Fear of balloons. ..

THE HAPPY TURTLE said...
hi alex welcome to the forum. we all have one. mine is official lpeople. police-customs etc. errrrrrrr. keep well and strong. know that we are here for you.

Rrakkma said...
Hi Alex, Welcome to HW :)

It's not weird, I am also alert when I'm around balloons, since I am sensitive towards sudden and loud sounds.
Also, I am quite irritated when there is so much rain + Thunder/lightning. I can become paper white pale if there is so much loud thunder going on. But if I am not alone and distracted with some other things, I can deal with it to some extent.

Please keep on posting, we support each other very much here <3

GreyBlazer said...
Alex, so called irrational phobias are very common and relatively straightforward to treat should you choose that's what you want. I read two cases recently, one where a woman was phobic of lobsters, and another where a man walked everywhere backwards because he was phobic of seeing how far he still had to walk!

These may seem funny or strange to people who dont have them, but to the person that does its quite a serious matter. What I have learned is this, very very seldom is a phobia directly related to the object or situation that the person is afraid of - rather, they are frightened of what THEY will do or how they will react should they be confronted by that thing they "fear"

Lobster girl's real issue was that that if she saw a lobster she would feel fear, and she would react badly or embarrass herself. She didn't want to feel scared, and she worried that feeling scared would cause her to have a heart attack, or a panic attack or run screaming in public and be embarrassed. Do you see what I'm saying? You yourself know logically that a balloon is inanimate and can not and will not hurt you, so your job is to deal with the fear issue. To confront being around balloons, and to gradually learn that nothing untoward is going to happen, will help you to reduce your discomfort and overcome this phobia entirely. I wish you every success in doing so!

GreyBlazer said...
Never ever give up, if you want to change something about yourself you can - better yet there are professional people who can and will help you. There are strategies and techniques and training programmes available that will guide you along the right lines and keep you aiming in the right direction. It will perhaps help you to research CBT therapy for phobias and see if you can find a template you can use to design yourself a step by step plan towards accomplishing whatever your eventual goal may be - whether that's a big party full of balloons or whatever else you deem an appropriate end point. It will most likely consist of many small goals building up to larger ones, and it would help enormously if a professional, or even a friend or loved one, was willing to support you and accompany you when you are completing challenges. Someone who will care about your emotional state and be understanding, but who is also strong enough to be firm and give you an extra push when you need it. Your condition is curable and you are capable of full recovery, I believe this very strongly.

GreyBlazer said...
It's my pleasure to offer advice, no worries (for lack of a better expression on an anxiety forum! Haha)

Some psychiatrists specialise in phobias, some don't. You can ask if he or she does, and if not they may be able to recommend someone. Psychologists often deal with this kind of behavioural modification as well so you have a choice. There is a phobia and panic attack specialist in the Chicago area called Dr David Carbonell (I know only because I have read what he has published) and he offers information on his website for people looking for help in their area. I would be inclined to take his recommendation as sound because he is very experienced, but obviously I can't personally vouch for anyone. Worth a look anyway, his website is great:

http://www.anxietycoach.com/contact.html

lgm1942 said...
Anti Participatory anxiety. Wish i could spell, spell check has
fired me twice.

Years ago when in the Army, i was walking with my buddy and just talking a generator backfired really loud, we both were on the ground and looked at each other kinda funny, when we got up we
noticed that almost every guy in the company was getting up also,
jumpy? or well trained, it seemed funny after it was over. Peace
Larry ***

1039smooth said...
Alex,

I'm this way with police sirens. When I hear or even see a police car/sirens, I get an adrenaline rush. I've recently developed a phobia of sneezing.

Luckily, I think balloons can be easily avoided. I absolutely loathe latex.

John