‘DOTS CREEP
M E O U T...'
Veronica, 31, suffers from
trypophobia
‘Trypophobia is the fear of
holes and dots and I think I’ve
had it since I was a child. I
didn’t discover it was an actual
phobia until my late teens when
I Googled “dot phobia” one day.
I found this random message
board where other people were
talking about the same fear.
A lot of people talked about
being triggered by this one
f lower with pod seeds, and
frogs that lay eggs on their
backs. Google it, you’ll see.
Just to be clear, the phobia
is being freaked out by theand
you’ll see the definition ‘an extreme or
irrational fear of or aversion to some-
thing’. Following that will be a little
example that says, ‘She suffered from
a phobia about birds’. Which is quite
convenient, as I do have a phobia about
birds. Dead ones, specifically. Ever
since I can remember, I haven’t been
able to see one without getting light-
headed and having my heart leap into
my throat. I don’t particularly enjoy live
birds, either. Was I traumatised as a
child by a flock of seagulls? Not at all.
it’s just one of those unexplainable
phobias that has no rhyme or reason.
While I haven’t found anyone with the
same fear, I have come across others
who fear the harmless and benevolent.
I’m not alone in this world, it seems.
'I CAN'T EVEN
SAY THE WORD,
IT DISTURBS
ME SO MUCH'
Marie, 32, has a fear of buttons
‘I have koumpounophobia [that
is, the fear of buttons]. I can’t
even say the word – I speak
four languages, and I hate the
word in all of them.As far as I can remember,
I have always had it. The sight
of them makes me cringe and
move away, and if one touches
me I have to wipe my hand.
I always ask a friend to cut
them off the clothes that I buy- like blazers, or winter coats
- and then to put them in the
bin, far away from eyesight. I’ll
admit that two months ago, I
bought a winter coat for $1000
and still cut them off.
What it is that disturbs me
is difficult to explain. I think
these things are irrational. And
I do realise it’s completely
ridiculous! I don’t tell many
people, as some deliberately
confront me with them because
they find it funny – though it’s
a real phobia and the distress
it causes is real. I first told my
family when I was 16 and my
mum told me she had the same
phobia. She told me that my
grandfather also had it and that
he used to go to my grand
mother’s closet and cut them
all off her clothes.
I’ve never tried to get rid
of my phobia and I never want
to. I feel it would be comparable
to someone who finds jeans
ugly. They would not want to
be changed to find jeans pretty,
because we, as humans, don’t
want to change our taste. My
phobia is more than finding
buttons ugly... but I wouldn’t
want to like them, anyway.’