Trypophobia - causes and symptoms of trypophobia

Trypophobia is considered a "young" disease and is still being studied. The term itself was proposed only in 2005. Many experts are still not inclined to single out such a state of health as a separate type of fear.

At the moment, trypophobia does not have a single recognized classification. However, several main types can be distinguished: mild (when viewing clusters of repeating holes, an individual experiences anxiety, tension, slight nervousness and anxiety); moderate (repeating deep circles cause unreasonable anxiety, nausea, itchy skin, the appearance of obsessive ideas, trembling in the limbs); severe (cluster "mouths" provoke the development of panic, uncontrolled stay, dizziness, vomiting, loss of coordination).

Holes located on living organisms, acne, pimples, traces of smallpox, large pores, remnants of destroyed skin, rounded spaces in muscles can cause fear. All kinds of round holes in food products: veins or streaks, for example, in meat, honeycombs, circles of cheese products, "holes" in vegetables and fruits, depressions in leguminous plants, oval slits in bread - also serve as phenomena that cause a fearful feeling.

Geological depressions in rocks or natural minerals, as well as those made by animals in the ground (larvae, worms or caterpillars) are the subject of an exciting sensation in people suffering from this affliction.

Causes

Since the disease is not fully understood, a complete list of conditions that can cause trypophobia has not been developed to date. There are many prerequisites explaining the occurrence of the disease: heredity, social, mental experiences, emotional stress, breakdowns, age crises, accumulation of fearfulness to a critical point as you grow older.

Symptoms

The variation of ideas and the degree of intensity of symptoms is quite extensive. The most characteristic signs of trypophobia include the following reactions when looking at an irritant:

• bursts of fear and/or panic of varying intensity;
• feeling of anxiety;
• increased sweating;
• rapid heartbeat;
• obsessive ideas;
• nervousness;
• itching, reddening of the skin;
• dizziness;
• nausea, vomiting;
• trembling in the limbs;
• muscle spasms;
• convulsions;
• loss of consciousness;
• difficulty breathing;
• impaired coordination.

Trypophobia symptoms are caused by the following objects:

• natural pores of plants (corn, bean pods, lotus seed pods, etc.);
• holes present in animal and human tissues (acne, miasma, pockmarks, open enlarged pores);
• armholes of natural origin (porous fossils, holes from exposure to water in rocks, corals);
• "windows" formed under the influence of living organisms (passages caterpillars, larvae and worms, anthills, insect hives);
• clusters of oval "punctures" in food products (cheese, honeycombs, cross-sectioned bakery products, seeds in fruits and vegetables, porous chocolate).

Diagnostics

As soon as a person discovers the above symptoms, it is necessary to consult a psychotherapist for consultation and treatment. Diagnostic methods applied to the patient are limited to taking anamnesis, differential diagnostics and specifying the clinical manifestations of this condition.

Treatment

In the treatment of trypophobia, the primary focus is on a doctor's consultation, who determines the entire range of necessary therapeutic methods:

• corrective, substitution methods for mental rehabilitation (alternating calming images and images of many round holes in order to gradually eliminate feelings of discomfort);
• psychoanalysis;
• desensitization (a set of measures aimed at normalizing the patient's physical and psychological self-perception);
• group and individual psychotherapy sessions;
• breathing, calming, relaxing self-regulation exercises;
• sedatives;
• antiallergic drugs;
• inpatient treatment with anti-inflammatory, anticonvulsant, sedative medications (for severe forms of phobia).

Prevention

There are no specific preventive measures for this phobia. But there are some rules, adhering to which you can protect yourself from the onset of the disease. These are self-control, the development of mental balance and harmony, the elimination of stress, tense situations, emotional experiences from life, as well as timely referral to a psychotherapist if the first signs of phobia appear.