Cutaneous trypophobia: what causes it, signs, treatment

Panic fear of open holes and holes is trypophobia. Let's consider the features of this pathology, symptoms, methods of diagnosis, correction and treatment.

There are many phobias that provoke acute attacks of fear and make you sweat. Some of them cause misunderstanding and even laughter, but for the patient it is a factor that interferes with a full life. For example, a harmless bar of chocolate or honeycomb, skin pores, wounds. Holes can be on any organic objects: body, flowers, food, other objects

Trypophobia is a pathological condition in which a person is afraid of open holes, especially if they see them in a cluster. The disease was first identified in 2004 by medical specialists at Oxford University. Official medicine has not yet recognized this disorder. But many people claim to be afraid of a cluster of holes.

Scientists believe that the disorder is an evolutionary phobia that everyone has. Only in some people it causes panic attacks, and in others mild discomfort. For ancestors in the past, it was a kind of advantage. The feeling of fear, attentiveness and impressionability allowed them to survive, avoiding poisonous animals or infection with dangerous diseases.

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Epidemiology

Research suggests that about 16% of people worldwide experience anxiety when they see a cluster of holes. Trypophobia statistics indicate that women are more susceptible to this disorder than men.

Scientists analyzed images that caused panic and concluded that the cause of fear is not in the holes themselves, but in the associations that arise. In most cases, the brain compares clustered holes with danger.

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Causes trypophobia

Fear of open holes is a pathological condition that is still not sufficiently studied today. The causes of trypophobia are associated with the evolutionary advantages of humans. That is, the subconscious fear of many holes acts as a protective reaction of the body to various hidden dangers.

Fear develops for various reasons, let's look at the main ones:

• Hereditary or genetic predisposition.
• Association of an object with danger.
• Psychological trauma.
• Traumatic events.
• Associations with skin diseases.
• Cultural factors.

At the same time, studies have shown that a panic attack is more associated not with fear, but with disgust and danger.

Risk factors

Fear of multiple holes, like loving phobia, has certain risk factors. The objects that cause fear are:

• Openings in living organisms: humans, animals. Stress factors can include open pores, acne, holes in muscles, or flaking skin.
• Foods with holes: cheese, veins in raw meat, honeycomb, bread holes, coffee foam, chocolate, etc.
• Plants: corn, lotus seeds, bean pods.
• Holes caused by living organisms such as worms, caterpillars or larvae.
• Natural holes: natural fossils, porous stones.
• Digital and graphic images of multiple holes.

A person experiences unpleasant symptoms when seeing any objects that have cluster holes in their structure. Because of this, work capacity decreases, nausea and vomiting attacks, loss of coordination of movements, increased nervousness, headaches and dizziness are possible.

Pathogenesis

The mechanism of development of the pathological condition is based on its causes. The pathogenesis of trypophobia is very often associated with childhood trauma. For example, fear of honeycombs can arise due to bee stings.

The disorder is influenced by external events: conflicts, stress, relationship problems. In some cases, the disorder develops because of a picture or a film seen. The person becomes fixated on this and the subconscious begins to work according to a well-worn pattern: avoiding and being wary of everything that causes the unpleasant feelings experienced.

The disease can manifest itself with age, as phobias tend to accumulate. The disorder manifests itself not just as stress, but as hostility and disgust. The mechanism of the disease's development is also associated with cultural factors. Many people experience anxiety when looking at the geometric coloring of poisonous animals, snakes or scorpions.

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Symptoms trypophobia

Fear of various openings, like many pathological conditions, is manifested by increasing anxiety, which quickly turns into panic. The symptoms of trypophobia largely depend on the individual characteristics of the patient's body, let's consider the main ones:

• Various allergic reactions.
• Redness or paleness of the skin.
• Increased sweating.
• Increased heart rate.
• Tremors in the limbs.
• Attacks of fear or panic of varying intensity.
• Difficulty breathing.
• Uncontrollable outbursts of anger and fear.
• Nervousness.
• Gag reflex.
• Obsessive ideas.
• Headaches and dizziness.
• Spasms and convulsions.
• Muscle pain.

If the disease takes an advanced form, various psychosomatic reactions are possible. About 10% of the population experiences bouts of nausea, skin itching, nervous tremors and general discomfort.

First signs

In most cases, the pathology makes itself known suddenly, without any apparent reason. The first signs of trypophobia can be associated with age, mental, cultural or hereditary factors.

Most often, patients describe the disorder as follows:

• It feels like something is crawling on the skin.
• Body tremors and itching.
• Disgust and nausea.
• Panic attack.

Signs of anxiety may arise when seeing natural pores of plants (lotus seed pods, corn), various skin diseases (smallpox, enlarged pores, myiasis, acne), holes in food products (cheese, coffee foam, seeds in vegetables and fruits), passages formed by living organisms (insect hives, larvae, worms, anthills).

Negative sensations arise not only from direct contact with the object of fear, but also from observing such images. A person imagines the presence of the object nearby, which provokes pathological symptoms.

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Trypophobia on skin

Irrational fear arising from the sight of various dermatological problems indicates a psychosomatic disorder. Trypophobia on the skin is most often associated with the fear of dangerous skin diseases. Wounds, ulcers, enlarged or clogged pores with sebum, scars cause a feeling of disgust and even panic.

An uncontrollable surge of fear can manifest itself in obsessive ideas, gag reflexes and nervousness. The painful condition in most cases is associated with past events.

Trypophobia on the body

An anxious state that arises when seeing various holes and holes is trypophobia. On the body, it manifests itself in various allergic reactions, redness or pallor. Some people experience increased sweating, trembling, and the appearance of bright spots due to strong emotional stress.

Many phobias arise for spontaneous and inexplicable reasons, some have psychological, age-related or cultural causes. For example, cultural factors are associated with peculiar opinions, views and phenomena characteristic of social groups and associations.

Stages

Trypophobia does not have a generally accepted classification, as this disorder is still being studied. The following stages of the pathological condition are distinguished:

• Mild form – irritability, nervousness, anxiety.
• Average form – attacks of nausea, skin rashes, itching and tremors.
• Severe form – frequent panic attacks, headaches and dizziness, vomiting.

Fear of cluster holes is a serious obstacle to normal life. Very often the disorder causes misunderstanding, ridicule and even hostility. If left untreated, it can cause serious psychosomatic reactions.

Forms

An anxiety disorder caused by a reaction to various holes, cracks and openings is trypophobia. It is a young and poorly studied disorder. Many scientists define it as a separate type of fear.

The types of irrational fear depend on the severity of pathological symptoms and the object of anxiety. The source of panic can be:

• Holes on living organisms.
• Inflammatory and purulent dermatological diseases.
• Enlarged pores and sebaceous plugs.
• Rashes on the skin and mucous membranes.
• Small holes in food products.

Clusters of any recurring holes in most cases cause anxiety, mild nervousness and worry. More advanced forms provoke nausea, skin allergic reactions and itching, trembling in the limbs, headaches. Treatment is carried out by a psychologist using various relaxing techniques that allow you to switch attention during an attack.

Cluster trypophobia

Fear of clusters of various holes is cluster trypophobia. A large number of people suffer from it. The peculiarity of this condition is that a person experiences an uncontrollable attack of panic at the sight of rhythmically repeating patterns or small holes. Many psychologists believe that this is a kind of protective reaction of the body, that is, an archaic fear of potential danger - insects or poisonous snakes.

Trypophobes are not afraid of all objects with clustered holes. That is, a person may feel anxious when seeing holes in cheese, bread or coffee foam, but not be afraid of skin rashes. This feature is due to an individual reaction and depends on the true cause of the pathology.

Since cluster trypophobia is still not recognized as a disease, there are no traditional methods for its elimination. For treatment and restoration of mental balance, it is necessary to consult a psychologist. In particularly severe cases, taking sedatives and even hypnosis is indicated.

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Complications and consequences

If you let the disorder take its course, it can lead to serious problems. The consequences and complications of trypophobia are manifested by the following symptoms:

• Involuntary muscle spasms and sharp pains.
• Loss of consciousness.
• Frequent and severe migraines.
• Lack of response to any external stimuli.
• Disorders of the musculoskeletal system.

To treat and prevent the above problems, it is necessary to treat the problem at its first manifestations. Timely and correct psychotherapy, support of loved ones will help get rid of obsessive fear.

Diagnostics trypophobia

If you have symptoms of anxiety, you should visit a psychotherapist who will conduct an examination, determine the degree of development of the problem and prescribe appropriate treatment.

Diagnosis of trypophobia consists of several stages:

• Interviewing the patient and collecting anamnesis. Based on the data obtained, the doctor concludes that there is a phobia.
• The type of disorder and its severity are determined. Related neurological problems are excluded.
• Presence of characteristic symptoms.
• Trypophobia test to determine the degree of development of the disease.

The diagnostic conclusion allows us to draw up an effective treatment plan and normalize the patient’s condition.

Trypophobia Test

To diagnose the fear of cluster holes, the patient is prescribed a trypophobia test. The testing consists of viewing various pictures that depict objects that cause fear.

The diagnosis is made based on the data obtained:

• Anxiety is constant and has increasing symptoms.
• Irrational fear arises not only in the presence of a stimulus, but also in anticipation of it.
• The patient avoids situations that cause panic attacks and has difficulty tolerating them.
• Anxiety interferes with everyday life.

If the images viewed during the test caused the above symptoms, then you should seek professional help so that the phobia does not create problems in real life.

Differential diagnosis

In its symptoms, trypophobia is similar to many other neurological disorders. Differential diagnostics are carried out with depressive episodes and dissociative disorders.

During differentiation, the doctor determines possible causes of the pathology, the presence of stressful or traumatic events. The severity of painful symptoms, the type and form of anxiety are taken into account. Based on the results of the studies, the most appropriate treatment is prescribed.

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Treatment trypophobia

To date, there is no general clinical practice for treating trypophobia. The treatment plan is made individually for each patient based on the results of diagnostics and the severity of pathological symptoms. In most cases, to eliminate the irrational fear of holes, complex treatment is carried out, which consists of the following measures:

• Corrective and substitution methods of mental recovery.
• Psychoanalysis.
• Normalization of psychological and physical self-perception.
• Psychotherapy sessions (individual, group).
• Self-regulation exercises: calming, breathing, relaxing.
• Drug therapy (sedatives and antiallergic drugs).
• Inpatient treatment with the use of sedatives, anticonvulsants and anti-inflammatory drugs.

The treatment is carried out by a psychotherapist, whose work is aimed at restoring the general condition of the patient in the presence of an irritant. The doctor not only eliminates fear, but also establishes the underlying causes of its occurrence. Let's consider the most effective treatment measures:

1. Exposure therapy

The patient is shown calming pictures, alternating them with fear-inducing images. The doctor gradually increases the duration of viewing the frightening pictures. Repeated exposure leads to the fact that anxiety decreases and the trypophobe manages to restrain his fear, controlling his feelings and behavior.

2. Cognitive behavioral therapy

It is the above-described treatment combined with other methods, including breathing exercises.

3. Hypnosis

To reduce the control of consciousness over mental processes, the doctor immerses the patient in a hypnotic trance. This makes it possible to correct the pathology at the subconscious level. During hypnosis, access to unconscious information opens, which allows you to establish the true mechanisms of fear development. Hypnotherapy is characterized by high efficiency, regardless of the form of the disease.

4. Medicines

The doctor selects medications individually for each patient. Most often, beta blockers, antidepressants, and tranquilizers are prescribed.

• Beta blockers – neutralize the effect of adrenaline released during anxiety. Reduce blood pressure and heart rate, reduce tremors and convulsions.
• Antidepressants are selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors. They are prescribed for severe cases of phobia.
• Tranquilizers – benzodiazepines are most often prescribed to control anxiety. This type of medication has a number of contraindications and side effects.

Medication is used if the disorder becomes uncontrollable and interferes with everyday life. In other cases, psychotherapy and other corrective methods are indicated.

Prevention

There are no methods to prevent trypophobia. Prevention of anxiety is based on following these simple recommendations:

• Self-control.
• Development of mental balance and harmony.
• Minimizing stressful and tense situations.
• Avoidance of emotional experiences.

Meditation, yoga, massage and other methods that promote maximum relaxation and self-control have preventive properties. Also, do not forget about timely contact with a psychotherapist when the first signs of phobia appear.

Forecast

Trypophobia is still not recognized as an official diagnosis, so it is classified and treated as an obsessive condition or fear, using appropriate psychological correction. The prognosis depends on the timeliness of diagnosis of the irrational condition, the chosen treatment methods, the general psychological and physical health of the patient.