Hypnotherapy for Trypophobia

Many highly sensitive people (HSPs) suffer from fears, phobias and other anxieties because they have a very responsive nervous system and process thoughts and feelings in a deep way. As a therapist who specialises in dealing with sensitive individuals, I use gentle techniques at a pace that is right for the client. I have found that that this creates the safest environment for healing and positive change.

Conditions that are linked to trypophobia, like generalised anxiety disorder (GAD) and depression, also respond well to hypnosis. Dealing with the many layers of mental distress can create a positive feedback loop that is capable of supporting long-lasting change.

Helping the mind and body to feel safe is especially important if you have endured mental distress as a result of trypophobia and anxiety. Hypnosis is a deeply relaxed state of mind and many clients find that experiencing this level of relaxation and calm is therapeutic in itself. In addition to tailored sessions, I provide my clients with simple relaxation exercises and techniques to do at home, because this can greatly support the healing process by calming the nervous system.

If your fear of encountering trypophobic objects or images is having a significant impact on your life, it could be valuable to consult with a registered clinical hypnotherapist or other professional who specialises in the treatment of phobias. You can find out more about me, my therapeutic approach, and my background and qualifications on the About page.

If you are experiencing mild trypophobia, and you do not feel that it is interfering with your life, then investing in hypnosis may not be necessary. Although fears and phobias respond extremely well to hypnosis, results can vary person-by-person - this is the case with any therapeutic approach. Hypnotherapy has a high chance of success when you are highly motivated.

If you can imagine the benefits of being free of trypophobia, then you are likely to be a good candidate for treatment using hypnosis.

For some individuals, trypophobia may have been caused or heightened by a traumatic event. It is important to note that when hypnotherapy is used to treat a phobia caused by past trauma, this process does not need to involve revisiting the original event. In my therapeutic practice the planned approach and method is discussed with each person before commencing a treatment plan.

What is trypophobia?

Trypophobia is described as a fear of holes, usually objects containing clusters of holes. It is sometimes confused with trypanophobia, which is a fear of needles typically experienced in medical settings. It is not, as is sometimes thought, a fear of holes in the ground. This confusion probably results from when it is spelled incorrectly as tripophobia, and the connotation with ‘holes’ and ‘trip’.

It has been shown to be chronic, persistent and related to other issues such as anxiety and depression.

Trypophobia triggers can include objects or images of seedpods, beehives, sponges, creatures with concave skin, food containing holes (such as cheese, strawberries, or aerated chocolate), and water condensation.

Is trypophobia a phobia, or a form of OCD?

In psychological and scientific fields, there have been debates about whether trypophobia can be classified as a ‘true’ phobia. Scientific research showed that the symptoms experienced by most people were more like a phobia. Only a small percentage of people had symptoms that resembled obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). It is likely that there are overlapping features, and how trypophobia is experienced will vary for different people, and possibly change over time.

What causes trypophobia?

Researchers have speculated that a fear of clusters of holes might link to a fear of venomous creatures, because of the visual similarity. A study involving young children looking at specific images that could be a trigger, led researchers to propose that trypophobia was likely to be an instinctive fear rather than a learned response to a past event. In contrast, in an online survey of 195 people by Stein and Vlok-Barnard, 22% of respondents reported a past experience that could have been a contributing factor to developing trypophobia.

My own opinion is that there could be a combination of factors involved. Trypophobia could have developed through a traumatic situation involving an object with clusters of holes, or something with visual characteristics that could be perceived this way. Even if the encounter itself was unremarkable, it may have occurred at the same time as being startled or frightened.

It may be that everyone experiences some degree of trypophobia, particularly if the trigger creates a primal response. One example is the fears of holes in skin because this is likely to links to other common fears around disease, injury and bacterial infection.

Given that strong fear responses are commonly triggered by clusters of holes in food, it seems highly likely that in some cases, an underlying fear of insects and food contamination could also be involved.

When treating trypophobia with hypnosis, it is important to consider all potential contributing factors and explore the specifics with each client. This means that a personalised hypnotherapy treatment plan can be created, giving the best chance of success. While some issues can be improved with a generic hypnosis audio, phobias are too personal and complex for this approach and one-to-one hypnotherapy sessions are advisable. In many phobia cases, one 90 minute hypnotherapy session is enough to create a significant shift.

Is trypophobia real?

Without getting into a philosophical discussion about how to determine what is real, it is important to recognise that everyone’s experiences (reality) are different. For those with severe trypophobia it is very real and can be extremely distressing. Research has also shown links between trypophobia and other serious health issues such as depression and general anxiety disorder (GAD). Someone who does not experience any fear or revulsion when they see clusters of holes, may find it hard to understand how challenging it can be to live with trypophobia. This doesn’t mean that it isn’t real.

What are the symptoms of trypophobia?

The symptoms of trypophobia vary person by person. Some people experience signs and symptoms of anxiety when encountering a trigger, such as heart palpitations, sweating, or feeling faint and nauseated. If you are a severe sufferer, looking at a photograph with trypophobic features could cause significant psychological distress. This can be debilitating, particularly because living with a phobia also means living with the fear of being exposed to a trigger.

Many people will have some degree of disgust or revulsion when looking at certain images or encountering objects with specific types of holes. Stein & Vlok-Barnard’s online survey showed that one in five people experience trypophobia one a day, and two in five people experienced it once a week. Almost one in three people reported severe anxiety due to trypophobia, with around half of those individuals also experiencing panic attacks. In addition, almost half of the survey respondents shared that they were embarrassed by trypophobia. This secondary outcome is a common result of many phobias, and can be problematic in itself because individuals may choose not to get involved in certain activities, or feel uneasy or nervous at social events.

Can, W., Zhuoran, Z., & Zheng, J. (2017). Is Trypophobia a Phobia? Psychological Reports, 120(2), 206–218. https://doi.org/10.1177/0033294116687298

Vlok-Barnard, M., & Stein, D. J. (2017). Trypophobia: an investigation of clinical features. Brazilian Journey of Psychiatry, 39(4). https://doi.org/10.1590/1516-4446-2016-2079