How a balloon popping phobia can affect people's lives
There are two basic effects of the balloon popping phobia - the first and most
obvious is that of isolation and the repercussions of that isolation, and the
second effect concerns linking.
The situation where a balloon may pop will be avoided by someone with the phobia
and the more severe the phobia the greater will be the effort to stay away from
any environment where balloons are present. If the phobia starts when the person
is very young, all events that may have balloons present will be avoided at all
costs - birthday parties, fairs and celebrations of all kinds. If you don't mix with
other children when you are young you fail to learn social skills and there is a
danger that you can become something of an oddity and a loner.
When other children find out that you don't like balloons - some will be kind - others
will not - most people with a childhood dislike of balloons find that other children
can be very hurtful - I've heard stories about children being held down to the ground
by other children and teased and taunted - and when a balloon is produced and one of
the children starts to blow it up - then fear turns to terror. These experiences at
such an early age can very easily scar the individual permanently - much other damage
is done here such as the development of an extraordinary suspicion of others just at
the time in life when we are supposed to be finding out where we fit in society and
how to get on with other people.
Such negativity learned so early in life will almost invariably remain in some form
or another - even after the phobia itself is cured. This is an enormous reason for
you to continue searching - to continue to find out as much as you can about life
and about people - we all miss out something during our childhood - anyone with a
phobia can miss out a great deal.
Linking, or association, is a perfectly natural function - we soon learn to link
flame with pain and this helps to protect us from burns through out life - we learn
that being next to our parents is a safe haven where we can go. Most people learn
that social gatherings can be a lot of fun and that parties are the most fun of
all gatherings - and most people learn that friends are very special people who
share parts of our lives. People who are phobic about balloons avoid the very
situations most people consider to be fun, they sometimes have friends who still
join in with a degree of torture about their strangeness, and occasionally it will
have been a parent who was responsible for bursting a balloon too close to a child
and that could be the incident that began the phobia, and sometimes the phobia can
be initiated when a parent uses the bursting of a balloon as a punishment for some
minor misdemeanor. The range of misunderstanding that can occur within a young mind
is quite extraordinary and can lead directly to an uphill struggle that may not be
realized by those who are around at the time.
On a very personal note, I came across the effects that the balloon popping phobia
can have while pursuing further research into balloon fetishism - having discovered
that there is often a relationship between the fetish and the phobia. I have had the
honour of talking to a number of people in very intimate ways - some have told me
about the nightmares - others have told me about the thoughts of suicide - many
have talked with me about their lives in ways they could never do where there was
anything less than complete trust. Although I have practiced psychotherapy I get the
feeling that clients will tell you just enough to give you the tools to start to
effect a cure, and then a little bit more if the cure seems to be comfortable. My
experiences talking with balloon popping phobics has been much deeper than that
and I send my heartfelt thanks to all who are involved, and hope that this site
will help some to confront their fears and take action to overcome them.
Return to THE PHOBIA SUGGESTIONS PAGE
Return to THE MAIN INDEX