Crumpets! I can't help but think that cognitive therapy would enable anyone to overcome the syndrome. But maybe the thought of a future self having overcome it is itself a trigger?
I'm fine with crumpets but the thought of lotus pods is too much.
Why do holes horrify me?
31–40 of 96 posts
Re: Why do holes horrify me?
#32social contaigon is a weird, weird thing. I have always understood /r/trypophobia to be a deep in-joke, and the earliest i can find reference to the idea at all is 2005: https://web.archive.org/web/20090316071914/http://www.geocit... and that smells tongue-in-cheek too.
I don't think it's just that, though. I'd never heard of it, or the concept of it, when I first saw one of those "doctors hate this weird trick for getting rid of parasites" or whatever ads. It had a photoshop of some kind of a seed pod onto human skin, so it looked like a bunch of worm heads inside holes or something. I almost threw up the instant I looked at it. I later found out that lots of people have that react…
If it's the picture I'm thinking of, it's actually a photo of a girls knees after she was made to kneel on frozen peas as a punishment. If you Google "Kneeling On Frozen Peas" you can find articles about it.
Re: Why do holes horrify me?
#33Earlier quoted context omitted.
I don't think it's just that, though. I'd never heard of it, or the concept of it, when I first saw one of those "doctors hate this weird trick for getting rid of parasites" or whatever ads. It had a photoshop of some kind of a seed pod onto human skin, so it looked like a bunch of worm heads inside holes or something. I almost threw up the instant I looked at it. I later found out that lots of people have that react…
I agree that trypophobia is more than just a social contagion. I personally had physical reactions of disgust and an unusual desire to destroy Lotus seed pods the first time I saw them. I wanted to put them on the cement and smash and grind them with my shoe until they were a fine paste. This was before I had ever heard the word "trypophobia". The only thing in nature I've found to trigger me is Lotus seed pods. Unli…
I wouldn't always call it a phobia, they look unnerving to me too.
The way I've always interpreted it is that it looks like and reminds us of an infected pimple/abscess/parasite/something growing under the skin where it shouldn't be, coupled with enough empathy or imagination to picture it happening to us. The natural reaction is then disgust and aversion. It's just a result of the way our brains are built, similar to seeing faces where they don't exist.
I'm pretty sure I've seen a lotus seed pod in real life and didn't have a reaction, since it's much easier to construct a mental image of what it really is instead of what it might be.
Re: Why do holes horrify me?
#34Earlier quoted context omitted.
I don't think it's just that, though. I'd never heard of it, or the concept of it, when I first saw one of those "doctors hate this weird trick for getting rid of parasites" or whatever ads. It had a photoshop of some kind of a seed pod onto human skin, so it looked like a bunch of worm heads inside holes or something. I almost threw up the instant I looked at it. I later found out that lots of people have that react…
If it's the picture I'm thinking of, it's actually a photo of a girls knees after she was made to kneel on frozen peas as a punishment. If you Google "Kneeling On Frozen Peas" you can find articles about it.
Is that the picture with a few peas still attached? I think that's the bit that really brings it home, without that it wouldn't effect me at all.
Re: Why do holes horrify me?
#35Earlier quoted context omitted.
Probably not. Lots of abnormal things aren't viscerally horrifying and I'd expect something with a strong evolutionary basis like avoidance of disease to be much more widespread than trypophobia. Such as, for example, the nearly universal dislike of the taste and smell of rotting meat.
Perhaps it's a local thing. If you're around guinea worms, you evolve to be afraid of their signs, maybe? Not everyone is afraid of spiders or snakes, but there's a good evolutionary reason to be, so maybe people who aren't afraid of them are from areas without extremely venomous versions?
> Not everyone is afraid of spiders or snakes, but there's a good evolutionary reason to be, so maybe people who aren't afraid of them are from areas without extremely venomous versions?
This reaction is almost certainly a taught cultural behaviour.
In some areas of the world, snakes/spiders are considered food sources. Many of these areas, such as the amazon, also contain the highest concentrations of venomous species.
Re: Why do holes horrify me?
#36Humans want to avoid disease and some diseases can causes holes or hole-like symptoms on victims, so it's human nature to be horrified of clusters of holes because it's abnormal.
That's the thing, most "example images" aren't just a bunch of holes or circles (I've never heard anyone claim security mesh or a half-cooked pancake are horrifying, although apparently crumpets are a known trigger?). They're photos (either shopped or real) of something that looks like a gnarly parasite infection. Disliking that is not 'phobia', it's legitimately yuck.
Re: Why do holes horrify me?
#37I worked with a designer who had Trypophobia and refused to mock out a GitHub-style contribution graph / punchcard. Friendly reminder to not create products that inadvertently terrify people.
Re: Why do holes horrify me?
#38social contaigon is a weird, weird thing. I have always understood /r/trypophobia to be a deep in-joke, and the earliest i can find reference to the idea at all is 2005: https://web.archive.org/web/20090316071914/http://www.geocit... and that smells tongue-in-cheek too.
I experienced this long before I ever saw it on the internet. For me it's especially bad if there is a hole and something small is stuck in it. Even as I type this I remember a specific object I used to see often and I feel my face flush. It's a strangely uncomfortable experience that I can physically feel in my "bones" as they say. I wouldn't say it's a phobia in the sense that I am afraid of it, and I don't often experience it, but it's quite disturbing. An eerie, undefinable discomfort.
Re: Why do holes horrify me?
#39Crumpets! I can't help but think that cognitive therapy would enable anyone to overcome the syndrome. But maybe the thought of a future self having overcome it is itself a trigger?
I'm fine with crumpets but the thought of lotus pods is too much.
Probably because you can’t eat them doused in butter and honey.
Re: Why do holes horrify me?
#40Mangoworm
Good night