Uncommon Phobias: The Fear of Balloons

The fear of balloons is known as globophobia and is defined as "a persistent, abnormal, and unwarranted fear of balloons, despite the understanding by the phobic individual and reassurance by others that there is no danger; a strong fear of, dislike of, or aversion to balloons". This phobia is classified as an uncommon phobia even though there are many people who suffer from globophobia.

While some people who suffer from this phobia say it's just balloons in general that they fear, others say it's not so much the balloons themselves that they fear, it's the fear of the balloons popping, which can also be categorized in with the fear of loud noises or ligyrophobia.

Can you imagine going through life being afraid of balloons? Balloons are everywhere. There are balloons for just about every occasion, every holiday, every birthday. How would that affect a person's life, and to what extent do these people who suffer from globophobia go to avoid being near or seeing balloons?

Some people who suffer from this phobia admit to completely avoiding any situation that might warrant balloons being near. Others say when they attend a family function where there are balloons, such as a birthday party, their family members will hide the balloons in another room while he/she is there, which shows great understanding and concern from those family members, whereas even other sufferers say that their families and friends enjoy to torment them with balloons, knowing the kind of fear he/she has of balloons.

A few symptoms sufferers of this phobia have admitted to having are sweaty palms, hyperventilating, panic attacks, nausea, hysteria, and shock. While everyone's symptoms will be different and could be something that is not listed here, these are just a few of the more common symptoms according to the research I've done.

Phobias of this kind are usually triggered when a person has gone through, or witnessed, or even seen from a distance, or just heard about a traumatic experience with balloons.

It's kind of sad to think about how there are so many people who are suffering with a fear of balloons, something that most of us don't even give a second thought to, and if you are one of the people who suffer from globophobia, know that you are not alone and that if this is something you want to get over, there are ways to go about overcoming your fears. It may take a little time, but if it means no longer living in fear of something that surrounds you constantly, than I'm sure it will be worth every minute.