Phobia of clowns

Phobias in General

A phobia is a fear which has little logic behind it. We all have certain fears and most of them are concentrated on protecting us from harm, mostly based on experiences of other people. However, phobias make little sense to everyone else except those who suffer from them. Nevertheless, phobias prevent some people from living their lives normally.

There are many different types of phobias focusing on different fears. Some of the most common are fear of heights or fear of small, tight spaces, as well as fear of darkness. However, there are many more phobias out there and some of these are quite strange. One of the strangest phobias is fear of clowns or coulrophobia. This phobia, as the name itself suggests, makes a person quite uncomfortable at the very thought about clowns, let alone direct contact with them. Even though this might seem funny and amusing to many, this fear is real and quite disarming for those who have this type of phobia. Moreover, it can prevent them from living their lives normally, making them avoid parties, celebrations or any kind of events where clowns or even pictures of them might appear. Contact with clowns can turn into a traumatic experience where the health of a person with phobia may be jeopardized due to the fear connected with the event.

Coulrophobia and Facts about It

Fear of clowns mostly affects small children, age from 2 to 9. Nevertheless, coulrophobia can appear with people who are adults or teenagers, making this phenomenon even more paradoxical. The movie industry may be considered responsible for many births of this phobia since there are many films incorporating killer or monster clowns which many children could have seen in the past. On the other hand, this phobia may stem from the fact that clowns wear masks which conceals their identities. Either way, people with coulrophobia cannot stand clowns and are scared to death ofthem.

This phobia is expressed through the onset of respiratory problems manifested through shortness of breath and hyperventilation, anxiety, increased and irregular heartbeat, nausea, sweating and dreadful sensations.

Treatment for Coulrophobia

There are several methods for removal of this phobia. Firstly, one can get rid of coulrophobia by getting exposed to clowns more often, realizing that there is nothing scary about them. Secondly, a person may try and reprogram his/her attitude towards clowns, learning to control the fear and eventually remove it. Both of these methods take time and following specific therapies. Finally, there is the self hypnosis variant of treatment, where one may remove coulrophobia from his/her own subconsciousness.