It is beyond belief. About 700 phobias have been classified, i.e. neurotic disorders manifested by anxiety. They include those whose names we know well, such as claustrophobia (fear of being in small, closed rooms, e.g. in an elevator) or agoraphobia (fear of being in large, open spaces, e.g. in squares). They are also less known or even funny, such as abcellophobia – fear of leaving the toilet. Who has heard of trypophobia?
Trypophobia – this is not a joke
For people who have never experienced discomfort at the sight of holes, trypophobia might not seem like a serious, or even funny, disorder. Afraid of tiny holes, or more precisely – clusters of such holes in a small area? After all, they do not threaten anything. It is different to be afraid of drafts (aerophobia) or insects the bite of which causes itching (acrophobia). We are almost all afraid of the dentist (dentofobia) and injections (aichmofobia).
One can understand the fear of the Bolsheviks (bolsephobia), the boss (duksophobia) or fear of accidents (dystychiphobia)but the fear of butterflies is hard to comprehend (lapidopterophobia) or vegetables (lachanofobia). It seems that many people today suffer from gnosyophobia (fear of knowing) and bibliophobia (drug before books). It brings a lot of frustration hippopotomonstroseskuipedaliofobia (fear of long words) and not only for people with this disorder. Try to remember and repeat this word and you may find that this phobia is no stranger to you.
But enough jokes and laughs – chuckles. People suffering from trypophobia are not at all laughing when they look at, for example, chocolate with bubbles, yellow cheese, and even strawberry. On the contrary, when they perceive a lot of small holes, they feel anxiety and even fear. They know well that nothing is threatening them, yet they cannot look at it without negative emotions. They have such a disturbing picture for a long time and they constantly feel discomfort. This is what phobia is all about.
Where does trypophobia come from?
Psychologists have several theories about the causes of phobias. One of them is classical conditioning, e.g. when the fear of a cramped room results from the experienced situation (being locked in a closet or a tight cell), the fear of spiders – once frightened by this arthropod. And what could be the cause of trypophobia? Why is the bark of a tree with holes painstakingly carved out by bark beetles, well-grown yeast dough or honeycomb frightening? How do you explain that? Evolutionary psychology explains that trypophobia can be a distant echo of the fear of reptiles whose skin is patterned like clusters of holes.
How to fight trypophobia?
In the treatment of phobias, the most frequently used methods are desensitization and extinction. It consists in the fact that the person suffering from the phobia has contact with the object (animal, phenomenon, etc.), but is taught positive emotions. So you can get rid of trypophobia by dealing with objects with holes and evoking positive associations.
Mmejitahidi kutafsiri lakini bado lugha ni ngumu sana kueleweka kwa urahisi.