Aversion / phobia of mint flavours and odours?
I have a client presenting with a very strong mint aversion, she cannot stand even to be in the same room as someone chewing gum or who has just brushed their teeth. It's becoming an ever more difficult situation as she has a young son whose teeth she has to brush twice a day and he is beginning to pick up on her anxiety around tooth brushing.
Any ideas or suggestions for scripts gratefully received.
Re: Aversion / phobia of mint flavours and odours?
Your client might have associated the smell of mints to something else - possible something she doesn't even consciously remember. How long has she had this fear/aversion? Does it remind her of anyone? You could try using regression or ideomotor signals to get to the cause of this and deal with whatever comes up. Or it might be useful to have her vividly imagine the smell of mints and ask her to link and connect it to something else (the first thing that comes to mind is usually the best) and repeat this process with whatever she thinks about until you reach a catalyst.
Thanks for your response, Faith. She seems to have had an aversion since early childhood. I'm wondering if she had either over-zealous parenting with the toothpaste/brushing, or as you mentioned, if she associates it with someone. We definitely need to do some further analysis and I'm going to use the NLP swish as an additional technique.
My son, now 28 has always had a strong aversion to mint. He is a very well adjusted individual. As soon as he was old enough to notice and react to smells, he show his distaste for mint. To this day, he uses a child's toothpaste - bubble gum flavour and simply removes the label so as not to get razzed by his fellow officers. I was always perplexed by his aversion but recently I'm beginning to think that it's worth considering genetic factors as has recently been studied for cilantro aversion.. which by the way, is my own bugaboo. Just food for thought.. so to speak.
Hi there. I haven't as yet had someone present with this phobia but in the absence of any conscious memory of a trauma (that clears the problem) I would regress them back to the cause and use a clearing technique. Hope this helps.
Ever since I was a kid the smell of mint, especially from gum chewing makes me extremely uncomfortable to the point even where I've insulted my friends for chewing it. My boyfriend tried to play a joke on me and was brushing his teeth while I was in the other room watching tv. He came and dripped his toothpaste "foam" on my arm and I ran screaming into the shower. I had to get the smell off of me. I started to cry and I think he got the message.
I have a 10 year old girl with the same issue. She doesn't like if we chew gum, have a mint....she doesn't like any kind of candy and today she got very upset because I came close to her unintentionally while I was chewing gum. Any recommendations? I will love to help her overgrow this problem/issue.
I'm pregnant and now have developed a sudden aversion to anything mint flavored or smelling among other things. I learned that toothpaste aversion is actually very common for pregnant women. Considering the hormones legitimately through things out of wack, I would consider this persons aversion pretty legit and not psychosomatic. Just a thought. This persons hormones could be causing the aversion-- got to be a biological reason here folks.
I've had this problem ever since I can remember and my family thinks I'm being dumb but it's a legitimate problem. I'm 18 now and still use a bland children's toothpaste (which I don't like but I can at least tolerate), and this has led to poor overall dental hygiene. I can't stand mint gum, which has made every other kind of gum also unappealing. When people offer me a mint or a piece of gum I politely say "no thanks" and quickly turn away to throw up a little in my mouth. I can't touch minty things either because the scent is strong and will linger on my fingers. I get vicious headaches when family members or friends are chewing or sucking on mint near me. My breath is bad frequently but I don't know what to do about it. The only other common toothpaste flavors are bubblegum and cinnamon but bubblegum is a gum (which I can't stand) and I also hate cinnamon. The ONLY mint I've ever been able to tolerate is Andes Mints, but that's only because I have a deep love for chocolate. I want to find a new toothpaste because it will be extremely embarrassing when my friends find out the kind I use, but there are no good adult flavors I've been able to find. I've seen an orange kind but it still has a bit of mint so I don't want to try it, and I've seen flavorless kinds but they also are fluoride-less, which I don't want to try because I had bad cavities as a kid using fluoride-less toothpaste. Any suggestions?
I'm pleased to read so many other mint haters. I have had this issue my whole life. Cannot be near anybody that smells like mint or is chewing gum. Battled with toothpaste for years. What I do now is rinse my mouth with a clove fragrance mouth wash. It has a strong numbing effect on my taste senses so I can now brush my teeth. Even though I still hate it. My husband keeps telling me to see a psychologist. I get irritated and aggressive with anybody who teases me. I get totally irrational and emotional if the smell comes anywhere near me. Don't put me on a plane next to somebody chewing mint. The list goes on.......... I hate the stuff.
Euthymol toothpaste is s good one to use.
At least rule out a chemical sensitivity by asking her to smell FRESH MINT in the fresh produce section of the grocery store. If that doesn't bother her, then it's not a psychological problem and she could be reacting to a chemical such as mint artificial flavoring, menthol, BHA or BHT.
I brush alternating Hydrogen Peroxide 3% and Coconut Oil -- and chew fresh mint to freshen my breath. Toothpaste, mint chewing gum and other "mint flavored" things make me physically ill (runny nose, drainage, coughing, vomiiting) depending upon the potency of the exposure and whether it's in my own mouth or I'm just inhaling it from someone else's use.
I should have also mentioned fluoride as a culprit.
And Sodium lauryl sulfate can be a problem too.
I too have had this olfactophobia. Mint, gum, even gum wrappers, hard candy, any candy that's not chocolate, I can even watch gum n mint commercials on TV. I avoid all, the toothbrushing I have conquered ... I buy Crest Citrus Splash toothpaste online. Granted you have to buy in bulk, but well worth it. Hope that helps someone.
Please check out our Fear of Mints script download at: https://www.hypnoticworld.com/hypnosis-scripts/fears-phobias/fear-of-mints . If anyone wants this as an audio file please let me know and I'll see if my recording artiste can prepare it.
I have this aversion as well. I have to think about something else while I’m brushing my teeth or I’ll gag. I would lose my mind if someone brushed their teeth around something I was drinking.
And when I’ve opened my mother’s purse and the chewing gum smell hits me? Oh my Lord. Barf. I absolutely cannot stand to have anyone chew gum around me. And if I get a whiff of the mint...nope.
Hi. I know this is old, but I had to respond. I CANNOT handle mint, to the point of excusing myself if someone in the room is chewing gum. I get orange flavored toothpaste. Everyone always acts like I’m weird. This is the first time I’ve seen someone mention the issue presenting in another person.
Over the years, I wasn’t sure if I had a phobia or a slight allergy, as the cooling effect can feel like your throat is closing up. But I realized recently on my own that this has to be a phobia. I believe I am experiencing trauma from when I was a child. I vividly remember someone giving me 2 full listerine strips that immediately stuck to the roof of my mouth. I was crying and freaking out, as it was so numb in my mouth and throat.
Honestly, even though reading these posts is making me feel nauseous because I'm being forced to think about it, I am SO pleased to hear it isn't just me!! The smell, the taste, the sight, the word, even just the idea of it makes me so uncomfortable. My partner doesn't like keeping his toothbrush inside the bathroom, so keeps it in his washbag in the living room... And it is ALL I CAN SMELL. I can't even kiss him when he's brushed his teeth. It's such a horrible phobia because it's such a natural thing to everyone else. I just wish there was a way to get rid of the phobia!!