This term comes from the Greek "trypo" (hoot, piercing, or punching holes) and " phobia " (panic). Therefore Trypophobia is the fear that some people have of objects or shapes that have holes or cavities. The trypophobia also is called phobia repitiente pattern, and is absurd and illogical fear caused by the display of geometric figures attached as the cells of a honeycomb, etc.; And although this phobia is not included in the "Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of mental disorders", experts say that many people claim to suffer from an illogical and unreasonable fear of groups of small geometric shapes, to the point of feeling tachycardia and presenting sweating and panic attacks.
What is Trypophobia
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The trypophobia is a disease whose main characteristic is fear unconscionable and repulsion suffered by a person, in the presence of repetitive patterns of closely spaced circles, fear becomes more intense when the circles have similar sizes, in other words, phobia holes. According to statistics, 25% of human beings suffer from trypophobia and this disease can be more serious than is believed.
The British specialists Arnold Wilkins and Geoff Cole have taken on the task of investigating a little more about this peculiar phobia and have concluded that this fear that has been little investigated could be found much more frequently among the population than that was thought, and that it is due to a biological reaction which could be the product of a progressive visual function developed during the evolutionary process of the human being and that would be related to some poisonous animals.
For their research the specialists took a series of images that incite trypophobia and discovered that these figures had a mysterious structure specifically associated with unpleasant visual images. During their inquiries they detected that a small percentage of the people under study suffered unpleasant and annoying reactions when seeing the figures; However, experts believe that all people at some point and unconsciously have been prone to trypophobia. Since when analyzing the people who said they did not suffer from the phobia, they realized that they felt a bit uncomfortable when looking at the images.
Trypophobia can affect every 1 in 4 people and, as a fear at last, can increase from moderate to extreme, making people who suffer from it cannot bear to look at such figures or objects, thus creating a feeling of anguish. Currently there are still people who are unaware of the existence of this phobia, that is why it is important that this type of information is disclosed more and thus in this way everyone will have knowledge of this fear called trypophobia.
What Causes Trypophobia
Visual patterns similar to those that appear in some poisonous animals can trigger symptoms of anxiety in a trypophobic person.
Specialists affirm that trypophobia may have evolutionary origins, that is, people who suffer from this type of disease by observing these geometric and repetitive patterns stay away from dangerous animals. In other words, the disease is caused by a survival instinct that comes from our ancestors.
Trypophobia according to Arnold J. Wilkins, professor at the University of Essex, the configuration of the holes, followed, repetitive and of similar sizes, cause discomfort and visual fatigue with headache, since it is difficult for the brain to process in a way efficient this image so it requires more oxygenation.
This type of phobia is usually of innate origin, it does not come from traumas or learned cultures, people do not know that they suffer from the disease until they are subjected to the stimulus that causes this particular fear. For a person to know whether or not they have this type of phobia there is the Trypophobia Test.
The trypophobia test is a test whose main objective is to diagnose and determine this disease in a person, this must visualize a group of images with geometric figures very close together, with similar sizes. Usually images of beehives, skin diseases (fictitious), photos of corals, etc. are used.
If the person analyzed shows repulsion or abhorrence when observing the images, it can be concluded that he suffers from this type of phobia, if the case is serious it may require treatment from a mental health expert.
The mental health specialist is the only one trained to perform the trypophobia test on patients suffering from extreme trypophobia, in this way they can diagnose, prescribe treatment or therapy, as the case may be.
The Dermatopatofobia is a fear uncontained to skin diseases or other injury. It generally produces the same symptoms as trypophobia. People with this disorder have high levels of anxiety in the presence of skin lesions or diseases.
A person suffering from dermatopathophobia may interpret that having very dry skin may be a symptom of a skin disease, others may believe that the use of gel or creams can damage the skin, there are cases of people who think that insect bites they can be symptoms of a disease.
Symptoms of trypophobia
These symptoms can present differently depending on each person. As the intensity is variable, the main symptoms are the following:
Anxiety, revulsion, palpitations, feeling of pressure in the chest, dizziness, disgust or disgust, feeling faint and weak, tingling in the hands and legs, nausea accompanied by vomiting, shortness of breath, sweating, trembling.
How to cure trypophobia
Like other phobias, trypophobia has a cure, there are several treatments through which this phobia can be overcome, either through medication or psychological therapies.
- Cure by gradual exposure, consists of the psychologist gradually exposing the patient to images such as holes in the skin, helping to identify and control the symptoms of the phobia. Exposing the images little by little makes the affected person feel less anxiety as they observe them and control their symptoms.
- Cognitive behavioral therapy: this consists of the specialist managing to change the mentality or vision of the affected person in relation to their phobia. The purpose of this treatment is to make you reflect, think and speak openly about your problem so that you can naturalize your behavior.
- Medications: the psychiatrist can prescribe medications such as antidepressants and tranquilizers that can help control anxiety.
The images that can trigger an anxiety crisis are all those that have holes. There are a series of images of trypophobia, these are used in the trypophobia tests such as: coral, skin holes, polka dot clothing, stacked tubes, a microphone, a drink bubble, a sponge, a panel of bees, some flowers or plants.
Phobia of skin pits
There are people who when they see images with holes feel an inexplicable fear, the phobia of images with holes in the skin is another symptom of trypophobia.
