Buttons
Let me tell you something random about me today that came up recently but that I don't recall ever discussing with anyone outside of my family before.
I have an irrational hatred of buttons.
I'm not aware of having experienced any sort of button-related trauma at an early age, but even as a toddler I would break out into screams and sobs whenever my mother tried to put me into what she thought was a cute little blouse because OMG THE BUTTONS. She eventually managed to work around it by making me put it on backwards - because I was OK as long as I couldn't see the buttons. Similarly the duvet on my bed always had to be turned the right way round so that the buttons of the duvet cover were as far away from me as possible.
It became less of an issue as I grew up as I could simply avoid wearing items with buttons most of the time - the duvet covers I have here have zips instead for example. But I had a sudden reminder the other day when I unpacked a cheap jumper that I had bought in a sale online and realised that it had a couple of decorative buttons on the sleeves which I had overlooked before ordering it. I was instantly filled with rage, got out the scissors and cut them off. I didn't care if that damaged the sleeves, I could always limit myself to wearing it at home if it looked a bit rough - but with buttons I was never going to wear it, ever.
Not all buttons are the same either. I'm perfectly fine with metal ones for example and don't mind wood quite as much. It's the round buggers made of plastic and with the four holes in the middle that really set me off for some reason. I suppose if it was actually an issue for me I could get over it, but as it is it's just an odd little quirk.
Before posting this, I thought I'd google the subject, and what do you know: I'm actually not alone! Though in me it's certainly not strong enough to be classified as a phobia, plus that article conflates buttons on clothes with buttons on machinery, which to me are totally different and unrelated things (we tend to have a different word for the latter in German as well).
I have an irrational hatred of buttons.
I'm not aware of having experienced any sort of button-related trauma at an early age, but even as a toddler I would break out into screams and sobs whenever my mother tried to put me into what she thought was a cute little blouse because OMG THE BUTTONS. She eventually managed to work around it by making me put it on backwards - because I was OK as long as I couldn't see the buttons. Similarly the duvet on my bed always had to be turned the right way round so that the buttons of the duvet cover were as far away from me as possible.
It became less of an issue as I grew up as I could simply avoid wearing items with buttons most of the time - the duvet covers I have here have zips instead for example. But I had a sudden reminder the other day when I unpacked a cheap jumper that I had bought in a sale online and realised that it had a couple of decorative buttons on the sleeves which I had overlooked before ordering it. I was instantly filled with rage, got out the scissors and cut them off. I didn't care if that damaged the sleeves, I could always limit myself to wearing it at home if it looked a bit rough - but with buttons I was never going to wear it, ever.
Not all buttons are the same either. I'm perfectly fine with metal ones for example and don't mind wood quite as much. It's the round buggers made of plastic and with the four holes in the middle that really set me off for some reason. I suppose if it was actually an issue for me I could get over it, but as it is it's just an odd little quirk.
Before posting this, I thought I'd google the subject, and what do you know: I'm actually not alone! Though in me it's certainly not strong enough to be classified as a phobia, plus that article conflates buttons on clothes with buttons on machinery, which to me are totally different and unrelated things (we tend to have a different word for the latter in German as well).