Balloon phobia or globophobia is a fear of balloons. [2] The most common source of fear is the sound of balloons popping, but individuals can also be triggered by their texture and smell. [1]
Generally, people with globophobia will refuse to touch, feel, smell, or go near a balloon for fear it will burst. [3]
Globophobia originates from the Latin word Globus meaning sphere and the Greek word Phobos which translates to fear. [4]
This is a form of phonophobia.
Indications that someone suffers from Globophobia include:
Globophobia has numerous symptoms, and most of them overlap with anxiety. [5] Some symptoms of globophobia are:
Globophobia can be the result of a negative or traumatic experience with balloons, negative depictions of balloons, or a traumatic event somehow connected to balloons. [1] For example, a loud noise could sound similar to a balloon popping. These negative experiences usually occur during childhood, and globophobia is most prevalent among young children. [5]
Other factors that can increase the likelihood of someone developing Globophobia include:
Response prevention is a type of exposure therapy. When dealing with patients who have globophobia, a doctor roughly handles a barely inflated balloon in the presence of a patient. [2] The patient will eventually hold the limp balloon themself to understand that it is not full enough to pop. [2] The balloon will then gradually become more inflated, and once it is filled enough to pop, squeaky noises should be intentionally produced by the balloon. [2] The patients are expected to be frightened by this action, so they should stand a great distance from the balloon and then gradually move closer once they feel more comfortable. [2] The same process of patients moving closer to the balloon should be followed except the balloon will actually pop this time. [2] The purpose of this practice is to assure people with globophobia that the noises balloons make are not harmful. [2] Patients are expected to not be as tense and apprehensive around balloons and the sounds they produce following exposure therapy. [2]
This form of exposure therapy was performed on a college-aged student with globophobia. [3] Before the experiment, the unnamed male reports that he tries to avoid balloons at all costs due to the great amount of distress they place on him. [3] He claims that he cannot be any less than four feet away from a balloon without feeling intense fear. [3] The experiment is conducted over the course of three days and involves the subject being surrounded by hundreds of balloons that are simultaneously popping. [3] The researchers found no clear signs of emotional distress of the man but noted him attempting to avoid the popping balloons. [3] Following the experiment's conclusion, the subject states that he does not attempt to avoid situations that may involve balloons anymore. [3] He has also reported that no additional balloon-related problems have intervened with his daily life. [3]
Cognitive behavioral therapy or CBT is a common practice used to treat phobias. [1] It works "by deconstructing negative thought patterns surrounding balloons into smaller parts which will be focused on one at a time". [1]
Hypnotherapy involves relaxation techniques that assist in reducing stress, fear, and anxiety responses. [1] The objective of hypnotherapy sessions is to alter negative thoughts and memories surrounding balloons to generate a less fearful perception on them. [1]
Neuro linguistic memory manipulations or NLP manipulations entail "seeing yourself and your fears as if you are a third party" to detach yourself from the fear and to minimize the severity of distress balloons might produce. [5]
Potential medications to use to treat globophobia include beta blockers, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), sedatives, and anti-anxiety relievers. [1]
The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, 5th edition (DMS-5) does not include every single phobia, so globophobia is not mentioned. [4] Mental health professionals can instead diagnose patients with a "specific phobia", like globophobia which is "an umbrella term that describes any phobia of a specific object or situation". [4]
A phobia is an anxiety disorder, defined by an irrational, unrealistic, persistent and excessive fear of an object or situation. Phobias typically result in a rapid onset of fear and are usually present for more than six months. Those affected go to great lengths to avoid the situation or object, to a degree greater than the actual danger posed. If the object or situation cannot be avoided, they experience significant distress. Other symptoms can include fainting, which may occur in blood or injury phobia, and panic attacks, often found in agoraphobia and emetophobia. Around 75% of those with phobias have multiple phobias.
Specific phobia is an anxiety disorder, characterized by an extreme, unreasonable, and irrational fear associated with a specific object, situation, or concept which poses little or no actual danger. Specific phobia can lead to avoidance of the object or situation, persistence of the fear, and significant distress or problems functioning associated with the fear. A phobia can be the fear of anything.
Claustrophobia is a fear of confined spaces. It is triggered by many situations or stimuli, including elevators, especially when crowded to capacity, windowless rooms, and hotel rooms with closed doors and sealed windows. Even bedrooms with a lock on the outside, small cars, and tight-necked clothing can induce a response in those with claustrophobia. It is typically classified as an anxiety disorder, which often results in panic attacks. The onset of claustrophobia has been attributed to many factors, including a reduction in the size of the amygdala, classical conditioning, or a genetic predisposition to fear small spaces.
Herpetophobia is a common specific phobia, which consists of fear or aversion to reptiles, commonly lizards and snakes, and similar vertebrates as amphibians. It is one of the most diffused animal phobias, very similar and related to ophidiophobia. This condition causes a slight to severe emotional reaction, for example anxiety, panic attack or most commonly nausea. Herpetophobia is a common phobia Phobia and comes in many forms. Some people have fears of just looking at a reptile, some have fears of touching a reptile, and some cannot even stand knowing a reptile is in their space. Due to the specific type of phobia, there are no individual statistics for those who suffer from herpetophobia. Not everyone who is scared or has a fear of reptiles has herpetophobia.
Necrophobia is a specific phobia, the irrational fear of dead organisms as well as things associated with death. With all types of emotions, obsession with death becomes evident in both fascination and objectification. In a cultural sense, necrophobia may also be used to mean a fear of the dead by a cultural group, e.g., a belief that the spirits of the dead will return to haunt the living.
Emetophobia is a phobia that causes overwhelming, intense anxiety pertaining to vomit. This specific phobia can also include subcategories of what causes the anxiety, including a fear of vomiting or seeing others vomit. Emetophobes might also avoid the mentions of "barfing", vomiting, "throwing up", or "puking.". It can also lead to OCD
Flooding, sometimes referred to as in vivo exposure therapy, is a form of behavior therapy and desensitization—or exposure therapy—based on the principles of respondent conditioning. As a psychotherapeutic technique, it is used to treat phobia and anxiety disorders including post-traumatic stress disorder. It works by exposing the patient to their painful memories, with the goal of reintegrating their repressed emotions with their current awareness. Flooding was invented by psychologist Thomas Stampfl in 1967. It is still used in behavior therapy today.
Phonophobia, also called ligyrophobia or sonophobia, is a fear of or aversion to loud sounds —a type of specific phobia. It is a very rare phobia which is often the symptom of hyperacusis. Sonophobia can refer to the hypersensitivity of a patient to sound and can be part of the diagnosis of a migraine. Occasionally it is called acousticophobia.
Mysophobia, also known as verminophobia, germophobia, germaphobia, bacillophobia and bacteriophobia, is a pathological fear of contamination and germs. It is classified as a type of specific phobia, meaning it is evaluated and diagnosed based on the experience of high levels of fear and anxiety beyond what is reasonable when exposed to or in anticipation of exposure to stimuli related to the particular concept. William A. Hammond first coined the term in 1879 when describing a case of obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD) exhibited in repeatedly washing one's hands.
Cynophobia is the fear of dogs and canines in general. Cynophobia is classified as a specific phobia, under the subtype "animal phobias". According to Timothy O. Rentz of the Laboratory for the Study of Anxiety Disorders at the University of Texas, animal phobias are among the most common of the specific phobias and 36% of patients who seek treatment report being afraid of dogs or afraid of cats. Although ophidiophobia or arachnophobia are more common animal phobias, cynophobia is especially debilitating because of the high prevalence of dogs and the general ignorance of dog owners to the phobia. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV-TR) reports that only 12% to 30% of those with a specific phobia will seek treatment.
Exposure therapy is a technique in behavior therapy to treat anxiety disorders. Exposure therapy involves exposing the patient to the anxiety source or its context. Doing so is thought to help them overcome their anxiety or distress. Numerous studies have demonstrated its effectiveness in the treatment of disorders such as generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), social anxiety disorder (SAD), obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and specific phobias.
Dental fear, or dentophobia, is a normal emotional reaction to one or more specific threatening stimuli in the dental situation. However, dental anxiety is indicative of a state of apprehension that something dreadful is going to happen in relation to dental treatment, and it is usually coupled with a sense of losing control. Similarly, dental phobia denotes a severe type of dental anxiety, and is characterised by marked and persistent anxiety in relation to either clearly discernible situations or objects or to the dental setting in general. The term ‘dental fear and anxiety’ (DFA) is often used to refer to strong negative feelings associated with dental treatment among children, adolescents and adults, whether or not the criteria for a diagnosis of dental phobia are met. Dental phobia can include fear of dental procedures, dental environment or setting, fear of dental instruments or fear of the dentist as a person. People with dental phobia often avoid the dentist and neglect oral health, which may lead to painful dental problems and ultimately force a visit to the dentist. The emergency nature of this appointment may serve to worsen the phobia. This phenomenon may also be called the cycle of dental fear. Dental anxiety typically starts in childhood. There is the potential for this to place strains on relationships and negatively impact on employment.
Social anxiety is the anxiety and fear specifically linked to being in social settings. Some categories of disorders associated with social anxiety include anxiety disorders, mood disorders, autism spectrum disorders, eating disorders, and substance use disorders. Individuals with higher levels of social anxiety often avert their gazes, show fewer facial expressions, and show difficulty with initiating and maintaining a conversation. Social anxiety commonly manifests itself in the teenage years and can be persistent throughout life; however, people who experience problems in their daily functioning for an extended period of time can develop social anxiety disorder. Trait social anxiety, the stable tendency to experience this anxiety, can be distinguished from state anxiety, the momentary response to a particular social stimulus. Half of the individuals with any social fears meet the criteria for social anxiety disorder. Age, culture, and gender impact the severity of this disorder. The function of social anxiety is to increase arousal and attention to social interactions, inhibit unwanted social behavior, and motivate preparation for future social situations.
Thalassophobia is the persistent and intense fear of deep bodies of water, such as the ocean, seas, or lakes. Though very closely related, thalassophobia should not be confused with aquaphobia, which is classified as the fear of water itself. Thalassophobia can include fears of being in deep bodies of water, the vastness of the sea, sea waves, aquatic animals, and great distance from land.
Interoceptive exposure is a cognitive behavioral therapy technique used in the treatment of panic disorder. It refers to carrying out exercises that bring about the physical sensations of a panic attack, such as hyperventilation and high muscle tension, and in the process removing the patient's conditioned response that the physical sensations will cause an attack to happen.
Spotligectophobia, scopophobia, scoptophobia or ophthalmophobia is an anxiety disorder characterized by an excessive fear of being seen in public or stared at by others.
Fear of flying is a fear of being on an airplane, or other flying vehicle, such as a helicopter, while in flight. It is also referred to as flying anxiety, flying phobia, flight phobia, aviophobia, aerophobia, or pteromerhanophobia.
Chronophobia, also known as prison neurosis, is considered an anxiety disorder describing the fear of time and time moving forward, which is commonly seen in prison inmates. Next to prison inmates, chronophobia is also identified in individuals experiencing quarantine due to COVID-19. As time is understood as a specific concept, chronophobia is categorized as a specific phobia.
Ancraophobia, also known as anemophobia, is an extreme fear of wind or drafts. It is rather uncommon, and can be treated. It has many different effects on the human brain. It can cause panic attacks for those who have the fear, and can make people miss out on regular everyday activities such as going outside.
Submechanophobia is a fear of submerged human-made objects, either partially or entirely underwater. These objects could be shipwrecks, statues, sea mines, animatronics as seen in theme parks, or old buildings, but also more mundane items such as buoys, chains, and miscellaneous debris.