In response to Claire and Barbara,

Hi!

No, my brother wasn't a button-phobe. He played along with me in order
to make me feel better. He always did it, bless him!

I suffer from mild OCD and usually get impusles to do bizarre
things--but no, I did not smell the buttons on my hubby's hideous
trench coat. Somebody suggested on another site that OCD is linked
closely to phobias.

My husband is a balloon-phobe, and has suggested that our phobia is
linked to circle phobias. Apparently the fear of circles stems
from the days when we were just cells, and is inherrent in everybody.

It doesn't quite fit the box though, as circular things (other than
buttons of course!) don't bother me all that much, although I have
always found coins and other small round, flat objects slightly
troublesome. I cannot stand them lying around & have to go and pick
them up!

My husband left a round soymilk seal laying on the counter top some
while back and I had to force him to pick it up.

I have absolutely no idea why buttons disgust me so much. It has
something to do with their small size, texture and overall look--holey
(my phobia definately has something to do with the holes),
thready...tacky... If buttons were, say, the size of compact discs, I
don't think that I would be AS bothered about them.

But I doubt if I would still wear them!

I have been looking up other button-phobes on the Internet for a while
now, and most of us seem to come from Britain.

I live in California now, but I was born and raised in the East of
England...

What do you guys think about this?

You guys might be thinking that I am lucky to live in California, but
it gets cold here, so I will soon be in a coat...

Unfortunately, I left all of my coats behind when I came here (I
didn't think that I would need them in California!), and my only coat
is a hand-me-down from somebody...and it has six ugly medium sized
buttons on it...thready two-holers with rims!

My husband is going to cut them all off for me and sew velcro on.

Keep your fingers crossed that it all goes well!

--Blacksun