Haptodysphoria

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It relates to the uncomfortable sensation one gets when touching soft things, like cotton balls or peach fuzz. I just love that a word exists for such a feeling; also, I often experience haptodysphoria, and it’s nice to have a word to describe it.

ajb
Bryn Mawr

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Comments

18 Responses to “Haptodysphoria”

  1. Natnie on December 7th, 2008 12:59 am

    There’s a word for it! Oh my god!! I can’t stand velvet/peaches/suede/microfibre… anything with tiny soft fuzz. It just makes my blood run cold.

  2. New Fun Word; or my brain totally melted from finals « How May I inconvenience You Today? on December 16th, 2008 1:35 pm

    [...] Haptodysphoria [...]

  3. kari627 on December 19th, 2008 12:55 am

    i never knew there was a word for that. now im glad i know whats it called i hate that feeling.

  4. ShayAndrews on December 29th, 2008 4:25 pm

    Is there a similar word for the unpleasant sensation I get from touching bread crust and certain fabrics with similar textures?

  5. davidjeanne on January 4th, 2009 11:30 pm

    Does this apply to really dry snow too? I hate the feeling of dry snow under foot… it gives me the creeps…

  6. Ms. Donna on January 6th, 2009 12:55 am

    I am 60 years old and cannot touch peaches or kiwi. I
    would buy them for my family by placing several plastic
    bags over my hands and placing the fruit in the bags then
    finally turn them inside out. At home I would dip the
    peaches into boiling water to get the fuzzies off then
    peel (always with rubber gloves on) and hold the kiwi and
    peel them fast.. again with gloves. My grandson was given a money bank that had the most wicked fuzzy stuff
    on it when he was little. He loved it. It freaked me out!
    Now I will tell my green-grocer that I would like him to choose these items for me and to bag them because I have ‘ haptodysphoria’–He’ll go ” What???” I will look at
    him pitifully and say ” you shouldn’t really ask…..”

  7. We See Change When It’s A Sea Change : LiveWires on January 16th, 2009 5:29 pm

    [...] the web of words is when I finally found quite by accident (I happened upon a great site called My Favorite Word) a word for the uncomfortable feeling my husband gets when he touches velvet (a big issue around [...]

  8. Maryanne on January 29th, 2009 11:32 pm

    To touch peaches,cotton (or esp. wool) doesn’t bother me; with me it’s visual. If I focus on any of these, My teeth feel creeped out, so I guess I qualify as visually “Haptodysphoric” (or a quasi-”Haptodysphoron”?)

  9. Kirari on April 2nd, 2009 11:17 am

    Yay!
    Im glad to of found a word to describe ehat happens when i touch tissues or cotton wool eeep it makes me go crazy and feels so weired

  10. Jason on April 15th, 2009 11:59 pm

    You guys are all weird!!!!

  11. Tiffany on April 19th, 2009 9:47 pm

    Is there a word for those of us who absolutely love the feel of the fuzz. Those of us who want to keep something fuzzy in our pockets to rub, who wear socks made of the stuff? It’s a sick addiction, but I have found others out there- most of us love to spin wool into yarn- and make items of clothing from it so that we can get that fuzzy fix throughout our day. I get that feelingin my teeth too, but I like it.

  12. Trevor Helm Campbell on May 8th, 2009 12:14 pm

    Maybe Haptodysphiliac?

  13. LMP on May 17th, 2009 7:04 am

    Errr… not quite.

    “An unpleasant sensation derived from touching certain objects”

    It’s not just peaches or fuzzy objects, it’s any class of objects – some of y’all hate fuzz… some of us can’t stand dry stuff like chalk dust or dirt.

  14. bailey on July 17th, 2009 11:55 pm

    OMG! Finally found out what I hate! Oh, and sometimes haptodysphoria can also mean more than just peach skin, in some dictionaries it says “an odd sensation felt by people who are afraid of touching types of surfaces” which is me. I’m not exactly afraid of touching fuzzy stuff, but I started to be afraid of fuzzy fruits after I got a splinter from a fuzzy cucumber. (Sounds weird, I know!) The thing I hate most though is touching certain rough surfaces. I really can’t explain it, it’s weird. Maybe if I touch a rock surface it won’t bother me at all, but if I touch somethinge like the edge of cardboard paper, I start getting this weird feeling, and I shiver all the way down to my toes.

  15. T-rent on December 5th, 2009 10:21 pm

    I feel vindicated, my wife always gives me crap about this. Is there a support group? I know a handful of people who have this, perhaps we should get together once a week and we can all wear canvas socks and gloves.

  16. Iceprincess009 on December 17th, 2009 12:01 am

    Hm. I guess that explains the feeling I get that I can’t breathe when I touch very fine dust or powder such as flour, or fuzziness.

  17. esi on January 10th, 2010 9:23 am

    Ive always thought my favorite words were poppysmic and juxtapose, until i met this one. I love how english has a word for every situation and feeling- especially haptodysphoria!

  18. nolan on February 9th, 2010 9:30 pm

    @Maryanne: I HAVE THAT TOO!! like when people suck on their cotton shirts, it just gives me the most unpleasant feeling like “gritty” or “fibery” grinding between someones teeth.. idk just nasty.. oh and when people serve sno cones in that soggy paper cone.. when the soggy paper touches my teeth, i just flip. its nauseating.

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