Psyche logo

Sidonglobophobia and Misophonia

Understanding my fear of cotton balls and the horrible sound of ginchy snow!

By Judey Kalchik Published 3 years ago 4 min read
22
From fearof.net

There's a certain type of snow that is flakey, wet snow in the above freezing air, and compacts under the feet when walked upon, giving off a squeaky 'ginchy' sound as it compresses under the walker's weight. In Sweden, they call this 'knarra', which translates into 'creak' I call it ginchy and have used that word for as long as I can remember.

For my husband, it is something to which he looks forward every year. He says it sounds like fresh clean cotton underfoot. For me, it is a sensation I dread, making me walk on tiptoe and dashing as fast as I can to minimize the sound. The idea of walking on creaky-knarra-ginchy cotton makes me nauseous.

I have sidonglobophobia: a deep fear or dread of cotton balls.

I've always disliked that feel and sound of walking on that particular snow as well as the feel under my feet. It makes my teeth feel fuzzy and my heart beats rapidly (both common symptoms of sidonglobophobia). Taking pills out of a bottle is done as quickly as possible if I twist off the cap to reveal that innocent-looking puffball. I thought it was just me until the day my husband decided to do an internet search on my symptoms.

I needed some dental work that required sedation and I was terrified that I would wake with cotton in my mouth. I was also embarrassed to tell my fears to the dentist because it sounded crazy. To de-escalate my anxiety and (hopefully) normalize my feelings he turned to the internet for answers.

We found that sidonglobophobia is also known as Bambakophobia, derived from Bambaki, which is Greek for cotton; and phobia, a deep dread or fear (If that sounds familiar to you perhaps you bought a pair of the 'most comfortable socks': Bombas. They are made of high-quality cotton. Curiously, wearing cotton clothes aren't a problem for me.)

Many people with sidonglobophobia report that the sound of cotton being torn apart turns their stomach and break into a sweat. I had never heard a cotton ball being rendered into threads so, stupidly, I looked for a recording. I haven't made more than 30 seconds into this 'relaxing' video. It sounds EXACTLY like ginchy snow! Check it out and see if you can tolerate the full five minutes.

Armed with a word for my fear I gathered my courage and spoke to the dentist; we settled on a wad of gauze on the day of the surgery. After the loopy-gas wore off I did some more reading into phobias.

Between 7 and 15% of the world has at least one defined phobia and many people have more than one. I have at least two: besides sidonglobophobia I have misophonia. Misophonia is a disorder where certain sounds can trigger emotional or physiological responses that are disproportionate to the circumstances. For me, it's the repetitive sound of a compulsive tooth-sucker, nose-sniffer, lip-smacker, soup-slurper, low-pitched-hummer... or ginchy snow. When my daughters were small I told them 'no wet noises' in my ears when Mommy was driving. My husband thought I was grouchy. Turns out that it was misophonia. Who knew?

I learned that both misophonia and sidonglobophobia are more prevalent in females and both usually start in childhood. For many people, it's a traumatic experience that involves shots (cotton swabs), snakes (snake eggs?), or golf balls (looks like cotton). Hmmmmm. Nope, never been chased by a cotton ball-wielding snake playing golf. Others are triggered, I learned by the feel or sound of plastic foams. Well, there you go! It's the ginchy sound again! I am far from being a doctor but there is enough interplay between these two phobias that I am content that, for me, they are connected.

By Tijana Drndarski on Unsplash

Now that I've named my weird aversions and reactions I wanted what anyone else would have wanted: what's the cure? Spoiler alert: there doesn't appear to be a cure for either phobia. Doctors believe both phobias are the result of the way the brain perceives auditory and tactile stimuli. Some people swear by rubbing lotion on their hands before touching cotton, but I think that sounds horribly sticky. Typical treatment is desensitization such as showing the person pictures of cotton, hypnosis, or gradual introduction of the item to which the person reacts.

That's not for me. Nope. I will rely on my lifelong coping skills of avoiding fluffy shearling, suspect scarves, cottony-yarny-afghans, and banging my vitamin bottle off of the table to dislodge the pillowy nuisance. I'll continue tiptoeing through that Swedish knarra snow. And, as my daughters will tell you, don't make wet noises when I'm driving the car, or on the other side of the cubicle wall. The life you save may be your own.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

If you enjoyed this article please click on the heart below so I will know it clicked with you.

Pretty sure that these childhood memories didn't give me phobias:

advice
22

About the Creator

Judey Kalchik

It's my time to find and use my voice.

Poetry, short stories, memories, and a lot of things I think and wish I'd known a long time ago.

You can also find me on Medium

And please follow me on Threads, too!

Reader insights

Be the first to share your insights about this piece.

How does it work?

Add your insights

Comments (2)

Sign in to comment
  • Gigi Gibson10 months ago

    My daughter has Misophonia. Wish I had known that when she was a little girl. It would have saved us both from a lot of stress. I vividly remember her saying that she didn’t want me eating raw carrots at our dinner table one night. I thought she was just being rude. Now that I know (even though we’re adults and don’t live together anymore) I make allowances for her by eating far away from her, or in another room. And I never eat crunchy snacks out of a bag in her presence. It’s nice for other sufferers when articles like yours are published. It informs those who don’t know about these phobias and helps those who have them feel supported. Great job!

  • Cathy holmes12 months ago

    Lol @ "the life you save may be your own. Have to admit, I've never heard of either of these phobias. Quite interesting.

Find us on social media

Miscellaneous links

  • Explore
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
  • Support

© 2024 Creatd, Inc. All Rights Reserved.