Issues with Small Circles? Guess it isn't just me.

[Jimmy Higgins]

link

Around 10 to 15 percent of people find these images uncomfortable to look at, said Nate Pipitone, an associate professor of psychology at Florida Gulf Coast University, who has been studying trypophobia for several years.

...

While tiny circles in any context may be disturbing enough to some, Pipitone found that reactions are particularly strong when superimposed upon images of dangerous animals — and even more so upon images of human skin such as on the hand.

“This suggests that the extreme discomfort seen among those who are bothered by trypophobic images may be an adaptive response to avoid infectious diseases,” he said.

I remember seeing a Lotus flower for the first time and it wasn't pleasant, and I had no idea why.

Another theory about trypophobia is a bit less Darwinian and instead relates to the power of suggestion: If you’re primed to search for a supposedly trypophobic image after I imply it’ll make you itchy, you may feel itchy simply because you were primed to do so.

That is the thing... I didn't know this was even a thing, and when I was at a Chinese Garden, I did not like the Lotus Flower at all, despite it supposedly being a very regal flower. I wanted it to die. So it is clearly a thing.

 

[steve_bank]

Rectangles drive me crazy.

There is a steady stream of reports like this in the media.

'A study shows...".

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

Yeah, the thing is, the Lotus flower bothered me, and the concept of tight intact circles isn't pleasant. It was unpleasant well before I read the article. Shower faucets don't bother me however. It was just interesting to see there was a label. (Which reminds me of Lucy in the Charlie Brown Christmas, where she attempts to label Charlie Brown's problem, because the label is the first step).

This isn't particularly ground breaking as it is visual stimulus reaction sort of thing. No drugs, no psychology, just how a brain can be wired to react to certain stimulus to help push people away from certain threats to life and health.

 

[Loren Pechtel]

Bothers me--but I don't think it's holes but the out of focus nature of the image. I'm quite sensitive to anything that focuses beyond infinity (such as looking in the distance with near-range glasses on.) The worst examples can give me a headache in seconds.

 

[Swammerdami]

Interesting. I'd never heard of trypophobia and don't suffer from it. But I have a very strong and irrational aversion to heights (another genetic exaggeration?). I had a good friend with claustrophobia. (I discovered this when I coerced him into entering a mall; he freaked out. Thinking back I realized he always chose outdoor restaurants.)

 

[bilby]

I had a good friend with claustrophobia.

I have the opposite issue; I am more comfortable in enclosed environments. It's not really Agoraphobia, because I'm not really uncomfortable with open or busy spaces, but I feel a sense of calm when in a cave, mine, or crawlspace with very limited room to move.

I once took a self-drive tour of Ireland, stopping at various tourist spots along the way as the mood took me, and only realised later that there hadn't been a single day that I didn't visit something that was underground.

I am also very comfortable with heights, though not reckless about it. When we had the opportunity to access the roof of Admiralty Tower in Portsmouth, I was all "Wow! What an incredible view!!", and @gmbteach was all "Get me out of here right now!".

 

[gmbteach]

I had a good friend with claustrophobia.

I have the opposite issue; I am more comfortable in enclosed environments. It's not really Agoraphobia, because I'm not really uncomfortable with open or busy spaces, but I feel a sense of calm when in a cave, mine, or crawlspace with very limited room to move.

I once took a self-drive tour of Ireland, stopping at various tourist spots along the way as the mood took me, and only realised later that there hadn't been a single day that I didn't visit something that was underground.

I am also very comfortable with heights, though not reckless about it. When we had the opportunity to access the roof of Admiralty Tower in Portsmouth, I was all "Wow! What an incredible view!!", and @gmbteach was all "Get me out of here right now!".

In my defense, I did go out on the roof, and once I saw that the only thing between me and being blown off the roof by a gust of wind to certain death was a 30cm concrete lip...... well.. common sense prevailed.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

Tight spots aren't an issue with me, but being in an MRI, holy cow that was a bit tense.

 

[bilby]

Tight spots aren't an issue with me, but being in an MRI, holy cow that was a bit tense.

Yeah, that's what I'm talking about.

Whenever I've had an MRI, the nurses have made a big fuss about how to get the process to stop if you're panicking or scared, and they go to great lengths to try to keep you calm.

But I find the whole process is very relaxing. Apart from the loud noises, which keep you awake.

 

[gmbteach]

Tight spots aren't an issue with me, but being in an MRI, holy cow that was a bit tense.

Yeah, that's what I'm talking about.

Whenever I've had an MRI, the nurses have made a big fuss about how to get the process to stop if you're panicking or scared, and they go to great lengths to try to keep you calm.

But I find the whole process is very relaxing. Apart from the loud noises, which keep you awake.

They give you music.......what they need to do is ask for your playlist to help you relax..

 

[Loren Pechtel]

Tight spots aren't an issue with me, but being in an MRI, holy cow that was a bit tense.

Yeah, that's what I'm talking about.

Whenever I've had an MRI, the nurses have made a big fuss about how to get the process to stop if you're panicking or scared, and they go to great lengths to try to keep you calm.

But I find the whole process is very relaxing. Apart from the loud noises, which keep you awake.

I wouldn't call it relaxing with the machine banging away, but neither did it bother me. It also tingles my nerves a little bit--feels weird, not painful.

 

[gmbteach]

Tight spots aren't an issue with me, but being in an MRI, holy cow that was a bit tense.

Yeah, that's what I'm talking about.

Whenever I've had an MRI, the nurses have made a big fuss about how to get the process to stop if you're panicking or scared, and they go to great lengths to try to keep you calm.

But I find the whole process is very relaxing. Apart from the loud noises, which keep you awake.

I wouldn't call it relaxing with the machine banging away, but neither did it bother me. It also tingles my nerves a little bit--feels weird, not painful.

Here they give you headphones with music. So it’s not too bad.

 

[Loren Pechtel]

Tight spots aren't an issue with me, but being in an MRI, holy cow that was a bit tense.

Yeah, that's what I'm talking about.

Whenever I've had an MRI, the nurses have made a big fuss about how to get the process to stop if you're panicking or scared, and they go to great lengths to try to keep you calm.

But I find the whole process is very relaxing. Apart from the loud noises, which keep you awake.

I wouldn't call it relaxing with the machine banging away, but neither did it bother me. It also tingles my nerves a little bit--feels weird, not painful.

Here they give you headphones with music. So it’s not too bad.

Yeah, but the material limits mean the headphones are about useless at blocking the noise of the machine.

 

[gmbteach]

Tight spots aren't an issue with me, but being in an MRI, holy cow that was a bit tense.

Yeah, that's what I'm talking about.

Whenever I've had an MRI, the nurses have made a big fuss about how to get the process to stop if you're panicking or scared, and they go to great lengths to try to keep you calm.

But I find the whole process is very relaxing. Apart from the loud noises, which keep you awake.

I wouldn't call it relaxing with the machine banging away, but neither did it bother me. It also tingles my nerves a little bit--feels weird, not painful.

Here they give you headphones with music. So it’s not too bad.

Yeah, but the material limits mean the headphones are about useless at blocking the noise of the machine.

I find the ‘doof doof’ of the machine calming really. I would be more scared if it stopped suddenly!

 

[Tharmas]

I spent 3 1/2 hours in an MRI a few years ago. The headphones were broken. They gave me one fifteen minute break. I'm a bit claustrophobic but I survived. I accidentally left my wedding ring on through the whole ordeal. When I showed it to the operator after they were through with me he simply shrugged and said "At least you know it's real gold." Later, as a developer of training materials at one of the local children's hospitals, I wrote up MRIs and the various procedures for turning one off, and things like how close you could get to one and still be wearing something metallic. Interesting stuff.

 

[Thomas II]

Tight spots aren't an issue with me, but being in an MRI, holy cow that was a bit tense.

The NOISE!!!
The music playing was "What a wonderful world"...CLANG!!!CLANG!!!CLANGGG!!!

 

[bilby]

I spent 3 1/2 hours in an MRI a few years ago. The headphones were broken. They gave me one fifteen minute break. I'm a bit claustrophobic but I survived. I accidentally left my wedding ring on through the whole ordeal. When I showed it to the operator after they were through with me he simply shrugged and said "At least you know it's real gold." Later, as a developer of training materials at one of the local children's hospitals, I wrote up MRIs and the various procedures for turning one off, and things like how close you could get to one and still be wearing something metallic. Interesting stuff.

There are plenty of entertaining videos on Youtube of MRI machines ingesting furniture that careless staff left in the room with the scanner. An office chair won't fit into the centre of one of those units, but a one Tesla magnetic field will make it fit anyway, even if it has to dismantle it first...

 

[Tharmas]

There are plenty of entertaining videos on Youtube of MRI machines ingesting furniture that careless staff left in the room with the scanner. An office chair won't fit into the centre of one of those units, but a one Tesla magnetic field will make it fit anyway, even if it has to dismantle it first...

Yeah, I included one of those funny videos in my training materials. I also included the story of a young boy who wearing some kind of metallic ring and lost a finger to the machine.

 

[lpetrich]

I had a good friend with claustrophobia.

I have the opposite issue; I am more comfortable in enclosed environments. It's not really Agoraphobia, because I'm not really uncomfortable with open or busy spaces, but I feel a sense of calm when in a cave, mine, or crawlspace with very limited room to move.

So you have claustrophilia - liking to be in enclosed places. Isaac Asimov was a claustrophile, most of the time preferring to stay in his home office and write.