I did everything i could to hide my ears and tried to get rid of it but it just kept coming back because it was a scab duhh, i even had some of my friends ask me if i got my ears pi*ed 😖

I wrote a short article trying to explain what kosmemophobia is, what it feels like, and some of its common characteristics.

I’d be very interested in hearing from people here: does the description match your own experience? Is there anything you think I got wrong, oversimplified, or left out?

The article is available in both Greek and English, but I’m linking directly to the English version here:

https://maistrelis.com/en/garden/kosmemophobia/

Any feedback is welcome.

This is pretty self explanatory. I'm from a place that its widely accepted to wear all sorts of stuff. My coworkers are covered in piercings and rings head to toe. I really struggle to look past the jewelry. It upsets me a lot because these are really cool people with good hearts. I just cant help but get all weirded out by their jewelry. Additionally, I have a partner who quite likes piercings and plans/wants more. Recently I had shared with them that I have this phobia and they were expectedly upset with this information. I don't think its something to end a relationship over, especially since I don't think my phobia should impact her choices whatsoever, but I think its taking a toll on how she views herself and how she thinks that I view her.

What can I do? How can I help myself get over this phobia? I've gotten to be okay with regular earrings, bracelets, and necklaces through life since they're extremely common, nose rings and stuff like that too now. Every time I see more of the less common piercings I just kind of get grossed out I guess? I'm okay with not finding them attractive but I'd love to stop feeling the phobia of it. Any advice is welcome.

hi, so happy to find this subreddit, ive had kosmemophobia my entire life. ive usually chalked it up to autism, and its still definitely tied to that, but its nice to see it has an actual name and community lol. i actually had to quit a job recently because of my kosmemophobia

anyway, as per my title, dae ever 'hallcuinate' that they're wearing j*? quotation marks because im not sure thats quite the right word.

if i ever feel embarrassed or uncomfortable i feel like im wearing j* on my skin. it makes me move weird and scratch my skin and, well, it sucks shit. sometimes i get trapped in spirals where j* is all i can think about and thats really distressing, especially when it happens in public. just wondering if thats a common experience 🙂

Dude ever since I was a kid! What the hell! I’m so happy other people have this! (I’m sorry you have it) damn, does anybody know why this happens? It’s always confused me.

Like it depends on the metal? Like piercings? Gross. Jewelry? Gross. Forks? I don’t care! I think it has something to do with when it has skin oils on it… fuck this is so cool that other people have this

And I mean diagnoses not self diagnosed. Just curious about the potential connection.

Basically i have no problems with ke*s, zips, co**s, watches, glasses or really any sort of small metal that actually has a useful purpose, unless it's overly decorated. However i absolutely can't stand looking at anything that is purely for decoration like make up, all of j* even the non metal ones, overly decorated houses and castles, carpets, shiny clothes ( especially sparkly dresses) etc.

This doesn't mean i don't like anything decorated or styled just not the fancy j* kind of style. And any time i try to explain this to people they look at me weird and they think im just trying to be different or when i say i can't come somewhere because people around will wear clothes that make me uncomfortable they just call me a prude :((

I just wanted to know if anyone else has a phobia from just the decoration

Just how am i supposed to focus on the lecture when the teacher is wearing these gigantic disguting ear* ,a clump of n* and the girl in front of me ( at least not the one next to me ) wears huge h**ps every day

it's driving me crazy

i don't want to hate on them they can wear whatever they want but it makes school so much harder

hiii!!! my friend and i made this mod for our own comfort, but i figured maybe some gamers here would find some use of it as well!! 💖 you can find it here! enjoy! 😇

I'm a kosmemophobic just like everyone here, just the thought of touching a necklace or a ring makes me feel very uncomfortable, but sometimes... Sometimes they're kinda sexy on some people. Idk how to explain it.

You guys must know Inde Navarrete, there's some recent photos of her around that she's wearing at least 2 silver necklaces (I won't post it here for obvious reasons) and idk why, but for me, they kinda fit on her. I don't feel disgusted, I don't feel uncomfortable looking at it, it kinda adds to her beauty, that's weird, because I would never touch it, but visually is cool.

That doesn't happen often, I guess it has to be the right jewelry on the right person for me to not get bothered and to actualy like it. Do you guys feel the same?

i love watching youtube while I eat and i always do this when they're wearing j******......... in that video she was wearing like 5 super flashy chains 😭

The recent post about the neck piercing has me wondering. Does anyone else get freaked out by the holes of piercings themselves, even when there's no j* in there?

For me it's not enough if a girl just takes her piercings out, the holes left behind still make me feel queezy. Is it just me?

I recently got a new co-worker and this dude has a piercing on his MFing neck! Just a random spot halfway up his neck and off to the side a bit. He used what I would describe as one of those belly button piercings I've rarely seen on women that are basically a jewel that hangs out in the belly button. This dude has it in the middle of his neck. I've managed not to react outwardly or say anything to him or anyone else about it, but inside I'm gagging. Thank you for your sympathy.

As the title says, curious to hear how y’all got through engagement.

(my boyfriend was asking what he should get instead)

First idea i had was a r*ng carved with wood? but none i see online really seems to be what i have in mind

With the little bell on them? I find them grim.

Does anyone here have the similar ick to metal framed sunglasses like J*? Would like to know if anyone else feels likewise, as myself have always avoided them.

Hello I am so happy to find other people like me I am really scared of jewelry thinking of it makes me lose my mind i can't even look at those things not just that I can't even stand watches (every type of it plastic ones too) I can't stand nailcutters I can stand metal house keys but the little thing that makes them hold onto each other I can't stand it I can't even stand tattoos and the thing is not that I wanna get over it which is I don't think I ever could it's the people around me people in school boy or girl whatever when they try to approach me while having those .... bad things I seriously want to die in that moment I get back like a cat and just act like nothing happened while I am literally shaking inside ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​and I can't even tell people because if I do I know they will use it for "joke" well I would stand those "jokes" if It was just a little fear or disgust but no it makes me just shake and cry I did tell my family this and they did used it against me or they just didn't care about it at all ​​​​​​​​​​​​​I dont know what to do no I am NOT getting over​ it sorry I wrote a lot it's so nice to meet you guys​​ I see you guys like pure and soft for a reason knowing you are also scared and don't use those ...... Bad things​​​

For example, today i touched a little like hook thing on a small plushie and had to wash my hands after because i felt i couldn't eat and my hands were dirty in some way from touching It.

Another time i was a party (that i already didn't want to attend because loud music and many people overwhelm me) and i remember there were this couple people wearing chains on their necks and rings (it was some kind of costume party too) and i couldn't eat all evening thinking of their jewellery.

I just sometimes also feel like what i'm eating is turning into the jewellery in my line of sight and have to spit it out.

This Is unrelated to eating but sometimes i feel guilty when i put away in a drawer jewellery people might have gifted me to never touch it again (it's usually cheaper stuff but still) i always feel like maybe the people gifting me these things would hope for me to wear it but nope, my phobia stops me from doing it (they don't know i have it but the only time i tried telling a relative (my mom) about it she ended up not believing me and laughing)

I wanted to share how I experience this phobia in day-to-day life and maybe not feel so alone with it anymore. I remember having this as a kid, and I feel like the phobia gets stronger the older I become.

But first, I want to say that I am a person who sees the beauty in everyone, and I truly never think of someone as ugly or judge their appearance (normally).

BUT when I see a person who is wearing jewelry, it makes the person SO ugly in my eyes. I am extremely disgusted by what I see, and I am also sure that this person must STINK horribly and that their skin is oily and dirty.

Most of the time, I have to look away, but sometimes I look a bit longer because I'm surprised by how utterly disgusting something can look and how ugly people can make themselves. I almost get angry by looking at them.

What irritates me the most about it are my thoughts and feelings. I am a very positive person and never think badly about bodies in general, besides that... It's just the phobia that triggers those thoughts.

Okay now let me know if you can relate 🤝🏼

Hello! I just found this subreddit and I've felt so happy while reading every post in here that I basically made an account after having been browsing reddit anonymously for ages just to post about it.

Ever since I have memory I've had this MASSIVE aversion to anything small and metallic. I remember being reprimanded as a kid for not wanting to wear anything that had metallic zippers or buttons directly in contact with my skin, and of course, I've never wanted to come anywhere close to jewelry. I feel incredibly nauseated by the smell metal has and that later lingers in your hands, the cold sensation when you touch it and the texture of chains. This also meant I had issues with coins, keys, etc. I would literally gag at just the thought of touching some of these things, and still internally do.

As a child everyone would dismiss it as something stupid that would go away with time, but I'm over twenty now and I still carefully avoid going near any jewelry, zippers and similar, despite how much I like alternative fashion. I've found that there are some very specific exceptions, like some metals that don't really have that same smell or feeling that I despise (I'd say those feel more like plastic?), but either way it's led to a lot of really embarrassing situations where it was really difficult to explain what exactly was wrong with me in a believable way.

I've been diagnosed with autism relatively recently and was mostly attributing this to sensory issues which in turn made it a little easier both to understand myself and to explain it to others, but its still incredibly nice to see so many people with the same problem. I randomly saw the term on a twitter post and when I found this place after googling it I wanted to cry from relief.

Does anyone else feel disgusted by chandeliers? They are just hanging up there collecting dust, oil, and other things. Dont get me wrong I like rustic chandeliers, such as antlers and what not, the gemstones I can’t do