People Are Sharing Their Unexpected Trypophobia Moments, And Here Are 30 Pics That Creeped Them Out
InterviewWe’ve all got our personal deep-seated fears. It can be extremely embarrassing to admit them, so I’ll go first: I’m irrationally afraid of heights and needles. And even though I can conquer my fears for short stretches of time, they still sneak up on me from time to time, especially when I least expect it. So even though I don’t have trypophobia, I can fully understand what someone suffering from it feels.
Trypophobia is the fear or disgust of closely packed holes, bumps, or patterns. When people with trypophobia see clusters of holes, they might feel queasy and uncomfortable, and can even suffer from panic attacks. Something as seemingly innocent as a strawberry or the head of a lotus seed pod might trigger their phobia. There is an entire subreddit, r/trypophobia, dedicated to “the most common phobia you’ve never heard of,” and we’re showcasing some of their most popular photos.
Be warned, though, if you do have trypophobia, these pictures might unnerve you. So, just in case, here is the link to our adorable article about tiny animals perching on fingers in case you need a palate cleanser.
Bored Panda reached out to the founder of r/trypophobia and to the UK Addiction Team Group to better understand phobias, their origins, and how we can overcome them. Be sure to read on for both insightful interviews.
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"The Beekeeper Forgot To Put The Frame In His Hive, So The Bees Just Freestyled, Building A Structure That Would Best Handle Temperature And Ventilation"
Nuno Albuquerque, the Head of Treatment at the UK Addiction Treatment Group, was kind enough to go in-depth about phobias with Bored Panda.
“Phobias are among the most common anxiety disorders and are often developed following a negative or traumatic experience or in some cases, from learned or copied behavior from parents or those close to them,” Nuno said in an email interview.
This Woodpecker's Acorn Stash In A Granary Tree
They do that. It is amazing. The whole place where they live is amazing. They are called Acorn Woodpeckers. They have a whole agenda that does not include humans. But they are pretty tough, muy bravos, and are still surviving.
Wild Beehive
“If parents or people of influence have anxiety about dogs, for example, then it is more than likely a child growing up with them will also develop the same irrational reaction around dogs,” Nuno noted that we can ‘inherit’ our social circles’ phobias as we’re growing up.
"Unfortunately genetics and learned behavior can trickle into the development of other behaviors and disorders, such as substance misuse, eating disorders, or unhealthy relationships with food, as well as gaming and gambling,” Nuno, from the UKAT Group said.
Seashell Piece I Found On The Beach
Statue
A Burned Tree That Looks Like Spaghetti
Overcoming phobias can be incredibly challenging. However, with the right approach, support, and help, everything is possible.
"Regardless of how a phobia originates, overcoming them can be difficult but is possible. It's important to recognize if more than one person is suffering and encourage all to participate. Gradual desensitization or self-exposure to the cause is encouraged,” Nuno detailed to Bored Panda.
This Pipe Full Of Barnacles
I can't decide if this is the best or the worst comment.
Load More Replies...Looks like a lamp ray mouth. But it does explain the reduced water flow though
How do you even clean something like this or does it just get replaced?
Scrape em all out with paint scraper or something similar
Load More Replies...After A Walk Through The Snow
South Shore Vet Clinic: "This Tick Has Been Hanging Around For Us To Show People For A While. After Months In A Sealed Container With No Additional Feeding She Laid Eggs. This Gives You An Idea Of How Long A Tick Can Be Dormant And How Many Eggs One Female Can Lay."
“A more complex and long-term phobia may need similar treatment given to someone with an anxiety disorder or mental health illness; counseling, cognitive behavioral therapy, dialectical behavior therapy or psychotherapy are all good options to explore." For help and support with anxiety disorders, you can visit this link right here.
Meanwhile, the founder of the r/trypophobia subreddit and one of its moderators, redditor It_roll, went into detail with Bored Panda about the phobia. “It’s still not understood correctly,” they said.
Carving
"Child, Why Do You Scream?"
I Opened A Beer Yesterday To Find The Bubbles All Neatly Lined Up
“Some scientists say it has an evolutionary basis to stay away from poisonous or dangerous animals, some even speculate that the patterns are very similar to infectious diseases like smallpox which resulted in developing fear to stay away from them,” they speculated about the possible causes of the phobia.
According to the founder, they created the subreddit as a way to unite those redditors who have the phobia, once they became aware of the scope of the fear.
Yummy Pizza Dough
A Skull Being Enveloped By Limestone
I Ate Too Many Sour Candies, And My Tongue Decided To Shed A Layer
“I always found the hole patterns associated with trypophobia very creepy. Earlier, I didn't even know this fear had a name but soon on Reddit, I found many other users sharing the same fear like I had and came to know it was very common. So, I decided to create a sub where all of us users with the same fear can talk about it,” they told me about the origins of their community.
This Tomb Ceiling In Iran
Extreme Close Up Of Pin Feathers On Pigeon
They grow out to look like normal feathers. No big deal. Only problem if you have chickens is to keep other chickens from pecking them and making them bleed. I had to make little coats for molting birds because of it
Wasps Building A Nest In Pyrex
That is really cool. Would be great for some natural math inspired art, or your own H. R Giger homage, though you would need to add more genitalia for that
Redditor It_roll noted that they personally remain skeptical about some approaches like exposure therapy helping one conquer one’s trypophobia. “Though I have heard exposure therapy works on some phobias like some anxiety disorders, I have doubts if it can be helpful in trypophobia, considering thousands of users see trypophobic content every day in this sub, yet neither I nor anyone else has ever said that our trypophobia was gone.”
Oh Boy
Barnacle Croc Found On The Beach
Suriname Toads Give Birth Out Of Their Back
"Beech Orange" Mushroom
This Bread That Was Served At Dinner
What A Great Commute
My 4yo Daughter's Artwork. Those Red Circles Are "The Holes Where His Hair Comes Out."
Mushrooms
Lotus Root Inside A Lotus Root. Double Trypophobia
Beans Left In The Microwave For A While
A WHILE? Looks like several days to a week not just overnight. Gross
Some Eggs I Found In The Garden
This Wrinkly Mold I Found Growing In A Bowl Outside
Wanted A Cherry Pie For Myself So I Made This Pie For My Trypophobia Husband
Candy Corn Pumpkin
This Glitch In Mlb Always Gets Me
Poked Holes Into Coconut Flesh, It Looks Like A Festering Knee
So I Made Some Pancakes This Morning And Got This Beauty
These Button Plants (Conophytum Wittebergense) Look Like Creepy Bloodshot Eyes
A Gathering Of Ladybugs I Stumbled Upon In The Mountains
Jabuticaba Tree Also Known As The Brazilian Grape Tree. What Makes It So Unique Is That The Fruit Grows Out Of Its Bark
The 17 Year Cicadas Are Coming Up In Maryland!
The Underside Of A Mushroom
Close Up Of Dogs Paw Pads
So I’ll Never Freeze A Carrot Now. Gross
Did the person not realize the cells full of water expand and burst?
This May Be The Wrong Subreddit For This But I Got My Dad A Grow Your Own Mushroom Kit For His Birthday And This Progress Pic Is Abhorrent
Pineberries. White Strawberries That Taste Like Pineapple
Is it wrong that I just wouldn't eat them because they're too white?
Crochet Baby
Found In Forest In Sweden, About 1m From Ground, Roughly 20cm In Size. Hard To The Touch, But Drips Liquid When Knocked
Water Faucet I Replaced With Calcium Deposits
Bet You Can’t Guess What This Is. Hint: It’s In A Restaurant (Not A Mushroom)
Mac And Cheese Pork Loaf...
My Dogs Old Outside Bed. Time To Burn It
This Gigantic Sunflower
Coins In A Tree I Passed By On A Hike
My Wife’s Jack O Lantern. My Sister In Law And Mother In Law Have Trypophobia. They Almost Cried When They Saw It
The Underside Of A Fungus I Saw Today
The Bar Of Soap In My Shower Has Me Mildly Freaked Out Lately
Some Stupid Vegetable In My Salad That Came With My Bagel. Just Give Me A Bagel Man
A Spider Nest On My Porch
Found On A Beach Of Lake Erie. I’ve Lived Near The Lake My Whole Life And Never Have Seen Something Like This
Papaya
These Boulders At The Tide Pools
I Didn't Know It Came In Planter Shape, Definitely Not Welcome In My House
The Way My Candle Is Melting
Found This On The Beach. Its Fascinating But Skin Crawling
Hornet's Nest
I Purged A Chemical Pump Into A Bucket And Got This
Weird Ice Formation On My Car Last Winter
Inside Of A Raspberry
Forgot the worm. I never had one without a worm and to this day I cannot eat them. I know the worms are (probably) harmless, but still icky. Same for cherries.
This Hole-Some Egg Is Here To Trigger You To Oblivion
This Tree That Woodpeckers Use To Store Their Acorns
Always did find that creepy and gross. I even like the birds, but this is a bit much.
Trypophobia Burger
This Vase
Wasps Eggs In My Lemon Tree
Ginger Lace Garnish I Made
This Hotel Lamp
I Put Too Much Basil Seeds In My Water
These White Strawberries
This Rug In The House I’m Staying At
Datronia Mollis Fungi
These Creepy Barnacles
Just Washing A Hairbrush
This Seashell In My Art Class Almost Made Me Barf
The Way The Bubbles Formed In My Bath Yesterday
Unsettling Table In A Hotel Lobby
B E A N S
I Poured Cream Over Some Freshly Picked Blackberries And They Look Less Than Tasty
What Is This Brown Bumpy Thing On My Pringle??
very likely overcooked bit of another pringle that stuck to the machinery; unliklier, but I suppose possible is that it is part of the machinery that came off.
Our Shower Was Continuously Becoming Clogged And Would Create Standing Water. The Plumber Pulled This Out Of The Shower Pipe. It’s Hard, But A Little Soft, Almost Like Hardened Sap. It’s Light Yellow To Dark Gold. No Odor. Smooth On Sides And Bubbly On Top
This Root Cluster Pushing Up Under My Brick Pathway
That looks like many eyes on a possible potato carcass underneath.
This Horrible “Home Decor”
This Package I Received
Not Sure If This Belongs Here, But This Condensation In The Fridge Made Me Feel Uneasy
Muddy Shore
Was Just Googling Pigs In A Blanket And Found These Pull Apart Ones, And It Really Really Bothers Me
An English Crumpet
Chocolate Peeled Off A Chocolate Covered Strawberry
This House's Siding
Guys Guys The Trypostation 5 Controller Was Just Revealed!
I Accidentally Left This "Organic Potato Soup" In The Pot Overnight
I Took A Bite Out Of A Cherry The Other Day...
Burnt Pepper Gravy
What Tf Is This?
These Gross Looking Flakes Of Raw Chicken Skin (Placed On My Finger For Added Effect)
It's from the legs, where the birds have scales instead of skin and feather follicles
No, no, no, no, nope. I couldn't even click on the article. *shudders* Ugh.
For those of you who made it all the way down, well done! GY3ovLw-61...c20c07.jpg
I didnt know What trypophobia was, had to google. After this article..... I think i might have trypophobia *shudders*
I definately have this! ive always had nighmares about my hands and feet being full of holes, whats the reason behind trypophobia???
I always imagined that it has something to do with us being instinctively scared of parasites. Holes in your skin are never a good thing.
Load More Replies...Omg these pictures made my feet itch so bad. Am officially nauseated for the rest of the day!
I quickly looked away, my scalp is itching like crazy though.
Load More Replies...Too bad I can't add one. This is how they used to do hair transplants: https://tinyurl.com/rx2pc6a9
this may be a phobia but I don't think its a common one, I am not saying that it is irrational because I am sure we all have phobias tucked away in our psyches. The cure for a lot of phobias is to face them most in nature should not be destroyed just ignored!
Certain things trigger my Tyrpophobia and some things don't. But most of these...... ugh!
I'd never heard of trypophibia before, though someone in my family said she's afraid of polka dots recently and I wasn't sure what she meant. Now I understand. Some of these were disturbing to me, such as the tick with eggs, but others, I found pleasant to look at, like the beehives, the bread, and the pipes neatly lined up on the back of the truck. I'm glad to understand this perspective better.
Even knowing I had it I suffered through the pain in the cause of curiosity
Here, I think most of us are going to need this. Me? I hated pretty much this whole entire thing. Downvoted almost everything. help-61325...d82a1b.jpg
No, no, no, no, nope. I couldn't even click on the article. *shudders* Ugh.
For those of you who made it all the way down, well done! GY3ovLw-61...c20c07.jpg
I didnt know What trypophobia was, had to google. After this article..... I think i might have trypophobia *shudders*
I definately have this! ive always had nighmares about my hands and feet being full of holes, whats the reason behind trypophobia???
I always imagined that it has something to do with us being instinctively scared of parasites. Holes in your skin are never a good thing.
Load More Replies...Omg these pictures made my feet itch so bad. Am officially nauseated for the rest of the day!
I quickly looked away, my scalp is itching like crazy though.
Load More Replies...Too bad I can't add one. This is how they used to do hair transplants: https://tinyurl.com/rx2pc6a9
this may be a phobia but I don't think its a common one, I am not saying that it is irrational because I am sure we all have phobias tucked away in our psyches. The cure for a lot of phobias is to face them most in nature should not be destroyed just ignored!
Certain things trigger my Tyrpophobia and some things don't. But most of these...... ugh!
I'd never heard of trypophibia before, though someone in my family said she's afraid of polka dots recently and I wasn't sure what she meant. Now I understand. Some of these were disturbing to me, such as the tick with eggs, but others, I found pleasant to look at, like the beehives, the bread, and the pipes neatly lined up on the back of the truck. I'm glad to understand this perspective better.
Even knowing I had it I suffered through the pain in the cause of curiosity
Here, I think most of us are going to need this. Me? I hated pretty much this whole entire thing. Downvoted almost everything. help-61325...d82a1b.jpg