Trypophobia is a fear of closely packed small holes or bumps. It can range from slight discomfort to apparent disgust to the inability to look at such patterns.
As an example, imagine the head of a lotus flower of a honeycomb. Have you ever felt disturbed by such images? If you don't exactly know how the lotus flower looks like, take a look at this picture: I'm sorry if it makes you queasy; that just means that you may have this type of phobia. Unfortunately, trypophobia is not widely recognized yet. Thus, only a few people know about it. Medical publications rarely describe it. But, it's a great relief for some people knowing that not only they feel this way about specific natural or artificial patterns.
Signs of trypophobia
The signs of this phobia are just the same as the signs of any phobia. When you see the trigger, (we'll cover it in this trypophobia test) you may experience the following symptoms:
sudden fear (though there is nothing that should be scaring, you feel fear when exposed to the stimuli)
nausea (this is a common sign that the picture of an object is a trigger)
itching and sweating (you feel uncomfortable when looking at the object, and this queasy feeling translates into physical disturbances as itching, sweating, headaches, and shaking)
panic attack (this is a more severe symptom; it is basically a combination of some of the previous symptoms plus increased heartbeat, hot flashes, shortness of breath, and feeling dizzy overall)
disgust (this is the most basic and common sign that appears in every case of trypophobia; many people would feel disgusted from certain triggers related to the phobia but do not experience any of the abovementioned symptoms, that is not the indicator of severe phobia)
Treatment
When it comes to treatment, any phobia is a complex issue that demands an individual approach. With trypophobia, it's even harder because the condition is not recognized yet and requires more substantial research. However, the common means of treatment can be implemented:
talk therapy (this is the initial take on a phobia; a course of regular sessions with a therapist or a psychologist may bring positive results if the phobia is not drastic)
relaxation techniques (the therapist will also offer them; you may try breath yoga techniques and simply deep breathing to calm the effects of encountering a trigger)
medications (this is the most drastic form of treatment that can be suggested and prescribed by a therapist alone; among the popular forms of medications used to treat phobia are sedative and beta-blockers)
Why It Appears?
As I've mentioned before, this phobia is not studied enough yet. Some specialists correlate it with the fear of infectious pathogens as the images are often associated with some illnesses and rotting. Others see reference to dangerous animals as the skin of certain venomous animals is of a similar pattern. Thus, we subconsciously avoid them. There is even some research that supports this theory.
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