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I'd never heard of Tryophobia so I googled, and I have heard of that type of phobia without knowing its name. I did an online test where I looked at various photos and guessed how many seconds each was shown. I didn't find the photos bothersome. I got a score of 0.7, with scores of 2+ indicating Tryophobia. I don't think I have it. I don't understand the methodology of the test but I suppose if a person thinks the bothersome images are shown for longer than they really are, it might indicate a phobia.

Are you OK to touch a nail file?

Yeah, no problem with that. My mother has a hard time touching chalk, which always makes me laugh. Knew a kid once who ate chalk. Literally begged for chalk if someone had some. Would even pay her allowance for it.

Do you have a problem with textures?

I stim with good textures.

I have the typical issues with clothing texture, and many with bedding texture. My bedding / pillows can't have pleats, weaves, lace edges, little buttons, embroidery, gathers or trim. I can't even sleep with flannel because it's a fuzzy type of texture. I sleep with absolutely plain cotton sateen, without a flat sheet. Just my fitted sheet, and multiple duvets depending on the weather.

I can't have anything claustrophobic encasing on my feet (tight socks, hosiery, etc.) I can't even cover my feet with my bedding.

I can't go anywhere near wool. I get pneumonia just breathing its fumes. Touching it would be my personal hell for tactile reasons but also because I'd get sick.

I also hate putting my hands in water. I can swim or shower but don't like wetting just my hands. I have invented clever ways to wash my hands or wash up my dishes, to avoid having a panic attack.

What about smell?

My brother always called me Wolverine because of my good sense of smell. Some smells can trigger a migraine attack and I do not like strong smells.

Might seem strange but I smell women when they are on their period. Always have and it is not a nice smell. Have learned to deal with it, and it doesn't bother me that much anymore, but I know when a woman is on that time of the month. Never met anyone that also experiences this.

I smell people that are not clean, like their sweat and stuff. Can be quite uncomfortable. Often notice it with doctors for some reason.

Often people on the spectrum mind perfumes and aftershaves. I only have a problem with some of them, mostly the sour ones.

My ex couldn't stand any perfume or aftershave at all. She would almost puke if a guy with a lot of aftershave stood next to her.

Do you have a problem with smells?

Absurd tolerance levels at times. At my place, there were once these fly traps (which consisted of a jug with water that had an attractant mixed, and the flies would enter, be unable to exit, and just fly around in there until they tired out and drowned) that would get full of dead flies. Anyone else that tried emptying them out would gag because of the strong scent of death, but I was not bothered in the slightest by it.

Same query.

My olfactory flashbacks related to memory are intense. Like, off the charts.

Smells I can't tolerate are anything chemical based, perfumes, detergents, flowers except for lilacs (especially indoor flowers), scented candles, air fresheners, meat cooking in an oven, smoke (especially pot), and wool vapours. I'm sure there are more. They give me migraines with aura which are dangerous given my heart defect and my stroke.

Smells I love that other people hate: gasoline, hot tar, wallpaper, new carpet, motorboat exhaust and rubber (for example, brand new dolls who smell like vanilla and baby powder). Those are all based on memories and synaesthesia. Of course I also love the smell of books and libraries.

Do you like cowboy movies?

If they are all-out action, not so much. The ones with a good story, I do.

Have you been in a real relationship before?

Define "real". Aren't all relationships real? Do you mean a good relationship?

No. I had a gf for a few months when I was about 12, but that doesn't count.

Same q

Real-life, not online or long distance. Sorry for the confusion.

I've been in three dating relationships but I don't reflect fondly on any of them. I really enjoy being on my own and having my own space. I can't even sleep in the same bed as anyone.

I've had some disastrous experiences with people which have left me agoraphobic now, beyond my PTSD.

Do you do all your own cooking?

Sorry to hear that. Mine were also horrible. Gave up on love myself because I have too many problems, and I don't want to be a burden to the woman I love. That would break my heart. Am happy single. Alone is not that bad, if you accept it.

I can't cook, I am temporarily disabled and my current home can't be modified because the kitchen is too small. Am going to rehabilitate soon to hopefully be able to walk again.

Do you do all your own cooking?

I hope you are able to rehabilitate and learn to cook (be able to cook).

I do all my own cooking and always have. I live on my own and I love to cook. Starving isn't an option.

Do you like restaurants? I'm easily set off by the sounds, smells and strangers.

No! As a hermit with a generalized anxiety disorder (sound related), PTSD which amplifies it further and as a cherry on top, Hyperacusis, noisy places with many people, plates and glasses clinging, would drive me nuts. Had a few traumatic events in my past that caused these problems with sounds. My biggest problem is screaming, because of what happened in my past. Unfortunately, a lot of kids these days scream, just for fun. It can make me have a panic attack, or make me even become delusional if it goes too far. Makes life pretty hard, almost always stay inside because I avoid those triggers. They are everywhere.

People often say, what doesn't kill you, makes you stronger. Well, they have never heard of PTSD, that's for sure. I am a 6,6 foot man, laugh when you put a gun on my head, even when you put a knife on my throat, but let someone scream and before you sits a 4 year old giant, back at that moment in his past, terrified. Someone of my stature should not be afraid of anything, is what people's opinion is mostly, and I barely ever get taken seriously. Quite frustrating.

What is your favorite mythological creature?

I can relate. I have Complex PTSD, agoraphobia, Severe GAD with Panic Disorder, MDD, Attachment Disorder, Hyperacusis, tinnitus, sleep terrors, sleep disorders, sleep apnea, profound alexithymia, sensory processing disorder, virtually no theory of mind, neurological stroke damage and L2 autism which wasn't diagnosed until this year (therefore, no accommodations throughout life, uni or trauma treatment).

We sound very similar with our fears. Your description of hyperacusis is very relatable, and the experience you have with noise triggers is understandable given your past.

I have to sleep with ear plugs even though I sleep alone in a quiet home. It amplifies my tinnitus but keeps me from startling awake at the slightest sound.

I have many, many triggers too. They rear their ugly head at the most unpredictable of times, even on here.

I don't know much about mythological creatures. I hope there is a kitty cat one of some sort.

Do you go to trauma therapy? It saved my life.

Wow! We are very similar.

Tinnitus is nasty! Learned to accept it over the years, but in the beginning, it was a nightmare.

Always wear earplugs myself because I just can't live without. My hearing is insanely good. Can hear parts in small devices move that others can't. Truly sickening. Often wish I was deaf. Wearing earplugs indeed amplifies the tinnitus but not extremely. Always wish I could buy a nice house somewhere where nobody lives, like you often see in the movies. For people like us, that is almost a must. I could live normally if I had a house like that. Dreams...

Have tried trauma therapy, but it never helped any. EMDR also did nothing for me. All it does is make me upset or angry. Not angry in an aggressive way but towards myself. Still, a 6,6 foot guy getting angry, they were not happy with that at all. Several outright stopped treatment with me because I got upset and raised my voice a bit. When you had a violent and traumatic past, what do they expect to happen? I always get sent home with the message that they can't help me further. That it's too complex. Have accepted that I have to deal with it myself. Tried every place reachable. Nothing that can be done about it.

Do you have a counselor?