• We have updated the guidelines regarding posting political content: please see the stickied thread on Website Issues.

My Curious Phobia (Trypophobia)

Oh, crap - give me a break ... :doh: :roll:
Apple's iPhone 11 Pro 'triggering' fear of holes

People with a fear of small holes have claimed the design of Apple's iPhone 11 Pro is triggering their phobia.

At its unveiling on Tuesday, many found their attention drawn to its "ultra-wide" rear camera, with three high-powered lenses packed closely together.

The lenses sit alongside the handset's torch and "audio zoom" microphone.

And hundreds of smartphone users now claim the new design has triggered their "trypophobia", an aversion to the sight of clusters of small holes. ...
FULL STORY: https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-49660765#
 
I didn't realise I had Trypophobia until about a year (or maye two) ago.

It's almost always in nature that I find it repulsive. Small holes in man made objects are fine but in organic materials I find it deeply disturbing and repulsive. It's as if there are small things in each hole, waiting to hatch or burst out.

The feeling merricat describes is exactly right, a sort of internal folding and implosion. For me, it's quite similar to the "drop in the stomach" feeling of dread when I suffer a prang of anxiety.

I posted a video here once of a vet squeezing out mango fly larvae from a dog who had been badly infected. Hundreds of small holes covered the poor creature, each with a small larvea in them. The comments on the video made me explore more images about Trypophobia and I found that I had it or developed it by studying the subject.
 
There is an episode of QI with Bridget Christie where she talks about her fear of small holes. Series P episode 5.
 
I didn't realise I had Trypophobia until about a year (or maye two) ago.

It's almost always in nature that I find it repulsive. Small holes in man made objects are fine but in organic materials I find it deeply disturbing and repulsive. It's as if there are small things in each hole, waiting to hatch or burst out.

The feeling merricat describes is exactly right, a sort of internal folding and implosion. For me, it's quite similar to the "drop in the stomach" feeling of dread when I suffer a prang of anxiety.

I posted a video here once of a vet squeezing out mango fly larvae from a dog who had been badly infected. Hundreds of small holes covered the poor creature, each with a small larvea in them. The comments on the video made me explore more images about Trypophobia and I found that I had it or developed it by studying the subject.

This is me exactly - I'm not scared of holes - it's the absolute physical revulsion that has the biggest effect.

Anyone else suffer from misophonia a well? I'm just wondering if they are linked.
 
I seem to have an aversion to those metal containers they serve food in at hospitals. A kind of cut-off cone shape.
 
Does the new iPhone creep you out? Scientists grapple with why tiny holes scare some people

As Apple debuted its newest iPhones on Tuesday, a striking new feature took center stage: a three-lens setup that puts a near-professional camera in the hands of anyone who can afford the $999 to $1099 devices. Three lenses are a lot better than two - unless they send you reeling in disgust.

rq9bryzccttcqwqz2vql.jpg


That's the unexpected reaction thousands of Apple fans shared on social media as images spread of the back of the new phone, where the trio of lenses are crowded into a small square near the top left corner.

"The new iPhone is creeping me ... out with the 3 little cameras," one Twitter user wrote.

But why would these images of harmless stuff possibly bother people? Some scientists are trying to figure out why people cringe at close-up photos of objects as innocuous as a frothy latte.

They have found that even those who don't feel repulsed by such images often feel uncomfortable looking at a bunch of small holes clustered together. Just as stripes can cause headaches and flashing lights can induce seizures, clusters of holes might have a physiological effect on the brain.

Researcher Arnold Wilkins, a professor emeritus at the University of Essex, theorizes the mathematical principals [sic] hidden in the patterns require the brain to use more oxygen and energy, which can be distressing.

The images have the same statistical properties and are intrinsically difficult for the brain to process, partly because we've evolved to look at images in nature," Wilkins said in an interview with The Washington Post. "We know the images are difficult to process computationally by the neurons of the brain, they use more brain energy."

https://www.greenwichtime.com/busin...-iPhone-creep-you-out-Scientists-14433714.php

maximus otter
 
I don't have this problem but I do actually find something a bit creepy about the iPhone lens trio. Mind you I put stickers over lenses on computers, phones etc as I don't enjoy being watched remotely by unknown persons. That times 3 is probably just worse.

I do think it is a bit silly to make a fuss over a fairly rare phobia though. Of course I don't mean any disrespect to anyone who suffers from it (or any other phobia) but it seems as if you have to be "aware" of absolutely bloody everything nowadays and I find myself getting a bit exasperated by it. What are Apple meant to do about people with phobias of small flattish rectangles? Or apples?
 
I don't have this problem but I do actually find something a bit creepy about the iPhone lens trio. Mind you I put stickers over lenses on computers, phones etc as I don't enjoy being watched remotely by unknown persons. That times 3 is probably just worse.

I do think it is a bit silly to make a fuss over a fairly rare phobia though. Of course I don't mean any disrespect to anyone who suffers from it (or any other phobia) but it seems as if you have to be "aware" of absolutely bloody everything nowadays and I find myself getting a bit exasperated by it. What are Apple meant to do about people with phobias of small flattish rectangles? Or apples?

Thing about phobias in products & advertising is that people won't buy things that revolt them.

A few years ago there was a TV car ad that showed a spider (possibly a giant sci-fi type one) running menacingly across a desert. Who in their right mind would dream that up when arachnophobia is one of the commonest fears? People actually pay good money to have it treated. The advertisers were alienating anyone who'd like a car new but who hates spiders.

In fact, I'm wondering if I should have spoilered this comment for arachnid-content.
 
Thing about phobias in products & advertising is that people won't buy things that revolt them.

A few years ago there was a TV car ad that showed a spider (possibly a giant sci-fi type one) running menacingly across a desert. Who in their right mind would dream that up when arachnophobia is one of the commonest fears? People actually pay good money to have it treated. The advertisers were alienating anyone who'd like a car new but who hates spiders.

In fact, I'm wondering if I should have spoilered this comment for arachnid-content.

There's a type of car called a Spider (or Spyder) - it's an alternative name for a Roadster - would an arachnophobe drive one?
 
I first realized I had trypophobia when I was young and saw, I think it was "Predator", where there's one scene and they come across a member of the team, hit by an alien weapon, and his torso was just full of holes.

Ever since then, I've experienced a deep revulsion to tiny holes, but it seems my brain is picky about it. As someone else mentioned, sponges are perfectly fine, but the lotus root is a nightmare.
 
There's a type of car called a Spider (or Spyder) - it's an alternative name for a Roadster - would an arachnophobe drive one?

Was James Dean an arachnophobe? He died because of a Porsche Spyder. Well, he died because he was speeding, but you know what I mean.
 
Thing about phobias in products & advertising is that people won't buy things that revolt them.

A few years ago there was a TV car ad that showed a spider (possibly a giant sci-fi type one) running menacingly across a desert. Who in their right mind would dream that up when arachnophobia is one of the commonest fears? People actually pay good money to have it treated. The advertisers were alienating anyone who'd like a car new but who hates spiders.

In fact, I'm wondering if I should have spoilered this comment for arachnid-content.
Sure but everyone knows about the spider thing. (Though maybe not car manufacturer advertising executives). It is not feasible to take into account every single possible phobia. Buttons is reasonably common but I don't see clothes manufacturers telling us to tie our clothes together with string instead.
 
I do think it is a bit silly to make a fuss over a fairly rare phobia though.
Actually I think it's fairly common!

I get it very mildly and it took me a long time to even notice: much like sometimes I get a little shudder from a surprise spider or cockroach, but it's not a big deal and I wouldn't mind picking one up if I had to.

It's an interesting point in this thread about fear versus disgust reactions. I have phobias of worms, slugs and to a lesser extent snails (sorry scarg) but the reaction is very much strong disgust rather than fear.
 
It's an interesting point in this thread about fear versus disgust reactions. I have phobias of worms, slugs and to a lesser extent snails (sorry scarg) but the reaction is very much strong disgust rather than fear.

Do you mean you might vomit if faced unexpectedly with something like that? If so it's still a phobia.

Can remember a story about a girl I knew slightly at college who wouldn't use the lifts because of claustrophobia. Some of her class decided to drag her into one and close the door, and she threw up all over the place. That's a phobia!

I have a phobia that used to make me chuck up if I came across it unexpectedly. I've mentioned on'ere how I showed myself up quite a few times over it down the years. Eventually I learned to accept it as part of myself and not panic over it, and now I can just about cope if it crops up.

Spontaneously recovering the memory of how it started helped a lot; understanding that it arose from seeing something nasty in the woodshed at a tender age was a boost!
 
I suppose the only thing that sets me off puking is if I'm in the vicinity of other people who are puking.
I don't have a phobia that would set me off.
I have a fear of dogs, but I wouldn't call it a phobia. It's a perfectly logical, defensive reaction to wolves.
 
To be fair some images of irregular holes do make me feel uneasy, but not at a phobic level. It does sound like it may be related to fear if disease developed over many generations.
 
Wouldn't call it a phobia, but those kinds of images give me a bit of the willies too.

There is an image of a flower seed head where desiccated whitish skin gives way to protrusions of dark seeds from underneath.

Gives me the equivalent of a whiskey shudder.

I won't post it here.

[Shudders]
 
I suppose the only thing that sets me off puking is if I'm in the vicinity of other people who are puking.

There's a name for a fear of puking, dunno if it differentiates between who's doing it.
 
There's a name for a fear of puking, dunno if it differentiates between who's doing it.
In my case, it's not a fear of puking. It's the smell that sets me off.
 
In my case, it's not a fear of puking. It's the smell that sets me off.

Yup, can be nasty, perhaps depending on the cause of the event.

(My older sister swears our mother once spanked her for puking in bed because 'That's the sort of sick that you know is coming!' and so Sis should have taken steps to avoid making a mess.)
 
Very unreasonable of her.

True, though 'unreasonable' is an understatement about someone who'd spank an ill and distressed child. I can remember being afraid to puke in bed because I fully believed she'd rub it in my face. All this was when we lived in a house with no bathroom!
 
Back
Top