Snake-skin patterns or repeated bumps like those on fruit can also trigger the fear.
Researchers disagree about whether trypophobia is a truephobia, and it’s not officially classified as a mental disorder.
In severe cases, people with trypophobia may benefit from therapies or medication commonly used for anxiety disorders.
Verywell / Laura Porter
These reactions accelerate a persons negative experience because extreme emotions spawn physical symptoms and vice versa.
Trypophobia Triggers
Trypophobia can be triggered by a range of objects and patterns.
These can be things that occur in nature or manmade objects.
Is Trypophobia a Real Phobia?
Trypophobia wasnt well known until recently.
What Does Trypophobia Mean?
However, a 2024 study found that the association between holes and anxiety existed long before the internet.
Trypophobia may meet those seven criteria in the following ways:
What Causes Trypophobia?
Phobias dont have a specific cause.
Instead, they can result from any number or combination of complex factors.
These may include genetics, prior trauma, learned responses early in life, and long-term anxiety or depression.
However, people diagnosed with a specific phobia are typically treated with psychotherapy and, if needed, medications.
It isn’t recognized as a diagnosis by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.
However, studies show that it can negatively affect daily life.
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