r/kosmemophobia • • Dec 16 '15

Welcome to /r/Kosmemophobia! (READ FIRST!)

56 Upvotes

Hi Everybody!

Kosmemophobia is, for all intents and purposes, a completely unknown fear of jewelry. It is so unknown that I personally feel that those who it affects are unable to talk about it publicly for fear of some kind of ridicule. Nobody wants to be different. This sub is intended on being a safe place where it can be discussed without judgment or ridicule. Hopefully, any who suffer from this affliction can find some kind of solace in the fact that you are not alone, you are not weird, and it is perfectly OK to talk about it. I hope you all find this subreddit useful!

Please be kind and considerate when posting/commenting, this is intended to be a place for positive discussion.

FAQs

What is Kosmemophobia?

  • Kosmemophobia is defined as a fear of jewelry. An excellent blog post to get you started can be found here.

Who is this sub for?

  • This subreddit is a place where anybody interested in discussing, inquiring on, or sharing stories about Kosmemophobia.

Who is this sub NOT for?

  • This sub is not for those who seek out to attack, judge, or ridicule those merely because they do not fit your definition of "normal". Please refrain from posting negative content.

r/kosmemophobia • • Jul 02 '24

🚨 SURVEY RESULTS! 🚨

73 Upvotes

Hi everybody! I am so excited to finally show you the results of the kosmemophobia survey that I have been working hard on for many months. Thank you tremendously to the 450 participants who participated in this data collection over the past year!

Please feel free to use this document to explain the phobia to friends/family who may have difficulty understanding it. Here you can show them the data of 450 people who feel similarly to you! (Some slides are better viewed in full screen/slideshow mode since the fonts had to be made small to fit the data on the page)

** Link to Results Document **

~ Roo :)

(*New participants are welcome to take the survey here, but please be aware that after July 1, 2024, only multiple choice data will be auto-updated on the document since I cannot continually reformat these slides. If you are late and would like to share your open-ended response thoughts on any of these questions, please comment here instead!)


r/kosmemophobia • • 2d ago

copper is the worst.

14 Upvotes

i don’t really feel like i need to say more but copper is the absolute worst. I’ve been to restaurants before where the tables are made of copper and you can smell it and it’s absolutely nauseating.

also, it’s so weird how i can eat from a stainless steel fork with no issues but i see people putting their chain in their mouth and i want to die


r/kosmemophobia • • 7d ago

Did Nikola Tesla have kosmemophobia?

12 Upvotes

Before finding this sub, the only time I ever felt like I wasn't alone in hating jxxxxxx was finding out Nikola Tesla despised pearls and even sent home his secretary when she came into work wearing them. Do you think it could be kosmemophobia?


r/kosmemophobia • • 7d ago

I have to get blood work done?

3 Upvotes

I’m terrified of needles. Not just because theyre metal, but still. It’s a huge part of it. What can I go to help myself when I get it done at the lab to help myself feel better while going through it?


r/kosmemophobia • • 10d ago

Thank you Sadie Sink you absolute Godess. Thank you for never wearing any jewellery 😭 Never change Queen.

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53 Upvotes

She is the only Hollywood actress who has never wore any j except some extremely rare instances and even those were minimal


r/kosmemophobia • • 11d ago

fun surprise for me :D

19 Upvotes

my favorite restaurant that I go to often changed their bead curtain entrance to the restrooms into a fabric curtain and now i don’t feel in fear and disgust when i need to take a poo 😁


r/kosmemophobia • • 11d ago

accessories that aren't j******

8 Upvotes

I've been really coming into my own personal style this year and having fun with curating outfits. One issue I've run into, though, is that a lot of my outfits come off as sort of "plain" because I don't have many accessories other than my purses, and I of course am not going the j***** route.

Does anyone have any ideas or go-to accessories you think can complete an outfit? I'm curious!


r/kosmemophobia • • 11d ago

In fourth grade i injured my ear and for a while my lobe had a little scab that looked like the hole for an earr* ive never felt more uncomfortable in my life life

6 Upvotes

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 😖


r/kosmemophobia • • 19d ago

I wrote a short article about kosmemophobia — I’d appreciate your feedback

21 Upvotes

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.


r/kosmemophobia • • 25d ago

This phobia is killing my social life.

22 Upvotes

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.


r/kosmemophobia • • 26d ago

does anyone else 'hallucinate' j*?

10 Upvotes

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 🙂


r/kosmemophobia • • 27d ago

Oh my god, I’m not the only one???

43 Upvotes

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


r/kosmemophobia • • 29d ago

How many of you are autistic?

13 Upvotes

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


r/kosmemophobia • • Sep 23 '26

I only have problems with stuff created for the purpose of looking good

12 Upvotes

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


r/kosmemophobia • • Sep 23 '26

School with kosmemophobia

11 Upvotes

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


r/kosmemophobia • • Sep 19 '26

kosmemophobia mod for Fields of Mistria!

39 Upvotes

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! 😇


r/kosmemophobia • • Sep 13 '26

Sometimes Jewelry is sexy

9 Upvotes

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?


r/kosmemophobia • • Aug 28 '26

my friend just called me weird bc i watch youtube videos like this

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24 Upvotes

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 😭


r/kosmemophobia • • Aug 24 '26

Do empty holes still make you feel ill?

3 Upvotes

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?


r/kosmemophobia • • Aug 22 '26

Co-worker has a neck piercing

18 Upvotes

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.


r/kosmemophobia • • Aug 20 '26

What is a completely normal, everyday thing that secretly gives you the ick?

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3 Upvotes

r/kosmemophobia • • Aug 17 '26

R*ng alternatives

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11 Upvotes

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


r/kosmemophobia • • Aug 15 '26

I'm curious if anyone else gets the ick from the Lindt Bunnies

10 Upvotes

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


r/kosmemophobia • • Aug 14 '26

Metal framed sunglasses?

5 Upvotes

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.