Trypophobia (fear of holes): causes, symptoms and treatment

Trypophobia, although technically translated as "phobia of piercings"In reality, more than a phobia (fear), it is a rejection or a feeling of disgust and repulsion towards compact and grouped geometric figures.

In this article we will know what exactly is trypophobia, whether or not it becomes a specific phobia (anxiety disorder) and what are its causes. We will also talk about an experiment that was carried out in relation to this topic, and the advantages of some phobias like this at an evolutionary level.

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Trypophobia: what is it?

The term trypophobia comes from the Greek "trypo", which means stitch or piercing. Trypophobia is the feeling of repulsion and rejection towards patterns of compact geometric shapes.

This characteristic sense of repulsion appears especially with pits and holes together., as well as with very small holes and very small rectangles.

In fact, what we mentioned at the beginning (disgust instead of fear in trypophobia) has been demonstrated in a research directed by researcher Stella Lourenco, carried out at Emory University (Atlanta, USA). In this research, it was found that this "fear" or "rejection" of patterns of small groups of holes, was driven by disgust, rather than fear.

In this way, trypophobia is triggered when we observe or touch this pattern of clustered tiny holes. But where can we find these little holes?

Little holes in ...

This grouping of compact and small geometric figures, that is, the "phobic object" of the Trypophobia, can appear in different elements, either from the environment, from nature, from other people…

Some examples of these stimuli are found in: nature (for example, lotus flowers, bee panels, bubbles, some animals, stones, etc.), people (wounds, lumps as a result of infectious skin diseases such as leprosy, smallpox or measles), fiction (films, effects), art (drawings, photographs, etc.), food (for example cheese, a head of garlic, etc.) and even objects (for example the drain of the shower).

Symptoms

A) Yes, the main symptom of trypophobia is this feeling of rejection and repulsion towards small holes that stay close together. Other symptoms of trypophobia are: fear, anxiety, disgust, disgust, etc., always associated with the same stimulus (grouping of small and compact geometric figures, generally holes).

We know that specific phobias, classified as such in the DSM-5 (Diagnostic Manual of Mental Disorders) imply a discomfort in the person who suffers them, in addition to a certain deterioration or interference in their day-to-day diagnostics). However, in common parlance and in the case of trypophobia, this is considered a fairly frequent, which is not considered a mental disorder, but rather a very common condition in the population.

That is, many people suffer from trypophobia and this does not cause a great deterioration in their life; simply, when they see many holes together, they feel disgusted or rejected.

In extreme cases of trypophobia, however, we could speak of an intense and irrational fear towards this stimulus; on the other hand, the degree of interference in life will vary, depending on the exposure to this type of stimuli (most people are not especially exposed to these stimuli in their day to day).

Causes

The causes of trypophobia are related to an ancestral and evolutionary mechanism towards stimuli that can be toxic or harmful for the individual; These stimuli often cause disgust (eg unpleasant odor, rotten food, garbage remains, etc.).

That is, trypophobia is related to a protection mechanism against stimuli that cause disgust; It is not really known why, the fact of seeing many small holes and together (or other geometric shapes) awakens this type of sensation.

At an evolutionary and survival level, it is logical that our ancestors felt rejection towards stimuli that caused them disgust; It is, therefore, a survival mechanism, to avoid becoming infected or dying.

It could be said, then, that in a certain way we have "inherited" this phobia, like many other phobias related to unpleasant stimuli to the senses, which also arouse a feeling of disgust.

The evolutionary advantage of phobias

Thus, the main hypothesis regarding the cause of trypophobia is related to an evolutionary advantage due to the fact of avoiding or rejecting stimuli that cause us disgust. The evolutionary function of the feeling of dislike or dislike towards a stimulus prevents us when it comes to eating rotten or expired food, for example.

There are many other evolutionarily inherited phobias; the vast majority of them, but they attend to the role of fear to avoid predators, for example. A) Yes, phobias can produce mainly two types of evolutionarily advantageous responses: fear and disgust (in the case of trypophobia).

Investigation of fear and disgust

These two responses (fear and disgust) have been increasingly studied and it has been shown how, at a physiological level, they activate two different systems (fear activates the sympathetic nervous system and disgust [disgust] activates the parasympathetic nervous system).

In fact, the latter was verified by an experiment conducted by Ayzenberg, Hickey, and Lourenco in 2018. The results of this research showed how images of dangerous (fearful) animals produce an increase in the pupil, while the images of small holes together, produce a decrease in the herself. That is, different psychophysiological systems are activated.

It is worth mentioning that the study volunteers had not reported having trypophobia. The researchers concluded that this suggested that trypophobia relies on a very primitive visual mechanism. found behind the aversion to small, compact holes.

Treatment of trypophobia

Recall that we have spoken of trypophobia not so much as a mental disorder (in the case of specific phobias, a disorder of anxiety), but rather of a very common response among people, and of a very primitive ancestral mechanism to the stimuli that they cause disgust.

So, more than talking about a treatment for trypophobia, we can talk about small solutions to combat it.

A proposal that we make is the habituation technique; This technique consists of getting used to the dreaded (or, in this case, repulsive) stimulus. It is as simple as getting used to looking at objects, animals or things with small agglutinated dots for many minutes.

After a while, we will get used to it and they will not cause us the same initial feeling of disgust. However, if many hours pass between stimuli, it is likely that the habituation effect will disappear, and that we will return to the initial trypophobia.

The best thing, then, is to accept that these small stimuli (holes and shapes) will always cause us "repel", and that this does not have to have a negative impact on our day to day.

Bibliographic references

• American Psychiatric Association -APA- (2014). DSM-5. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. Madrid: Panamericana.

• Ayzenberg V, Hickey MR, Lourenco SF. (2018) Pupillometry reveals the physiological underpinnings of the aversion to holes. PeerJ 6: e4185 https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.4185.

• Murillo, M. (2013). The body in the phobia of holes. V International Congress of Research and Professional Practice in Psychology XX Research Conference Ninth Meeting of Researchers in Psychology of MERCOSUR. Faculty of Psychology - University of Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires,