Are you afraid of balloons? For some people, this is a silly question. For people with globophobia, this is their awful reality.

Curious to learn more about the fear of balloons, where it comes from, and how you can overcome it? You’re in the right place! It is possible to work with mental health professionals, even when it comes to seemingly irrational or uncommon fears.

What Is Globophobia?Where Does the Word “Globophobia” Come From?Symptoms of GlobophobiaCan You Be Diagnosed With A Fear of Balloons?How Many People Have Globophobia?What Causes Globophobia?Treatments for GlobophobiaSimilar Phobias and Fears

What Is Globophobia?

Where Does the Word “Globophobia” Come From?

Symptoms of Globophobia

Can You Be Diagnosed With A Fear of Balloons?

How Many People Have Globophobia?

What Causes Globophobia?

Treatments for Globophobia

Similar Phobias and Fears

What about balloons is so scary? For many, the actual shape of the balloon or its appearance isn’t what triggers their fear. The anticipation of the balloon popping is scarier than the balloon itself. But since balloons aren’t always popping left and right, a person with globophobia may appear to become anxious just at the sight of the balloon.

The root of the word “globophobia” comes from the Latin wordglobus,which means “sphere.” Phobia comes from the Greek word phóbos, which translates to “fear.” Globophobia is not the fear of any sphere-shaped objects, but just balloons.

Phobias are more than just feelings of discomfort or nervousness. A person with a balloon phobia may have intense physical and emotional reactions at the sight or thought of a balloon:

If these symptoms happen once while in the presence of a balloon, you may not have globophobia. Often, these symptoms take placeevery timesomeone is faced with the sight of a balloon.

Examples of Globophobia

If your friend just doesn’t like to be around balloons are parties, they probably do not need to see a therapist for globophobia. But if they avoid all social gatherings and events where balloons might be present, they might need to seek help.

A person who is uncomfortable when watching the movieItlikely doesn’t have globophobia. If that person finds themselves having a panic attack every time they attend graduations, commencements, or events with balloons, they might have globophobia.

Yes, this might sound very silly to someone who does not experience a fear of balloons. But remember that fears are often created in the mind. A person may experience intense physical symptoms and disturbing thoughts even though they can rationalize that balloons are not scary!

If theDiagnostic and Statistical Manual, 5th edition(DSM-5) had specific criteria for every single phobia that people experienced, it would be avery, verylong manual. Globophobia is not specifically listed in the DSM-5. Instead, a mental health professional may diagnose a patient with a “specific phobia.”

What Is a “Specific Phobia”?

This is an umbrella term that describes any phobia of a specific object or situation. The fear of ghosts, for example, is a specific phobia. The fear of failure is considered a specific phobia. Although these two things are very different than balloons, a person may experience similar symptoms when faced with the specific thing that triggers their fear.

The requirements for a specific phobia, as listed in the DSM-5, are as follows:

Phonophobia and Other Conditions

If a mental health professional determines that a person’s fear of balloons is actually a fear of loud noises, they may tell the patient that they havephonophobia.Phonophobia is the fear of loud noises. This, like globophobia, is diagnosed as a specific phobia.

In this case, the professional may refer the patient to another professional to assess whether the patient’s sensory inputs are causing the problem. People on the autism spectrum disorder, for example, may have phonophobia or globophobia because they are morehypersensitive to sound.Hyperacusisis a disorder in which people hear things more loudly than others. By knowing how a person collects and processes different senses, a mental health professional can administer a better, more effective treatment plan.

Unless you happen to have many friends that run out of the room at the sight of balloons, you probably know that globophobia is not that common. Although 19 million Americans have been diagnosed with specific phobias, this covers a vast range of fears. There is no scientific data on how many children or adults suffer from globophobia, and those numbers may be different. It is not uncommon for a child to grow out of globophobia as they reach adulthood.

Although some mental health conditions or phobias may be passed down through genetics or observational learning, it is unlikely that a child will develop globophobia because their parents have a fear of balloons.

Globophobia is often linked to a traumatic event that a person went through as a child. Most people with globophobia can actually pinpoint the exact event or events in which their fear first developed.

Likely, during that first traumatic event, the body responded as it would to any threat:fight-or-flight. The body kicks into fight-or-flight mode, suspending certain bodily systems, releasing hormones, and elevating the heart rate.

In people with globophobia, the brain likely sees the balloon, associates it with the previous traumatic event, and sends the body into fight-or-flight mode all over again. This is why a person might sweat, feel panic, or run away at the sight of the balloon. It may take some time for the brain to tell the body that the person is actually safe.

If left uncontrolled, this fight-or-flight might be triggeredevery timea person faces their fear. Fortunately, there are ways to overcome this reaction and let the brain and body know that balloons are not as threatening as other things that trigger the fight-or-flight response.

If you have a specific phobia, reach out to a mental health professional. They can work with you to develop a treatment plan for facing your fears and living a normal life. You do not have to avoid birthday parties, work conferences, or graduations just because balloons are present.

Before you reach out to a therapist, familiarize yourself with different approaches that therapists may use to help you overcome your fear. In your consultation, a therapist should let you know which approach they prefer and what they think is best for your situation.

Exposure Therapy

Talk Therapy

Do not want to jump into a pile of balloons to overcome globophobia? That is okay. Talk therapy can also help people overcome their specific phobias.CBT, DBT, or NLP are all forms of talk therapy that assess your thought patterns and attempt to change them. A therapist treating a person with globophobia may ask what is going through their mind at the sight of a balloon or the thought of a birthday party. By changing these thought patterns, the person may be able to approach a balloon with more ease, avoiding the fight-or-flight response that was previously set off.

Medication

In rare cases, a therapist may prescribe medication to treat specific phobias. Not all mental health professionals are licensed to administer medication, so check with your specific caregiver before undergoing treatment.

Globophobia is often confused with glossophobia, but the two fears are very different. Globophobia is the fear of balloons; glossophobia is the fear of social situations. If you have glossophobia and globophobia, a birthday party is probably your least favorite place!

Other similar phobias include:

Related posts:Phobias and Fear (50 Common Phobias List)Fear of Cotton Balls - SidonglobophobiaFear of Sharks - GaleophobiaFear of Failure - AtychiphobiaAthazagoraphobia - Fear of Being Forgotten

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Practical Psychology. (2022, May).Fear of Balloons - Globophobia.Retrieved from https://practicalpie.com/fear-of-balloons-globophobia/.Practical Psychology. (2022, May). Fear of Balloons - Globophobia. Retrieved from https://practicalpie.com/fear-of-balloons-globophobia/.Copy

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