bear those tight outfits he used to wear with all those horrible buttons going right down the legs, eeewww!

Koupounophobia. I spelt it wrong. Sorry!

Has anyone managed to overcome it with hypnotherapy? I just cannot imagine it working. I can't imagine ever being able to touch one without needing to scrub my hands afterwards. Or look at one without feeling sheer repulsion.

It does seem it's more common than I thought, but not spoken of in public it seems

I've always believed I am ND. So possibly yes.

It does in the sense that I avoid uniformed jobs. It narrows my clothing choices. They are everywhere.

Working in a school is a no go for me as I have found out, I couldn't assist children with their uniform.

I think yes it does impact my day to day life, but there are far worse things in the world ya know...

I'm alright with those things you mention but I cannot do labels in clothes, can't look at them, touch them and don't really like thinking about it either. When I buy new clothes I have to gather courage to cut the fuckers out and then go and wash my hands and bury them deep in the bin so I never have to see them again. If other people are wearing clothes where the label sticks out I hate that too.

A good friend of mine from school days has it.
It used to be hilarious (for us, not her!) when we were at school. When we had to change for PE, she used to get one of us to unbutton the shirt (just top one) and she slipped the shirt on and off without any buttons touching her.
Apparently, the little plasticy ones we had on our school shirts are the worst buttons, she can just about handle very big, more decorative ones, like on duffel coats.
We're all pretty sure she's ND so that makes sense if there's a link

Not buttons, but holes, and even the word makes me feel sick. Lots of them together, yuck!!! I find them really distressing

Have you heard of hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia?

It means fear of long words...

I don’t have this but I do have a really strong aversion to Velcro. It’s a very useful thing and I do have to use it sometimes but I avoid it as much as possible - I think it’s mostly the sound it makes when it’s being undone. And the thought of catching a jagged fingernail in it. It is revulsion rather than fear. Sets my teeth on edge and makes me shudder.

Yep me too. I also feel physically sick, especially if they're loose.

Not in my friend's case, no.

Not in my friend's case, no.

How bizarre. I wish it was spoken about more openly.

I wish I didn't feel so vulnerable. I wish it was just a universally open and acceptable phobia that people were aware of and I didn't have to hide it.

Yes buttons and belly buttons!

Its not unusual as many have already said

But the human brain being what it is, doesnt need a reason. I see loads of people, page one so far, have asked what the trigger is, did something happen when young etc etc

You dont need that to have happened, you dont need any trigger. Phobias by their definition are illogical and irrational, they're just something that sometimes happens. Mine is slippers, dont ask me why. I feel sick just saying that.

Yes one loose in a drawer!

My late mum had this!!!!

broke out in a sweat 🤣

I have had this all my life. My mum remembers me wriggling out of buttoned babygros as a tiny baby!
I have to be careful in clothing shops as, if I suddenly am faced with one unexpectedly, then it can make me physically recoil. It is more disgust than fear.

Yes I have it! No ND. Like others I feel physically sick at the sight and feel. Just thinking about it now is making me gag!

My mother in law had this.

She was fine doing up buttons on her clothes. It was loose buttons that she hated. Women of her age (she’d be 99 if she was still alive) generally had a button box with lots of spare buttons and I think she had one, but couldn’t use it! She used to get her sister to sew buttons onto anything that needed them.

DD has this- she was fussy about some clothes as a toddler but I didn’t know why, but I think it was button related. Once she was about 3 she wa able to verbalise that she didn’t like them and they made her feel sick. In preschool she didn’t like children wearing buttons to touch her. She’s still in primary school so for a long time she wore zip up polo necks but then she felt self-conscious about looking different, so now we’ve ended up with polo shirts that still fasten with Velcro and I’ve cut the (useless) buttons off. She still always wears a jumper though and also will try to sneak in with a white pe shirt on non-pe days. Luckily her school is fairly lax but I don’t know what’s going to happen with secondary school. She did say at least a tie will cover the buttons. She is also really funny with sock seams and tags, but there’s no SEN or any signs of neurodiversity (and I’m well versed on things like underdiagnosis of girls and masking).

She also hates the Wendy’s (fast food in the US) logo because of the freckles. Also once when she was about 3 or 4 she told me that sometimes when she’s eating a crumpet, she thinks worms will come out of the holes (but she said it in a very matter of fact way- and she still likes to eat crumpets!)