WHAT IS TRYPOPHOBIA?

Do you become uncomfortable and ill to your stomach when you see a honeycomb, sea sponges, or soap bubbles? If yes, then you might be suffering from trypophobia, or the fear of holes.

Trypophobia is a pathological fear of holes, particular those that are clustered together in a pattern or closely packed holes.

When people with it stare at surfaces with small holes clustered together, it makes them feel sick. 

The head of a lotus seed pod or the body of a strawberry, for example, could make someone with this fear uncomfortable.

Although it is not recognised as a formal diagnosis, it has received a lot of attention worldwide. The name for this problem comes from the Greek word "trypo" which means "hole."

Some specialists believe it to be a type of anxiety illness.

When people with trypophobia view patterns made up of holes or spots, they have a significant physical and emotional reaction. The more circles there are in a cluster, the more uneasy people feel.

It's one of several fears of harmless objects, such as chaetophobia (fear of hair) and microphobia (fear of little objects) (1). 

TRIGGERS FOR TRYPOPHOBIA

For any trypophobic individual, the effect of a triggering image can vary from no response to a severe reaction. Even if the image or item does not strictly fulfil the criterion, almost any repetitive pattern can trigger an emotion.

People who suffer from trypophobia are frequently triggered by images of clusters of small, irregular holes, such as:

• Lotus seed pod, lotus breast
• Lotus seeds photoshopped onto the skin
• Surinam toad giving birth
• Tafoni (rock formation)
• Coral
• The frozen peas image
• Googly eyes on the face
• Sponges
• Swiss cheese
• Honeycombs
  
• Strawberries
• Soap bubbles
• A cluster of eyes as found in insects
• Fruit seeds
• Holes or pebbles in concrete
• Air holes in a slice of bread
• Patterns in the frosting of a cake or pie
• Skin problems like sores, scars, pores and spots
• Spotted animals
• Pomegranates (2)

SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS OF TRYPOPHOBIA

When a person views an object with small clusters of holes or structures that resemble holes, symptoms are said to be triggered.

People with trypophobia respond with disgust or fear when they observe a cluster of holes. The following are some of the signs and symptoms:

• Goosebumps
• Feeling repulsed
• Feeling uncomfortable
• Visual discomforts such as eyestrain, distortions, or illusions
• Distress
• Feeling your skin crawl
• Panic attacks
• Sweating
• Nausea
• Body shakes
• Itching
• Emotional distress
• Fear and anxiety (3)

WHAT ARE THE CAUSES AND RISK FACTORS?

Trypophobia is a condition with a limited understanding. Several theories have been suggested as to what is causing this. 

Some say, because many of the world's deadliest animals, such as alligators and crocodiles, as well as some venomous snakes, spiders, pufferfish, frogs, and insects, have repetitive high-contrast bumps, has hole-like patterns, circular markings, or pits on their skin, our forefathers who were disgusted or scared by those patterns would have had a better chance of surviving in the presence of those dangers. 

According to this logic, these individuals survived to breed and pass on those traits to their descendants, who in turn passed it on to their offspring, and the aversion is still present in the gene pool today. These are some of the patterns that bother trypophobics.

Women are more likely than men to experience trypophobia. It's also a trait that runs in families. According to one study, roughly 25% of patients with trypophobia also had a close family who suffered from the disorder.

Not much is known about the risk factors linked to trypophobia. According to a 2017 study published by Trusted Source, there may be a link between trypophobia and severe depressive illness and generalised anxiety disorder (GAD).

People who have trypophobia are more likely to have major depressive disorders, or GAD, according to the experts. A relationship between social anxiety and trypophobia was also discovered in a 2016 study (4).

Some people who are terrified of hole patterns also suffer from other mental disorders, including:

• Major depressive disorders
• Anxiety disorder with symptoms of Generalised Anxiety Disorder (GAD)
• Anxiety in social situations
• Panic disorder
• Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)
• Bipolar disorder (5)

WHAT ARE THE COMPLICATIONS AND WAYS OF PREVENTION?

If trypophobia isn't handled, it can lead to problems such as:

• Mood disturbances
• Isolation from others
• Suicide is a form of self-destruction (in severe cases) (6)

If you're dealing with acute trypophobia symptoms, you can use relaxation techniques to minimise the duration of the symptoms while they're happening and reduce their frequency and intensity in the future.

Deep breathing, for example, can calm your anxiety and fear by slowing down your heart rate and inducing a relaxation response in your body.

TREATMENT FOR TRYPOPHOBIA

Trypophobia is a difficult condition to diagnose because doctors don't know much about it. Your symptoms and how they affect your daily life will be discussed with a psychologist or primary care physician.

Your medical, psychiatric, and social histories will also be taken. While there is no specific treatment for trypophobia, there are some treatments for phobias in general that have varying degrees of efficacy.

Self-help techniques, therapy, and pharmaceuticals may be used as treatments. Self-help treatments can be done alone or with the assistance of a therapist or counsellor.

Individual phobias may or may not respond well to these strategies, which have varying success rates. The following are some self-help strategies:

EFT TAPPING FOR TRYPOPHOBIA

EFT Tapping for Trypophobia is an alternative therapy that has shown to be effective and long-lasting.

The following is a sample EFT Tapping technique for trypophobia:

You can stop and conclude with positive tapping once the fear has subsided to a level that you're happy with. If you feel it's the same or worse than before, explore more about the memories and emotions and then tap another round.

  DOES EFT TAPPING WORK FOR TRYPOPHOBIA?

I might have remained unaware of trypophobia until I encountered it in my last EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques) Seminar in New Delhi.

During the seminar, one of my trainees explained how she sees pictures of small holes in irregular pattern clusters, for example, images of the holes of the lotus seed heads. 

She wanted to clear this phobia and came up with a demonstration. She was shown the image of the lotus seed head at a distance on a phone.

When she saw the image she felt a tingling sensation and became emotional and teary.

She shared that, on the one hand, she had an aversion to seeing these images and on the other hand, she was also drawn to viewing these images, almost obsessing over them.

We used the EFT Tapping process to release the surface sensations like tingling and then explored the root cause by asking questions:

• When have you felt these feelings before?
• When have you felt these sensations before?

She uncovered memories some related to the phobia and some unrelated situations where she felt out of control, anxious and panicky.

We tapped on the past events and she started to feel calmer. Twelve minutes later she was shown the same image again and this time she did not feel as triggered by seeing the image and felt a lot calmer.

Interestingly, I realized when I was working with her that I also had similar sensations that made me feel uncomfortable. While I was working with her my aversion to these images also disappeared.

"Fear is the path to the Dark Side. Fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, hate leads to suffering."