Trypophobia: description, causes and treatment

Human fears are of a wide variety. You can be afraid not only of spiders and ghosts, blood and heights. Fear can be very unusual. Trypophobia belongs to the category of such phobias.

Trypophobia is a relatively new concept in psychiatry. This is a type of mental disorder in which the person is terrified of cluster holes. This fear is called so because of the combination of two words: τρυπῶ (Greek) - "to make holes" and φόβος (Greek) - "fear". Trypophobe is not afraid of a specific hole, no matter how large or small it may be, it is precisely the cluster of holes that it fears (these are cluster holes).

The term was introduced into some psychiatric reference books in 2004, when a group of scientists at Oxford University was able to describe the corresponding phobic phenomenon. It is a mistake to consider trypophobia a disease this is precisely a mental disorder, but this does not mean that a person does not need correction and treatment.

It should be noted that today some professional national associations do not recognize trypophobia as a disorder, for example, the American Psychiatric Association denies the existence of such a phobia. Both Israeli doctors and specialists in France have doubts about the description of this fear. It is generally difficult to surprise Russian psychiatrists with something, and they included her in the list of phobias.

Trypophobes experience panic attacks and lose control over their behavior when they see multiple holes on a sponge used to wash dishes and plumbing, they cannot contemplate the beauty of the lotus, they are anxious about holes in the cheese, in the structure of porous chocolate, cluster holes on the skin (for example, enlarged pores on the face, on the skin of the hand, etc.). )

In a mild form, the disorder of the accumulation of holes causes tangible discomfort; with severe trypophobia, severe panic attacks, panic attacks, nausea, loss of consciousness, respiratory and palpitations are not excluded.

A significant contribution to the study of the issue was made by two American scientists - Arnold Wilkins and Jeff Cole. Their authorship belongs to the first works on trypophobia. The researchers argued that a person's fear of cluster holes is caused by a strong biological disgust, and therefore it is not too correct to consider it a full-fledged fear. Both researchers were convinced that a person's disgust at the sight of a cluster of holes arises as a response of the brain to certain associations, which are somehow regarded by the brain as a signal of danger.

Such associations are caused by the part of the brain that Witkins and Cole called "primitive", that is, the trypophobe himself does not fully understand what he is really afraid of. Many people suffering from such an unusual fear associated intense excitement with the strangest associations:

• some were afraid to fall into these holes, they were afraid that they would "tighten" them;
• others have suggested that some dangerous and frightening creatures live inside these holes;
• still others simply called the little cluster holes "huge and disgusting."

Cole and Witkin studied in detail the characteristics of images of everything that contains cluster holes, estimated the length of light waves, the depth of the image, and made surveys by associative series. In the end, they came to the conclusion that cluster holes, wherever they are, do have unusual visual characteristics, much the same as depictions of venomous animals.

So what exactly are trypophobes afraid of? The list of objects that can cause confusion, anxiety and panic in their souls is quite large. It includes a huge number of both man-made and natural images, in which cluster holes (clusters of small or small holes) are provided:

• human skin (many pores);
• the structure of animal meat (a large number of fibers, and sometimes through holes);
• the texture of the wood (especially if it has a lot of holes from parasitic insects);
• the texture of plants (stems, flowers, flower cores, leaves);
• corals (almost all of their varieties are covered with many small or larger holes);
• sponges (for dishes, plumbing, for the body), pumice;
• honeycomb (usually the worst for trypophobe);
• points and repeating holes on the skin of frogs, toads;
• any porous surfaces (cheese, airy chocolate, yeast baked goods;
• dry pods;
• seeds;
• lather;
• some geological rocks, stones;
• moss, mold;
• sieve, colander, slotted spoon.

The reasons for this phobia are shrouded in mystery, the issue is still under consideration by scientists around the world. There is no consensus on the origin of the phobia.There are only theories that can partially explain why some people are afraid of repetitive holes. Here are the main ones.

A person is designed in such a way that his brain is constantly in readiness to assess what the eyes see and the ears hear, this is a biological, unconscious human response to environmental changes. It is essential for the survival of the entire species and of the individual. If a person is not capable of a quick analysis of changes in conditions from the outside, then the probability of his absurd death will increase significantly.

Cluster holes in themselves do not pose a threat, but are regarded as some kind of irritant. It is to this stimulus that the brain reacts. In the cluster repeating holes, he can see a certain threat, the essence of which is not clearly understood, but this does not change the result - anxiety, excitement arises, and in severe cases, panic. The brain gives the command to the body - "run or attack." But there is nothing to attack, the threat is not obvious, but the trypophobe is ready to run even now.

The fear can be based on negative personal experiences. A person could have been bitten by bees when trying to remove a honeycomb, he could have been severely poisoned by cheese with holes, or injured by dried hard coral. If such an injury was received in childhood, then there is a considerable share of the likelihood that the wrong reaction to a stimulus (in this case, to an object with repetitive holes) will be firmly entrenched in the subconscious.

The incident did not necessarily have to happen with the participation of an object with a porous structure, but at the moment of severe fright or panic, such objects could have come across the child, and then, as in the cases described above, an incorrect causal emotional connection is fixed. For example, a child was punished and locked up in a closet where washing sponges were kept. Contemplation of these sponges at a moment of high mental intensity, fear close to panic, could create a prerequisite for the development of a phobic disorder, which returns every time a person sees either the sponge itself, or everything that has a structure similar to it.

For this reason, phobia also usually starts in childhood or adolescence. An impressionable, anxious personality type is favorable conditions for the development of a phobia. It is enough to get vivid, unforgettable impressions from watching a horror movie, thriller and even a film from the "Wildlife" cycle, in which, for example, they will talk about the life of bees, about honeycombs, about corals or frogs.

The cause of lasting and lasting fear can be a frightening photograph, someone's stories about the danger that the corresponding objects may conceal. Often, children's fear is provoked by the parents themselves, who scare him that something terrible can crawl out of the holes. The child grows up and with age comes the understanding that nothing and no one terrible and terrible lives in porous objects, but fear can not go anywhere.

The hypothesis of hereditary transmission of phobias can hardly stand up to criticism, because so far scientists have not been able to find genes that could be "suspected" of developing fears. But acquired genetic phobia is a reality. In other words, if one of the parents is afraid of cluster holes, is afraid of clusters of small holes, then a child can acquire a similar form of reaction to these objects. Indeed, up to a certain age (while basic fears are being formed), the child sincerely trusts the model of world perception that his parents offer him. And if they say that honeycombs are scary, then they are.

The manifestations of trypophobia are very similar to most other phobias, but they also have their own distinctive features. Faced with a frightening alarming situation, the trypophobe experiences a strong, acute attack of terror, while the whole world for him at that moment converges to one point - to the cluster holes that he sees. The perception of reality changes, a person cannot assess the environment, changes around, he often cannot control his own behavior. He sees and perceives only the frightening object.

The brain stasis begins to work in a state of heightened "alert" - the danger is near! It gives commands to the adrenal cortex, endocrine glands, internal organs, which causes numerous vegetative manifestations:

• breathing becomes shallow surfaces, almost immediately the body begins to feel hypoxic changes;
• the heartbeat becomes frequent;
• sweat glands actively produce sweat, and salivary glands "freeze" - the mouth immediately becomes dry;
• it is difficult to take a full breath and swallow, there is a feeling of a lump in the throat;
• dizziness appears, loss of consciousness may occur, legs weaken;
• tremors of the limbs, lips, chin may appear;
• the skin becomes pale;
• often there is a lack of coordination of movements, loss of balance;
• there is nausea, a feeling of cramps in the stomach, an attack of vomiting may occur.

If we do not take into account the tendency of trypophobes to hallucinations (the brain helpfully “draws up” the danger, which in fact does not exist), then, in general, an attack of fear proceeds as a classic panic attack. It can contain all the symptoms described, or it can include only some of them - this is quite individual.

Trypophobe realizes that his fear has no basis, he is aware of this, but he cannot do anything with it. In order to somehow reduce the frequency of anxious situations, trypophobes begin diligently avoid "dangerous" and frightening objects - they do not use sponges, do not dive with scuba diving to admire the coral reefs, try not to buy or eat cheese, honeycomb, bread, do not use detergents so as not to see the foam.

But cluster holes in nature are quite common, and therefore It is impossible to completely exclude a possible collision with an alarming situation. It can happen on the street, at work, while shopping, or in any other situation. And then panic cannot be avoided.

You need to understand that although trypophobia is not a disease, it is necessary to treat the disorder with the help of specialists. Self-medication usually does not bring results, because a person is unable to control himself when faced with a dangerous object. Therefore, it is better to entrust the treatment to professionals - a psychotherapist or psychiatrist.

Methods of psychotherapy are used for treatment. In particular, the method of cognitive-behavioral psychotherapy has proven itself well, in which a specialist detects specific objects and situations that are terrible for the patient, establishes the characteristics and causes of fears, and then systematically changes the incorrect attitudes that connect cluster holes in the patient's head with danger to correct attitudes , which imply a calm perception of the accumulation of holes and holes anywhere.

Simultaneously with this are used methods of hypnosis, NLP, and teaching a person to practice deep muscle relaxation.

Drug treatment, if used without psychotherapy, usually does not allow the result to be achieved. But in the case of trypophobia, as with most other phobias, there is no cure that can quickly get rid of the fear. Tranquilizers can only relieve the manifestations of panic, without eliminating their causes, while causing persistent pharmacological addiction, and antidepressants show results only in combination with psychotherapy.

This will help to achieve the effect much faster during the treatment process. Predictions about the effectiveness of therapy depend on how much the person himself is interested in getting rid of his fear, how willing he is to work closely with the attending physician and follow all his recommendations.

Trypophobia is dangerous in that it will certainly progress if no attempts are made to cure it. Like any other phobia, the fear of cluster holes will definitely leave its negative imprint on a person's life. He will have to diligently avoid situations in which he may encounter disturbing objects.

Another danger lies in the fact that, like any other phobia, trypophobia in its neglected form can exhaust the psyche so much that it will develop concomitant mental illnesses (namely illnesses!) - depression, psychosis, schizophrenia, paranoia, etc.

Long-term phobias increase the risks that the phobia will have to drown out their anxieties with alcohol, drugs, so the trypophobe has a real chance of becoming an alcoholic or drug addict.