'Cluster-phobia'

Recently, I saw a video of a woman raising a rescued baby hedgehog.

The video showed its development from a syringe-fed pink, spikeless, undefined creature...to a pink creature with many tiny white spikes and defined facial features...to a small hedgehog running in grass.

Two comments on the post stood out to me:

“Put a precaution. Some of us are sensitive to such content.”

“It’s really cute but triggered my trypophobia.”

Curious, I googled "trypophobia" and instantly understood that the tiny spikes on the hedgehog were disturbing to those people. Upon discovering the meaning (what I would call "cluster-phobia"), I realised that I have a mild case of trypophobia – very mild, thankfully, as I imagine there are people who suffer to extremes with it.

Trypophobia is defined as “an intense and disproportionate fear of or disgust for holes, bumps, or patterns that are clustered together or repetitive. For example, this can be triggered by holes in a honeycomb or sponge, the skin of a snake, or the seeds on a strawberry.”

Whereas the word "phobia" refers to a fear reaction that is often perceived as being irrational or inexplicable, it is not (at least to my knowledge) that people with trypophobia are terrified of clusters of bumps or holes and run and scream when confronted with such visuals. Rather, it is more of a feeling of aversion or disgust. In extreme cases, reactions can include vomiting, shaking, intense itching or scratching.

I think many people possibly experience trypophobia but just did not know that there was a term for the condition. It is considered a "fairly new" disorder, first named in 2005. The etymology of the word is "trypa" (Greek for hole) and "phobos" (fear).

In my case, I generally do not like seeing clusters of small circular shapes (indented or raised), especially if they are somewhat moist or on the surface of the skin. Even writing and describing it, I feel a mild crawling sensation in my epidermis.

Yet, strangely, I am able to look at lots of thickly packed, swarming maggots quite easily without feeling aversion – maybe because I often have to in animal-rescue cases.

I decided to write an article about this when, as I was cutting up a pineapple, I felt a slight aversion to the dots formed by its "eyes." Having never noticed or felt that before when looking at peeled pineapples, I wondered if the "trypophobia" was stimulated by association, as I had come across the word and its explanation the day before.

Unlike other phobias, trypophobia is not diagnosed by the standards of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. The phobias classified by that system generally cause fear or anxiety sufficiently strong to cause severe distress or impair the individual’s ability to function.

The average trypophobe, however, may be disgusted or averted by the image of clusters, but will be able to move on from the effect and carry on with life. For example, even though I felt a mild aversion to the dots on the pineapple, I calmly diced it up to break up the pattern and went about my day.

While it is difficult to determine the percentage of people who have trypophobia, studies show that an estimated 17 per cent or 18 per cent of people (adults and very young children) have some degree of the condition. I feel there may be more. After all, how many people were involved in the studies that determined that percentage?

An article by Cleveland Clinic states that "Experts don’t know why some people develop trypophobia. One theory is that the brain associates clusters of holes with danger. For example, you may associate a pattern of small holes with the skin of a venomous snake or the eyes of a tarantula. Or the holes may remind you of skin diseases or skin rashes.”

Some films are triggers for trypophobes. Two examples cited online are Friday the 13th (in which "Jason" wears a disturbing hockey mask with small holes), and Black Panther (in which Killmonger has a multitude of tiny keloid scars on his torso). Apparently, many viewers reported being unable to watch scenes in which Killmonger appeared with his skin exposed.

I had seen the movie, but cannot recall having had a reaction to scenes showing that character’s skin. Perhaps it was subtle enough for me to ignore or forget about it. However, on googling Killmonger just now, I understood why some people would be unable to look.

There are so many "phobias" out there, over the most seemingly "bizarre" things.