(Or even things that might look like clusters of holes.)
Not sure if this applies to you?
Ask yourself if looking at something dotted with holes, like a honeycomb, makes you shudder involuntarily.
Getty / AleksandarNakic
If you have trypophobia, looking at objects covered in holes can stir up waves of discomfort.
Others arent so sure.
Here, were diving deep into what experts think trypophobia really is and is not.
Trypophobia lore, however, holds that the moniker sprang froma GeoCities page, of all things.
Since trypophobia wouldnt fall into any of those first four categories, that last one is particularly interesting.
For some people that trigger looks like it’s holestrypophobias lack of mention in the DSM-5 be damned.
According to theAPA, the DSM-5 is an evolving handbook based on research breakthroughs and new clinical knowledge.
I usually have to pause whatever I’m doing and step away.
A 2013 study inPsychological Sciencethat described trypophobia as hitherto unreported in the scientific literature did look into prevalence.
Whatisit about these images?
ThatPsychological Sciencestudy explored the shared visual properties of objects that trigger trypophobia.
Kudos to you if youre nodding sagely like, Ah, yes, of course.
Holes have high contrast because of the shadows from directional lighting.
Any pattern made of small repeating shapes with high contrast can do it.
Why do these relatively high-contrast energy at midrange spatial frequency images trip the trypophobia alarm for some people?
You probably wont be shocked to hear that there appear to be some fairly intricate brain processes happening here.
Either way, experts believe trypophobia stems from natural selection.
With this in mind,researchers believethat many people experiencesomedegree of discomfort when looking at trypophobia-inciting images.
However, because these things are rarely clear-cut, not everyone remembers exactly when their trypophobia started.
Some people say theyve always been repulsed by the sight of clustered holes.
As a 2016SpringerPlusstudy on trypophobia proneness explained, a phenomenon known as core disgust may be a big one.
Or is it something different entirely?
For some, this throws a wrench into the idea that trypophobia is a phobia at all.
The researchers measured the size of participants pupils throughout to gauge their subconscious reactions to these images.
It all comes down to yourautonomic nervous system(ANS).
Your ANS works pretty damn hard for you by controlling involuntary processes like your heartbeat and digestion.
When something scares you, your SNS kick-starts yourfight-or-flight response.
In contrast, disgust appears to mainly trigger the PNS, causing a cascade of physiological changes including pupilconstriction.
This nit-picking over exactly which emotion trypophobia triggers might seem petty.
If bunches of holes make you want to run away screaming, does it really matter why?
According to some experts, yes, it does.
To Lourencos point, fear and disgustarereally similar.
So much so that it makes perfect sense that they would play off each other.
Remember that blood-injury-injection phobia in theDSM-5that we mentioned earlier?
(Its also referred to as BII phobia for a bit less of a mouthful.)
This is what makes many expertsand people living with trypophobiacategorize it as a valid phobia.
Another said she had to quit her job as a nurse to avoid seeing anything with clusters.
Everyone has their methods for managing while science tries to catch up.
I know that enough other people feel this way that there’s a name for it, Estelle says.
As for the people who dont think trypophobia is real?
It doesn’t really matter.
It is my experience, and I know that thats real.
