Fear Of Balloons Will Raise Your Phobia High Above
It started like any birthday, with lots of joy and fun. In one second, everything changed when the young girl noticed it. She screamed in terror until all the people around looked at her in panic, fearing the worst of all. “Help Me! It is heeeerrrrre!” she screamed, pointing with a trembling hand to something hanging on the wall, moving slightly in the wind and looking at her; she was ready to swear. A Red balloon. Its color and round shape reminded her of experiences she was happy to forget, and she imagined him resurrecting, or worse, Popping with terrible noise. Then, there was a sudden noise. “What happened?” asked someone in the room. “The balloon was popped,” answered one of the mothers, “but please, don’t be sorry. Balloons don’t live forever.” For the girl, it was already too late. Fear had already taken over her, and she began to cry hysterically. For her, the birthday celebration is over.
The truth is that this (fictional) girl is not alone. Although a balloon is considered one of the most distinct symbols of joy and is most associated with fun events such as birthdays, adults and children fear balloons. Sometimes, this fear explodes into a phobia or paralyzing anxiety. Such fear can cause behavioral changes. This is the fear of balloons, but you can overcome it.
In the following article, we will present everything you need to know about the fear of balloons. We will explain where it comes from and show you how it is possible, in a very general way (because, after all, our site is about horror and not psychology), to try to deal with it.
Why Are People Afraid Of Balloons?
Like any other fear, the first question we might ask is what is the fear of balloons called? This simple answer is “Globophobia“, and for obvious reasons. In Latin, the word “Globus” means “sphere,” and the Greek “Phobo” is, of course, translated as “fear.”
Fear of balloons is a condition in which a specific person shows an extreme and irrational fear of balloons, and most of the time, fear of balloons popping. Usually, this fear will be from the noise that the balloons make when they explode.
Even a person who does not suffer from a specific fear may be startled for a few seconds by the sound of a popping balloon, especially in the world’s current reality, where any loud and sudden noise may jump us or even be a trigger for a significant part of the population. Some people were involved in a terror attack or on the battlefield, sometimes up to the level of war casualties or suffering from trauma, and for them, the explosion of a balloon may be more than a trigger.
For some people, the fear comes precisely from the shape or texture of the balloons, which are known to be characterized by many colors, shapes, and prints (let’s face it: some of the Mickey Mouse or Anna and Elsa balloons sold in birthday stores can be pretty scary). There are people who are only afraid of certain types or different shapes of balloons, but the bottom line is that it doesn’t have to be a scary balloon to make them terrified.
Some people will fear various aspects of the balloons, such as suffocation. Every parent knows that putting a balloon in the mouth for inflation purposes or other reasons can be very dangerous, especially for children – and they may shy away from these specific actions, but also from balloons in general.
Some of those suffer from fear balloons flying away, which expresses instability concerning the laws of nature. They may be terrified of a situation where a balloon will rise into the sky and disappear.
What Causes A Fear Of Balloons?
Fear of balloons may develop at different stages of life due to several factors. In most cases, the story is an early trauma, for example, a negative experience of an exploding balloon from a young age or a memory of panic that appeared following a sudden explosion of a balloon.
If you are a parents of children, you probably know the cry that may appear in small children when a balloon explodes or flies into the sky. Most of them will understand at some point that “this is the end of every balloon” and that it is possible to buy another balloon. Still, a certain percentage may develop fear, which will accompany them even with puberty.
In children or adults with sensory sensitivities (ie, hypersensitivity to sudden noises such as a balloon exploding), difficulty in sensory processing, and other difficulties, the chances of this fear appearing are more incredible. For this reason, children on the autistic spectrum, for example, are at increased risk of suffering from the problem. Other difficulties that may increase the likelihood of balloon phobia are a history or presence of anxiety, depression, panic attacks, stress, stress, etc.
Sometimes, the fear stems from a loss of control when the person suffering from balloon phobia finds it challenging to deal with the natural fact that he cannot predict precisely when it will explode. He may feel powerless, so the balloon becomes a ticking bomb.
Similar to other fears and phobias, there may be a genetic influence, even in the case of fear of balloons. In other words, parents who suffer from anxieties, whether for balloons or other objects, may “transfer” some of them to their children.
The Connection Between Balloons And Scary Clowns
A fear of balloons may go hand in hand with other worries associated with balloons. The first example we have already referred to is the fear of loud noises (phonophobia). However, we are a site that mainly deals with horror, so we would like to focus on the close connection between clowns and balloons. In other words, there is a connection between the fear or phobia of balloons and the widespread fear of clowns, which we have already referred to on the site. If you are afraid of clowns, one of the most essential accessories we identify them with may also raise your anxiety level.
In this context, horror movies can come into play. Take, for example, horror movies with scary clowns and, of course, the “It” movies based on a story by Stephen King. In the latest version, these movies are among the most successful in the history of horror cinema (in fact, “It: Part 2” from 2019 is the highest-grossing horror movie of all time).
One of the identifying marks of the dancing clown Pennywise is the red balloon, which he mainly uses to lure the children to carry out his plan on them. The choice of a red balloon may stem from the fact that red is considered a symbol of impending danger, and color can be terrifying on a general level. Still, there is no doubt that this factor automatically creates tension in the viewer.
To get you in the right mood, here is a short video that connects the prominent appearances of the red balloon in the first “It”:
In other horror films, we have seen the presence of balloons as a menacing element, or if you will, alluring and terrifying at the same time. In our review of 2022’s excellent “The Black Phone,” we noted more than one similarity to Stephen King’s works, including “It.” Although the villain’s character is not that of a clown, he also uses black balloons to lure children so that he can kidnap them.
Fortunately, there aren’t too many significant killer balloon movies known, at least not yet. A quick search showed some works that do meet this condition. Perhaps the most important is a short film called “Red Balloon,” which received over 2 million views on YouTube and positive reviews. The plot here is not exactly about a balloon that kills people. Instead, it relates to the terrifying experiences that a babysitter goes through at home with a creepy-looking boy who sometimes holds a red balloon before terrible things happen. If you have something like 13 minutes, you should watch this charming movie:
Another short horror film, “Balloon” (2017,) directly addresses the fear of balloons. The protagonist is a girl named Penny (not a random choice of name when talking about scary clowns and balloons), who undergoes psychological therapy to deal with a fear of balloons that she has had since childhood. The truth is, she has a good reason because, at one of her birthday parties, she was kidnapped by a crazy serial killer who tempted her, among other things, with balloons. During the kidnap, the killer asked her to answer some questions to stay alive. She survived the same event but discovered that the psychological treatment may be just as dangerous for her or the therapist.
In 2022 we saw (or actually: 12 people out of the millions who rate movies on IMDB) a movie called “The Killer Balloon”. The writer of these lines is not one of the lucky ones to have seen the film, which, according to its plot description, is about a group of friends who go from party to party, only to discover that some murderous balloon is passing along with them.
How Can We Define Fear Of Balloons?
Let’s go back to the world of reality. Fear of balloons is not a recognized phobia according to the latest version of the American psychiatric diagnostic book, DSM-5, so it is difficult to estimate how many people have Globophobia. In addition, a large part of the cases go undiagnosed, either due to difficulty locating the problem or because the person experiencing it will hide the fear from others, which he perceives as embarrassing, childish, or humiliating.
The treatment of the fear of balloons will usually be similar to any other “specific phobia.” In this context, for a person to be defined as suffering from a fear or phobia of balloons, he must meet several conditions:
1. Feelings of intense fear and anxiety from balloons
2. Prolonged fear, lasting (intermittently, of course) for at least six months
3. Behavioral changes, in this case during an encounter with balloons
4. Impact of fear on everyday life, for example, avoiding parties and events where there may be balloons
The Consequences Of Balloon Phobia
If you go a little deeper, you can see that globophobia has a wide range of possible symptoms, which largely overlap with those of anxiety. Physical symptoms may include:
🎈 increase in heart rate
🎈 Excessive sweating
🎈 Shortness of breath
🎈 Uncontrollable shaking
🎈 Nausea
🎈 dizziness
🎈 Stomach pain
Alongside this, there may be emotional and mental symptoms, some of which are no less complex to deal with, such as:
🎈 Extreme levels of anxiety
🎈 feelings of horror
🎈 panic
🎈 Desire to escape from the place where there are or may be balloons
🎈 concentration difficulties
🎈 Annoying thoughts
The effect may be on any area of a person’s life, including society and family (avoidance of events and parties that may harm relationships or create isolation), difficulty in organizing family events, development of fears in the children, etc.
How To Overcome Fear Of Balloons?
As mentioned, the site you are visiting focuses on horror and feelings of fear, mainly in entertainment. “Horror World” is not a psychological site, so you mustn’t take what is written here for granted, especially concerning the therapeutic elements that are the basis of dealing with the fear of balloons.
There is a wide variety of professionals who can help those suffering from the problem, but the bottom line is that there are enough solutions today. The solutions are usually tailored individually to the person when a combination of several tools and therapeutic approaches is possible.
The list of possible Globophonia treatment includes:
🎈 Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) to identify irrational thoughts, change thinking patterns, and develop appropriate coping strategies
🎈 Exposure treatments, in which the patient is gradually exposed to the fear-inducing element. For some, balloons may scare even when they appear as pictures, so exposure to them will usually be the first step. In the future, they may move forward and gradually approach the balloons until they come into contact with them or explode them
🎈 Physiological Linguistic Routing (NLP)
🎈 Healing and relaxation techniques, which may greatly alleviate the symptoms experienced during the meeting with the balloons or thinking about them
🎈 Breathing treatments
🎈 Expanding knowledge about balloons – for example, why a balloon explodes. Knowledge may reduce the degree of uncertainty, which may be linked, as mentioned, to anxiety
In conclusion, although some people treat abnormal fears like a fear of balloons as a “joke,” we should not underestimate them. Globophobia is a natural and significant fear in quite a few people, sometimes to the level of phobia for everything and anything, which can harm the quality of life. On the positive side, it is essential to emphasize that there are effective treatment methods and diverse coping options.
Recognizing a legitimate fear and understanding its possible sources – often, as mentioned, much more than an encounter with Pennywise on the cinema screen – are an essential first step to successful coping.
