The world is a strange place: we often accept someone’s fear of heights or fear of spiders as ‘something normal’. However, when it comes to the fear of balloons phobia, people usually laugh about it. As far as the “silliest or most irrational” fears go; Globophobia is high up in the list. Even Oprah Winfrey shocked her audience by admitting to having experienced the fear of balloons phobia.
To a person suffering from such a phobia, life can be quite difficult. In this guide, we shall study the fear of balloons phobia in detail.
What is Globophobia?
The word Globophobia originates from the Greek words Globo meaning ‘spherical in terms of balloons’ and ‘phobos which means deep dread or fear’.
People suffering from this phobia feel morbid fear at the thought, sight, touch or even smell of balloons. Most individuals, however, are only afraid of the sound made by the popping of balloons. As with any phobia, the symptoms of Globophobia vary depending on the roots of the fear. Some people might be able to withstand balloons while they are deflated. However, the moment one starts to inflate them; the sufferer feels anxious. In many cases, individuals are afraid of hot air balloons but can stand smaller balloons, water balloons etc.
Causes of fear of balloons phobia
Like with most phobias, Globophobia originates from a negative experience with balloons in one’s childhood. The phobia is common in younger children and gradually diminishes with age. In some people though, it may continue well into adulthood.
A child might have experienced a balloon popping or exploding in the face. S/he then recalls the same fear each time one sees a balloon. Most kids feel fearful about attending birthday parties or fairs on account of the association of these events with balloons. When other children realize this, they tend to tease or bully the suffering child. This leads to more terrifying thoughts about balloons.
Balloons are usually associated with noise; additionally the kind of noise they make is similar to a gunshot and is typically unexpected. This is a perfect stimulus for people who are already overanxious or in a heightened mental state. Even the squeaking sound made by a balloon can be frightening to such a child.
Globophobia is often combined with the fear of clowns’ phobia. Clowns and balloons go hand-in-hand and, for a child attending an event having both these elements, the fears might merge together.
Symptoms of fear of balloons phobia
To an individual suffering from such a phobia, a continuous internal movie plays in the mind. This usually involves seeing a balloon exploding in the face.
At the thought or sight or sound of balloons, the phobic displays following anxiety symptoms:
- Rapid or shallow breathing
- Palpitations which can be perceived to be chest pains
- Kids start to cry, run or hide; they come up with excuses to prevent an encounter with balloons. This means refusing going to parties or fairs etc.
- Shaking, trembling and sweating are other physical symptoms.
- Gastrointestinal distress like nausea might be present.
Overcoming the fear of balloons phobia
If you or a loved one has Globophobia, then you are not alone. It is a very real and common phobia and many individuals suffer from it. Thankfully, there is help. The first thing you need to do is talk to a therapist or a loved one about it. Talk therapy can help you rationalize your fear.
Most people understand that balloons are not dangerous; however they feel powerless over their fear. By gradually exposing yourself to balloons you can overcome the phobia. You could start by seeing pictures, holding or touching deflated balloons. Then, once you are comfortable with this, you can actually progress to encountering inflated balloons. This technique can be done in the form of self help therapy or even with the help of an experienced therapist.
NLP or Neuro Linguistic Memory manipulations are also effective as they can help you get to the bottom of the phobia. (These basically involve seeing yourself and your fears as if you are a third party, or having an out of body experience and viewing a cinema.) These methods can gradually help you face balloons and overcome your Globophobia permanently.
Z.Manqet says
Hi, I was terrified of balloons as a child. Someone burst one in my ear on my birthday, and I was traumatized. As the article said, I avoided them and was teased mercilessly.
Oddly, now I have a phobia/philia. Yes, fear/arousal by balloons. Apparently, it’s called a balloon fetish. I’ve sought a therapist to discuss this, and so far, he’s considered it harmless. It’s just confusing. Thanks
John says
I’m 71, and as a baby, I was in hospitals for corrective surgery on cleft lip and palate. I was told, and do not remember, a family with a child in a bed next to me. The family was blowing up balloons and popping them. I was told my parents were not around, and I was terrified and could not escape. I have never gotten over it. I cannot stand the smell, seeing them blown up and, God forbid, popping them. I have been made fun of/ tortured by them. At this stage of life, I’m not seeking therapy. If a young child can get help, I would encourage them.
John says
I have decided to start therapy to see if I can get some relief. I have both anxiety and some relief. Will see how it goes.
John says
An update on my pursuit of counseling for my fear of balloons. As I mentioned in another post, I’m 71 yrs old, and this fear started as a baby while in a hospital. I have started counseling and am in about my 4th session. The therapist and I have decided to try a mixture of treatment modalities EMDR, exposure, and talk/counseling. I found that interwoven with the phobia are other issues that I have to address. I still have some hurdles to get through, but I’m pleased with my progress. In her office, I blew up a balloon, and she did as well. We did not pop them, but I did take them home. My wife was very surprised. In my next appointment in about two weeks, we will be doing some EMDR with the bullying issues that I went through. She said we would also blow up some balloons and pop them. I have bought two packs of balloons and have blown several up but have not popped them. I did pop a very small one and plan to do more. I will post an update in about three weeks.
John
John says
It’s been eight months since I started therapy. My next hurdle is to have balloons on the floor and pop them or watch someone. I’m able to watch someone blow up helium balloons. I have blown up some 9“ ones and popped them. I’m making progress but have some more hurdles.
John says
I am now 14 months from my first counseling session. I can now blow up and pop balloons, and I can also be in a room with balloons on the floor and pop some. Some major hurdles have been accomplished. I still need to work on blowing up long balloons and making something like an animal. We will see how it goes.
Anonymous says
As a blind individual with no sight except for light perception, meaning I can tell the difference between light and dark, balloons are scary. I’ve feared balloons for as long as I can remember. I don’t remember how it began, but every time I touch or hear a balloon, it makes me panic. And it’s not because of the popping, either. Any inflatable object will have to deflate eventually, and that’s what makes it scary for me. The fact that balloons can move on their own, literally getting bigger and then smaller. But here’s the weird thing. I can listen to videos of balloons all day because I know that the sound comes from an electronic device and not necessarily a real balloon near my vicinity. And this includes audio recordings as well. But if the sound is not coming from an electronic device and is coming from an actual balloon, then I become terrified. I’ve had several dreams about those things, many of which ended up with me waking up and feeling very scared. In real life, I remember when I was 17 years old at a party. Someone had tied balloons to my chair, and as soon as I started feeling things moving above me, I became scared and requested they remove them. Many people laugh at me not only because I’m blind but because I have this fear of balloons that I will most likely never recover from. I even talked to a counselor who told me that “balloons are supposed to be fun and decorative, not scary.” I have since graduated from high school, and I’m now in my upper 20s and still scared of balloons. I most likely won’t order a home mini because of the balloon-shaped design, but I’ll set up a raspberry pie to do literally the same things as the home mini!
hello there says
Don’t you mean raspberry pi? Sorry, computer nerd jokes. The fact that you gathered up the strength to post here is amazing – from one person who fears balloons to another.
Kerri says
Hi. I, too, am totally blind and have been since birth. I’ve feared popping balloons all my life, but, like you, I can listen to them popping on video all the time without fear. I have no problems touching them or blowing them up. Water balloons do not frighten me at all. It’s strange.
Audrey says
I’m 16 this year, and I still can’t bring myself to be around a balloon (mainly latex balloons). I honestly feel like my balloon fear has only gotten worse and worse over the years as I’ve grown up.
My fear started when I was about 5 or 6 years old. I was at a family gathering, and I was holding a balloon in my arms, which pretty much touched my face because of how large it was. When I looked down at it, I noticed a piece of tape stuck on it, so I went to rip it off. But a second after I did, it instantly popped right in my face, and I just stood there shaking. I wasn’t moving, and my dad said I looked like a ghost.
Ever since that moment, I had other encounters with balloons popping either in my face or close to where I was, which enhanced the fear growing inside of me. I had another balloon pop in my face a couple of years later because it was resting on top of a heater. At my younger sister’s 9th birthday party, my uncle (who knew I was afraid of balloons) purposefully popped multiple balloons to get a laugh out of the other kids, while I ran to my room and hid under my bed to try and block out the noise. At another family gathering I attended when I was 13, my family friends kept chasing me around with a bunch of balloons for fun, even when I told them I was terrified of them. I spent the rest of the time at that gathering hiding in a bathroom stall.
Now I can’t touch, look at or even think about a balloon without wanting to just hide in a corner and block my ears from any loud noises. Whenever I’m in my school locker bay, I always cover my ears and feel my breath and actions quicken from fear of a balloon popping due to the loud noises of students talking (I have been around balloons popping in my school and the locker bays before). I can’t go to parties, events, restaurants, stores, and practically anywhere if a balloon is around, and it kills me sometimes.
I almost ditched my sister’s graduation because the place was decorated with balloons. I felt so anxious, and I just wanted to run out of there, but I knew I’d regret it if I didn’t see my sister graduate, so I stayed. I was breathing heavily the entire time, tears were streaming down my face, and my legs and hands were shaking non-stop. If there was a time I hated myself for my fear of balloons, it was that moment.
I want to overcome this fear, but I’m not ready for that, and I wonder if I ever will be. I don’t know what to do.
Lily says
That sounds like you’ve had a tough time with balloons, and it’s not surprising that those events have reinforced the fear. In terms of getting over it, there are more positives than you think! The fact you’ve come onto this site and left a comment shows there might be a tiny part of you that does want to try to overcome this, and that gives you starting potential. Also, you did go to the graduation! That’s huge! You should be proud of yourself for just getting through it. I have reached a point where I am much more confident around balloons after exposure therapy and CBT. My starting point was deflated balloons, but yours might be thinking about balloons or looking at a picture and working your way from there. I hope that helps or at least reassures you in some way :)
Sue says
When I was four years old, I was deathly ill and ran a very high fever, which caused me to hallucinate. The corners of the ceiling would inflate and pop like a balloon. Ever since then, I’ve had Globophobia. I’m 74, and I still freak out whenever there are balloons around or even see them being inflated. Some people can be really mean about this because they don’t understand the fear of balloons or think it’s silly. A former sister-in-law purposely brought balloons to my 90+ mom’s birthday only because she knew I hated them. Mean bitch! I have to say that Mylar balloons have changed my life for the better. They don’t pop!
John says
I could identify with your fear of balloons. I’m 71, and the fear started when I was a baby. Since then, it hasn’t gotten any better. After reading many testimonies, I will see if I can be free of this fear for whatever time I have left. I am optimistic.
Lisa says
I have had a phobia of balloons since infancy. It has made my life very hard. I was even suicidal as I was tired of staying in and constantly isolating myself.
After 15 years of exposure therapy, a stint with intensive phobia therapy, and consistently popping balloons myself, I still dissociate when I see balloons.
You are not weird or alone in this struggle. I have learned to respect my nervous system and accept myself for being more sensitive to loud noises compared to others.
The phobia has made me empathize with others who struggle with phobias. So much so that I am now going back to school to become a therapist to help trauma survivors!
Keep trying to overcome it and if not, just love yourself even with a quirk like this.
Hunter says
Hey, I’m currently 16, and I’m deathly afraid of latex balloons. When I was young, I blew up a balloon, and I didn’t know when it was going to pop, and it exploded. It also happened to a large balloon that popped in my head, and I had temporary hearing loss in the right ear. I can’t get over the fear because I’m afraid to inflate balloons. I can handle holding, touching, and rubbing a latex balloon, but I’m afraid it will pop. My parents try to help me, but my mother yells at me to force her to blow up a balloon that I know will pop. Also, I tried to get my father to do it, but I didn’t want to get close, but he called me at attention to watch him blow it up near me. This made my heart rate rise and made me upset. I have to blow up balloons because I go to a school that does balloon projects. So that’s why I’m commenting on this. I can handle hot air balloons, beach balls, bouncy houses, and mylar balloons, but I just can’t handle latex.
ISD says
So glad that I am able to see this. I have had this fear since 1st grade, and it still happens with me in high school now. Virtual learning was very relieving for me, but once in-person school started again, I knew balloons would start showing up from random days. I had a recent moment in physics class where everyone was in class, and just randomly, some asb members came in for someone’s birthday. And guess what, one of the asb members was holding a balloon. I was just shaking hard, and my heart rate was rising. I was just hoping they left away with the balloon after the birthday song. However, just before the asb members left, one of the members gave the balloon to the birthday person, and my mind said that this was a joke. I had to wait for 40 minutes of painful shaking and prayed that the balloon didn’t pop. I was covering one of my ears the whole time and acting like I was just listening. But, the physics teacher asked me if I was ok and I replied with yes even though I was really nervous. When the bell rang, I immediately rushed out of the classroom, always watched my surroundings for any balloons. Nowadays, when the door opens in my physics class, I just sweat so much, hoping that there are no balloons. Also, I hate fireworks (especially the 4th of July), gunshots, and any other loud and random sounds. This fear shouldn’t really exist, and I believe it is very cringe to have.
Terry says
Hey, I saw this thread and really wanted to comment with some positive news. Since I was 5 (I’m 29 now) I had a morbid fear of balloons bursting. It has lead to me being a very quiet, shy and anxious person socially in life due to avoiding parties and things. However, over the years I’ve been determined to overcome it as balloons are colourful and should be a happy cheerful thing. I’ve tried here and there but wasn’t greatly successful but it got so I could blow up a balloon and pop it with a pin. The problem remains of when I’m not in control of the balloon. The last few months I have fully faced my fear head on. I’m now almost fearless towards balloons. I can even blow balloons up until they explode! I actually like balloons now. I’m a very ill at ease person, and if I can, then I know you all have it in you to beat it. I wish you all strength.
Anonymous says
Yeah, I feel the same way too. I am scared of balloons, especially if they’re big and if someone popped them. People have made fun of my fear and it’s so painful. My dad knows and tries to help, but it’s as though there’s too much timidity in me. Do you know any therapy I can try? Thanks.
John says
EMDR therapy seems to be successful, from what I have read. I will know better as I start this week. I have been dealing with this for over 70 years.
Tanya says
Terry, that’s really amazing! I wish I could overcome my phobia like that, but I’m completely terrified of balloons. I really wish someone could help me get over my fear.
Luke says
Hi, I just wanted to say it’s really cool to see your story! I’m a 20-year-old male, and I find my balloon fear really embarrassing. I have recently spent a lot of time around balloons as my girlfriend’s flatmates recently had lots of birthdays. I have found that I’ve got more comfortable around them, but I want to completely get rid of the fear by exposing myself to them, as you have. I’m quite good at pushing myself to do things I’m scared of, so I hope I’ll get over the fear. It’s great to see that it has worked for you!
John says
Hi. My story is similar: at about age 5/6, I was scared stiff when a yellow balloon I was playing with touched a vase of roses, and the thorny stem burst it. I was stunned and traumatized. My mum had blown the balloon up, and I watched as she drew a face on it with a marker pen. I was terrified of balloons until I was about age 13, when I became curious about them and wanted not to be scared of them. My older sister helped me to get used to balloons and how to blow them up without a bang. Mainly she taught me that they could be blown up without bursting. She used to screech her fingers over the full balloons, which I never got used to. I’m now in my 60s, and while my sister showed me I could blow balloons up and pop them, I’m still scared of them in other people’s hands.
Ned says
Same, I have a trust issue when it comes to balloons.
Jaiden says
I’m 17 years old and I think I have globophobia. I used to be fine with balloons when I was younger, I may even have enjoyed popping them, but for maybe 10 years now I haven’t been able to go anywhere near them. Recently my mum was babysitting some kids from next door and they blew up some balloons. I tried to do the responsible thing and rushed away into the other room, but one of the kids after seeing I was scared of balloons came in and started throwing inflated balloons at me while I sat in the corner of the room. I was so scared and I hate to say it but after the fourth balloon thrown at me, I came super close to acting out violently because I just wanted her to stop. My mum knows I’m terrified of balloons and didn’t even do anything to stop her, but then it got way worse when my brother-in-law put his arm through the door with a balloon and squeezed it until it popped. I got so scared and I started crying and shaking and my heart just started pounding, and eventually, they just left me alone after they’d had enough ‘fun’. I’m shaking just from writing this, but I just wanted to vent about it because I was so scared and it’s really made my phobia worse this past month, and I also want to leave something here for people who don’t quite understand phobias like the child who threw the balloons at me and people like whoever it was that taught her it was acceptable.
To people that don’t understand phobias: You don’t need to understand the fear. All you need to know is regardless of whether you perceive it as a real fear or not, it’s a real fear to the person. It’s not okay to use it against us or dismiss it at all, because like any other fear it controls and affects our lives in very real ways. If someone was afraid of heights, you wouldn’t take them somewhere high to scare them for a ‘joke’. If someone was afraid of water, you wouldn’t push them into a pool for a ‘joke’. But when people hear that we’re afraid of something they deem irrational, somehow it’s immediately okay for everyone to make fun of them and wave that fear in front of our faces for a ‘joke’. It’s not funny. If someone is afraid of something rational, people are supportive because they understand it in a way. But when they don’t understand the fear on a personal level, people are so quick to assume that the fear is not real, or something that can be cured by something as simple as exposure. It’s not helping us to expose the fear to us when we did not ask for it. It’s not your place to tell us that our fear is not worth understanding or respecting. It’s not acceptable to use anyone’s fear as entertainment or a ‘joke’ when all you’re doing is making that person’s life even harder, because you’ve involuntarily made the fear worse and even more gripping in their everyday life. I can say now that after being put through a situation like I have, after knowing my mum knew about my fear and did nothing to stop that child from doing what she did, that I have lost both respect and trust in my mother, and it made me feel like my trust in her had been violated. It’s a small thing, but it has made a huge difference in the way I trust even the people closest to me and makes me doubt how much trust I can put in my family and friends, whether they have done something to hurt me or not. And I know that after an experience like mine, a lot of people with phobias would feel violated and manipulated, and would lose trust in people who used the fear against them, and the people who watched by idly despite knowing the reaction it would cause. The best thing you can do for anyone with a phobia is to not expose them to it, and step in if someone else attempts to. That’s all you have to do to not act like a douchebag.
Lisa says
Your family is very unhealthy if they make fun of you and torment you about this fear.
Nick says
Well said, Jaiden. You have said it perfectly. I remember back in the early 90s in primary school. I reckon the whole class knew it had globophobia (I don’t think it was recognized then). We had a teacher I still despise to this day who knew my reactions and fed off them. One day, she brought a balloon to school, “She’s gonna pop it after afternoon recess.”
After lunch, I thought I was safe. I did. Then, well, she popped it with her nails, and I remember the whole class looking at me just before she did it.
That is just one example.
Another nightmare was the Police Band. Once a year, they came to school, and someone with a clarinet inflated a balloon while playing the pink panther theme. It wasn’t a normal balloon either. It had a really long neck. The song finished when it popped. I would panic, get sweaty, my heart would race, and I would be looking for the exit.
As I grew into my teenage years and adulthood, I avoided them as much as possible.
mrseal52 says
Unfortunately, I can relate somewhat. I was going on a roll of telling people about my phobia, and one particular person said something that completely destroyed our friendship. He said I don’t care, then sent a pic of balloons to mock me. I took screenshots, and he deleted the photo about 2 hours later, but I still had screenshots. I am still trying to figure out how to tell my homeroom advisor about my situation. If you want, there is a globophobic group chat that we have on Discord, and we have a subreddit where we are pretty active.
Joann Marie Morgan says
I really loathe having this phobia. I was at a young age, still in my baby bed, I think at toddler age. My grandmother gave me a punching ball balloon that my mom hung on the side of my bed for me to play with. My cousins wanted to play with it. My mom told them no, my cousin took a pin and popped it in my face. My mom said I threw myself against the wall from the pop. I went into shock. She picked me up and got me to breathe from the shock. Ever since then, I can’t be near latex balloons. I now have PTSD. I also have hearing damage, Tinnitus. I don’t know what silence sounds like. What the really interesting thing is I was actually told to grow up and get over it. It’s all in my mind so it’s nice to hear I’m not the only one. God Bless you all, y’all are in my prayers.
John says
That was terrible, Joann Marie. It’s the most useless thing anyone can say to someone with almost any phobia. As a young boy, I had a bit of that, too, when a balloon popped in my face and started my phobia. I did manage to get over it to an extent, but I am still nervous around balloons though I can blow them up and tie them now ok.
Kendra says
Quick update: I’m 16 now and still scared, I have 4 nephews under the age of 8. And 4 years ago when I posted this I was doing therapy with my karate sensei. He would get me to put on my boxing gloves and punch a balloon against a wall and then catch it again, but every time I went to cover my ears he would make me do 20 push-ups over a balloon, even though you can’t even cover your ears with the gloves on. He made me do it until I wouldn’t react and after every session he would make me sit on them but because I wasn’t heavy enough he would hold me and push me down until it popped whilst I was wearing shorts. I guess it worked a bit as it showed me not to react, but I still feel the same on the inside. I hated it at the time and still think that it was sick to do something like that to a child, but now when I’m around my nephew I don’t react that much although sometimes it still shows up.
Katie says
I’ve got the same fear and I definitely wouldn’t be able to cope.
Bob Belinke says
It is a horrible phobia. I had it since age 5 and I’m 71. I’ve tried everything including professional care but it is so instilled in my soul and so irrational. I think it is the fear we can’t control the “pop” and we do not like surprises. I have always been open and honest in marriage and relationships but they still don’t get it. I tried like some to make it “desirable” but fear=fetish with woman but unless your woman understand and works with you not to scare your soul, it won’t help. I’m at the point if I wear ear plugs I can face balloons because even though I still hear the noise, my brain is trained to reduced anxiety and I can get through it. That is my only saving grace with this phobia. Yes, I’ve been laughed at and I still avoid any place, parties or events where balloons are possible, but at my age I just have to deal with it as best I can and wished I’ve met a woman who understood phobias and would have been my best coach and friend to live a better life. It is no different than a phobia of spiders and snakes except a fear of balloons becomes social and a daily encounter one lives to avoid. You really never get over it but learn how to “deal” with it as best you can.
Keith says
Hi Bob, I just want to say that I feel your pain. I too have the same phobia and have had it since I was about 4 years old. I’m 60 now and it’s fair to say that it has destroyed my life. I don’t like socializing and struggle every day just interacting with people. This all stems from being afraid to go to parties etc. for fear of having to face my phobia. No one understands. I’ve got grandkids now and dread them having parties. I also have no friends. So anyone reading this who still thinks it’s funny that someone can have such a problem, try living with it for a day and see how you feel.
Kelly Mcleod says
Hi Keith, I know how you feel. I don’t understand why I’m terrified of balloons. I now have two children of my own, and I try my hardest not to let them see that I’m terrified.
I wish I could get some help. I actually hate going to party’s, or I just don’t go. I absolutely love a good party, but this has now gotten so bad.
I have no other fears, just this one. I thought I was absolutely bonkers.
I hope you’re keeping well.
Kelly
John says
Wow, I’m 71 and have had this fear since a baby. I was in a hospital for the repair of a cleft lip and palate. The baby in the crib next to me, his parents would blow them up and pop them. I had nowhere to hide or get away, and of course, they thought it was fun. To this day, I avoid birthday parties, new years eve parties, circuses, etc. What really makes me mad is when I tell someone they think it is funny and stupid and make fun of me.
Krystal says
So, while I am fine with small balloons, I am terrified of large inflatable objects. Hot air balloons, bouncy castles, even large river rafts. What’s weird is they scare me when they are inflated, but when they are deflated they scare me even more. Watching them be either inflated or deflated sends me into a panic attack. I know my fears are rooted in that stupid Ele-Fun game from 20 years ago and from the kiddy-pillar inflatable. Those things look like freaking monsters.
Dirrey says
I have a question, does that also happen to you with things like inflatable pool toys (like the classic air mattress or inflatable unicorn)?
Taylor says
YES! For me it happens with anything that has the freedom to move with the wind.. canopies, pool toys, balloons, swings.
Sarah says
I am so glad I have found this article and to know I am not alone. I have had this fear for as long as I can remember. My mum told me that when I was a toddler she took me to a circus and a clown popped a balloon right in my face. I can’t remember it but she said I screamed so much we had to leave. Birthday parties were always a nightmare as a child and unfortunately despite the fact my mum remembered the clown incident my parents didn’t understand my absolute terror of balloons and thought my phobia was ridiculous (despite them both having different phobias of their own that we all had to respect). Every party the ‘balloon modeling man’ would be booked because he was cheap and there were several of us kids! I would hide in terror even though it was often my party. I am now in my 40’s and still have this phobia. It has lessened slightly over the years but of course now I have a family of my own I am again forced to endure balloons at kids parties and again feel the increasing anxiety levels and dread when balloons are present. My other half is thankfully very understanding and will help to remove me from any stressful situations where possible. I am so sorry for all you young people with this phobia as it is very real and not to be laughed at or teased about. I bet a lot of your schoolmates have equally bad phobias such as of spiders or heights and wouldn’t enjoy having fun poked at them. It does get easier to deal with age as with many things that are difficult do as you get more choices with age, so hang in there and seek help with your phobia if you can.
Anonymous says
Hi Sarah, that’s for saying this, I am still only in my teens, and it’s so annoying every time I have to reply saying, “I can’t go” or “I don’t want to go.” It’s really painful cause I’m really missing out on memories. I’m lucky enough to have just one friend that understands, but nevertheless, I can’t just rely on them cause that would be unfair. But yes, I don’t know why it isn’t treated like a fear of spiders or heights. People don’t go up to someone with a fear of spiders and just chuck spiders at them, but someone’s afraid of balloons? Let’s torment them and only make their fear worse. I don’t know what is wrong with people and double standards.
Yvonne Moses says
My wife is afraid of Hot Air Balloons. It started with and traumatic indecent that had to with her being molested. Now if she sees a balloon she immediately needs to hide from it. This is really scary if she is driving and sees one because she turns the wheel to get away from it. I’ve had to grab the wheel a few times and keep her from wrecking us from trying to get away. I am always on the look out on nice days and hope I see it first. If she knows about it then it is not as bad, so family will let us know if they see one out and about. Summer is always looking at the sky for us. Any advise or groups we can join.
Melissa says
I have had this fear as long as I can remember. I dislike the smell. I hate the loud squeaking sound it makes when it is rubbed. I abhor the popping sound. Even in the presence of just one balloon, my heart rate just skyrockets and I start wanting to cry. Classmates just laugh and tease me and I think they are the lowest of the low.
D Dan says
Hello. I like to fill big and very big balloons, but I’m afraid of the bursts. I’m trying to overcome it alone but it’s not easy. I need to do it hidden and dedicate myself more. I’m from brazil, does anyone know any discussion forum with Brazilians who also have this phobia? Thank you for your help.
Joao Rodrigues says
Hi Daniel,
I am Portuguese and am going through the same, trying to get over the fear by bursting big ones. Let me know if you want to chat :)
Dani says
I hate balloons. My hands start shaking and I get really sweaty and nervous around them. I don’t like hearing the squeaky noise or any other kind of noise people make with them. My cousin told me when I was a few months old and balloons popped that I would cry. Then when I was about eight or nine, my dad didn’t like that I was afraid of balloons and said well it’s just rubber and air. I said not for me. He wanted me to squeeze one. Thankfully it didn’t pop. Then I was supposed to blow one up. That one popped in my face. It only made the fear worse. I don’t have a sense of smell, glad I can’t smell that latex. Just like somebody else said, I don’t have a problem with the foil ones either. Just the latex ones. They are so scary. I’m visually impaired and have a guide dog who is also afraid of balloons. She’s not a dog who likes to run around and pop them if she happens to find one. We were going down the street one time, it was a little windy. She’s doing her job and stops and I reach out to feel if there’s an obstacle there. Didn’t find anything. The wind blows and I hear balloons rubbing against each other. They must’ve been tied to a fence on or near a sign. Just made it difficult but I had to be the stronger one since we both had the same fear. I had her bring me around that I had to keep encouraging her both for my fear and for hers. Oh my god what if one pops over and over in my head. Broke out in such a sweat. Needless to say on the way back home, we walked on the other side of that street.
Kohagura says
Is it bad that I thought this was more common? I wasn’t always afraid of balloons though, like I remember enjoying them normally as a kid, but some time between preteenhood to late teens (probably coinciding with my clinical depression and social anxiety disorder peaking), I started to gradually become extremely afraid and nervous with balloons, to the point it became like that feeling where you are sitting in a movie that you are anticipating a jump scare, but it is delayed, but you know it’s gonna happen and soon. That is the feeling I get when I’m too close to a rubber balloon. That strong almost-physical feeling in your head when you’re falling asleep and feel like falling off a cliff, but prolonged as long as the balloon remains there.
Tanya says
My boyfriend just told me he has this phobia. He’s 19 and says he wants me to help him with it. The only thing is, I don’t really know where to start. He also said he has a fascination with balloons. I can’t fully understand how someone can be terrified of something and at the same time, be fascinated with it. I really want to try and help him, hopefully someone here feels the same way and can give me some advice.
Tray says
Tanya, maybe you should start by having deflated balloons in his life. Once he gets used to that, start bringing out the inflated balloons. I think using water balloons outside can help in reducing the noise. Then bring him to places with balloons if he is comfortable. Although this can take years it is worth to help.
JOHN DAWSON says
Hello Tanya. I understand completely what you are saying as I have been the same since I was about 5 years old. It started with a scare then developed into a phobia and finally when I did start to work my way out of it the fascination started. It was a long haul and back in the day there wasn’t even any internet to find these things which helps a lot nowadays so I used to think I was weird and a freak. I did have girlfriends too and of course they were like you and quite ok with balloons. I do remember mentioning it to one girl and she did think it very odd and didn’t understand. Finally my now wife came along and was my saviour with balloons. It took a lot of understanding on her part and a lot of work with balloons for a very long time but we got there. Tell me if you want me to go into detail about how we went about it and how the fear and fascination thing affected me and I can dedicate a more in depth reply to it here if you like or elsewhere if it suits any better. Good luck with it and I hope you find a solution.
Nick says
Dear John, it was really interesting reading your comment but could you go more in detail because i really want to know how you got over your fear. I also want to get over it! I’m looking forward to hearing from you, Nick
Patrick says
Actually, he has a balloon fetish. He needs to see YOU play with balloons and probably even pop them for him, and take it to the pleasures level.
If you/he are seeking for a cure, the only cure is by exposition. Pop after pop after pop, till he gets used to it. Advice: he won’t loose the fear, but he will get used to the pops. So, do mass poppings. If you pop only one at a time, you will not succeed with the healing. For example, pop 15 balloons in a sequence. Then, repeat, till you can get to pop only one. There will be suffering, but he’ll be used to it.
After all, balloons, neither pops, will kill you. But they could make you two guys enjoy life very much. And you might as well enjoy the benefits of the balloon fetish.
JOHN DAWSON says
Hi Tanya. I have the exact same situation and have had a fear of balloons since as a small boy here in Scotland, a balloon burst in my face and it traumatised me. The odd thing is that as years went by I found that I still felt highly stressed when balloons were around. Especially when someone was blowing balloons up near me and I couldn’t really get away. I then got into my mid teens and decided that I had to do something about it as I had never blown a balloon up. I used to buy a packet of balloons in a shop then go and try to get the courage to blow them up in private. As I got a little confidence I was able to blow the balloons bigger then actually master the art of tying them. This brought me out in a sweat as I felt the balloon would go bang at any moment. Once I had done that a few times I realised that I was likewise fascinated by balloons and found them in fact to have a strange effect on me. I wont go into it but suffice it to say that I found that girls blowing balloons up was very attractive. When I met my now wife I felt I had to tell her the whole story and she said to me not to worry. She came in one night from work with a bag of balloons and after tea said to me to sit down and relax. She had the balloons and I started to sweat a bit. With no one else in the house it was a good chance to try to help me. She said she had no fear of balloons at all and that she promised that she wouldn’t burst any by blowing them up too big. At first she blew them to about half size then squeezed them a bit to show me how tough they can be then she would blow the balloon further and then finally make it the biggest safe size she would normally blow a balloon up to. I trusted her infinitely and found that I soon wasn’t afraid of her doing it. I’m lots older now but am still nervous of balloons being blown up but she definitely did make my life a lot easier and bearable at the time by just being understanding. She never made me feel like I wasn’t normal because of it.
Best suggestion I can give you is to just understand that it’s not only him who has this phobia and feeling. If you normally blow balloons up to the limit then ease off a bit so they aren’t so tight and he can handle them with confidence. Blow up a good few balloons for him to bat around and get used to handling them. The mix of feelings is unfortunately something I haven’t been able to find an answer to so I just accepted that as it is and lived with it. I hope you have success and that you can be happy. If you need to ask anything then please do.
Tanya says
Hi John, thanks so much for explaining that. I’d really like to chat with you if possible and find out some more about how you overcame your phobia as I’m sure it would help me with my bf. If you like, email me at tanyalin23 at gmail dot com. Thanks.
Thor says
I have had a fear of balloons ever since I can remember, especially those punching balloons attached to an elastic band and it’s not a fear of them popping, it’s their elasticity I think, I don’t know. I remember when I was younger there were these bird things on a long elastic cord that were spun around. I can’t explain but I was terrified of them also. Though I never related the popping of balloons to my phobia, I recall going to a parade with my mom and dad one time when I was younger and when the fire trucks came through with their sirens blowing I was terrified. The sounds of loud sirens do not bother me as much anymore, except on random occasions. I recall just recently I was going to attend an outdoor concert. I started thinking about the drums that would be played and the same intense fear I get from balloons overcame me. Needless to say, I didn’t attend. I still live with the fear of balloons today, though it is often not as intense. I am 61 years old.
James says
I had almost the same experience as many of you. It feels good to know that there are other people like me who have the same fears and same experiences that I do. I hope that all your friends grow to understand who you are and why it is silly and immoral to tease someone over things that are out of their power.
Cecilia says
I am 12 years old and i’ve been globophobic since i was 7 or 8. When i tell my friends that i have a fear of balloons they all say the same thing, “Why? Balloons are so much fun!”. The fact that they have the guts to say that makes me so upset. I recall this one time, my little brother and I got these balloons attached to a rubber band that you would hold on and bang on the balloon. I’m generally not afraid of larger balloons. Only when the balloon starts to deflate is when i start having a mental breakdown. So my dad drew our faces on our balloons and we played with them day and night, when they eventually started to deflate gradually, i got so terrified every time i saw one of them. Then one day when i was watching TV, my older sister went up to me and held my balloon right in my face, like seriously who does that? Then said “Hey Ceci i’m gonna pop it right now” then proceeded to squeeze the balloon so you could see my face on the balloon. I was screaming and crying and hid under the covers but she lifted them off me and continued to squeeze it. That was so low of her to do. Every time i got a balloon (i was never afraid of them when they were large and inflated) i would eventually have a panic attack and ask one of my brothers to pop it while i ran outside and stood on the end of the driveway. I can still handle water balloons. In science last year we did activities with balloons and guess what i did. I crouched in the corner of the room looking pale and shaken. In the future if we ever do a balloon activity in class again, i’ll just go to the bathroom and hide there for 20 minutes.
Nads says
I don’t know when my fear with balloons started to get serious, it’s just that I hate seeing some big balloons knowing how loud the sound of it is when it pops and I think it would hurt. I can still hold the smaller ones but I don’t have the courage to pop it. And I still remember my mom told me a story a long time ago that when one of the helium balloons in their uncles home got stuck in their air-condition it exploded and caused some serious fire. I think maybe that story just add on my anxiousness towards balloons. Then today my classmates made fun of it, they kept on teasing me with a balloon in their hands. They threw it to me and kept asking me to take it but I kept on saying stop but they still didn’t. When I can’t hide the stress and fear I’m feeling, I end up crying in-front of them. It’s really embarrassing and most of them felt sorry for me but one of my friends got angry and started telling me I was just overreacting, that it was just a balloon, that I was still acting like a child. Hearing those words coming from a friend really breaks me. I know it was just a balloon and I also hate that I’m scared, I just cant help it. It really hurts you know, other people judging you because of your fears, they don’t seem to understand me. They think it was not even serious at all, and still continue to make fun of it. Well, here I am wishing it was.
Kelsey says
Same here. My friends and everyone else I know always makes fun of me for it. They always tease me with balloons and calls me a baby. One time my brother kept throwing balloons at my face and wouldn’t stop until I screamed at the top of my lungs and started crying so hard.
Daniel says
I’ve had the fear of balloons popping as long as I can remember. Over the years I tried popping them with limited hearing protection and it still didn’t help much. I can’t afford to do therapy for it, I just want to be able to pop balloons for fun with no fear. I also have a balloon fetish so that just adds to why I want to get rid of my fear. I’ve gotten to the point where I buy balloons once or twice a month and find different ways to pop them in an effort to gradually decrease my fear. Helium balloons have a louder pop sound so I usually get them filled at a party store and take them home to pop. Anyone have other tips for desensitizing myself to the sound of balloons popping?
Axel says
Hiya Daniel, I am Axel. It is nice to hear your story and glad you’re working on getting over your fear of them. I can give a few tips. One is if you can use an electric pump to pop them since the loudest pop is the first, then after a few you should not be as jumpy or at all with hear protection. Try popping balloons that way and then tight inflated balloons. When you feel calm and confident, try a few smaller ones. Work your way up to popping bigger ones, smaller 9, then 12 14 16 18 24 36. The 36s are more expensive so you might use them as a reward. Also use different ways to pop them, sharp objects, sitting, squeezing etc. Also sense your part of the faith sorta speak. You can try timing the pops to your own “Pop”. That way your mind associates the pop with something fun and wonderful. If you want more ideas we can exchange emails. I hope you’re doing well.
Dave says
I’ve been in the same position (I have the fetish and could watch popping on video but couldn’t do it myself). I thought of a way to get over it which was similar to the hearing protection thing but this time, I had earphones in listening to music whilst popping them! I work as a caretaker/janitor. One morning during the school summer holidays, I had to do a job like recycling or something. In the music corridor I found a few purple balloons sitting around left over from something, don’t know what. Anyway, I had my iPod on listening to some music, so I thought I would see if I could pop them myself while the music was on to lessen the noise. So I put my earphones in and turned the music on. I popped one with my hand and it was quite loud but not as loud as I thought it was going to be, as the music was also in my ear. So I popped another one and that was alright too, so I turned the music down a bit, went a little bit more crazy and popped them all in the end (the ‘flooding’ method of phobia treatment) and realised I had finally gone most of the way towards treating my fear. I can’t blow one up until it pops and don’t plan to. But the main popping aspect of pre-inflated balloons I can deal with just fine. I think what helped was that I was in control of it all rather than someone else.
Noodle says
I wish I had the courage to do that. I am also a loner with globophobia. I really want to get over it. Even earplugs or music don’t help much. I’m scared of even popping the smallest balloons.
Leah says
My fear of balloons has nothing to do with them popping, I am afraid of helium balloons because they move with the slightest breeze. I can’t go to the grocery store by myself because the place is full of balloons. I’m also afraid of wind chimes and things that swing. The movement sends me into a panic.
Joseph says
I have very little fear of balloons, it’s just when they pop. I don’t know!
farhana k says
Oh my god! I too have the same fear. Not just popping, but the glitch that I feel when I see the balloons moving in the air.
Christine says
I have been afraid of balloons my whole life. I am now 54 and yup, still scared. I am also allergic to latex, so I sometimes just get away with telling people that I’m allergic. I know.. I have gotten teased a lot about it in my life. Can’t go to parties if I know there will be balloons. My close friends/family will not decorate with balloons, but beyond that I have no control. It sucks. The idea of exposure therapy scares me to death. Getting over my fear by making me be around the thing I’m scared of? Nope. Lol
Jess says
I feel like you took the words right out of my mouth. My phobia is with latex balloons because of the popping, the squeaky noise they make when being handled and because they can generate static electricity (like when someone rubs one on their hair. Also, static electricity is my only other phobia. I’ve also told people I’m allergic to latex just so I don’t have to explain this. My closest friends and family know of course and try their best to respect it.
Tara says
I didn’t use to have this fear but it has slowly grown on me as i work at a party store over the last few years. I do have to blow up balloons at my job but i will take any opportunity to switch with someone at the register and just avoid the balloon counter at all costs but sometimes it’s inevitable. I stand way back when I’m blowing the latex ones up because I’m afraid they’re going to pop and scare the ever loving hell out of me. I’m not scared of it hurting me or anything, I’m just insanely anxious of if and when it’s going to pop and of the sound too. I don’t know if i can get like a doctors note or something for this or if i just have to change my job if it gets too bad. My fear has definitely gotten much worse and it’s awful that i have to deal with it almost daily. My coworkers laugh at me too but that doesn’t really bother me, i just don’t want to be blowing up any balloons.
Lyric says
I can’t do it. I can’t see, or hear them without panic. I don’t even like the way they smell. I try not to even say the word. As soon as I see one I run to the nearest exit. I feel pathetic but in the moment nothing else matters but escape. I HATE them. I don’t think I can ever get over it although I desperately want to.
Poppy says
I can’t relate more. As a schoolgirl, I am constantly harassed by some kids who think that me having panic attacks is amusing. There are a couple of kids who buy bags of balloons at Wilko’s, just to wave them and pop them near me.
Dan says
Oh my! Those are probably the worst bullies I’ve ever heard of! Those panic attacks are quite serious and leads to general anxiety and sometimes mental illness. I suddenly feel lucky to have kept this hidden from anyone!
Sahan says
I know how it feels. I am 16 now and I’ve had the fear since the time I remember. Kids at school always do whatever they can to get balloons and pop them in front of me. I have been skipping year end parties in my school for 9 years straight thanks to those bullies. It may be fun for them but only a person with that condition understands it. Until the day I found this website I thought I was the only one with this.
Xanthe says
I have had this phobia from birth and I’m teased by my family because of it. I hate it! I am tough and not scared of anything else but I cry and run when I see them. Once my brother had a birthday party and had balloons in the hallway and purposely picked one up and threw it at me. I tried to put it back but it popped in my hands. I was crying and I was begging my parents to go outside and shut the door and pop them so I couldn’t see or hear them but they called me a big baby. I was almost 11 at the time. I can also put my leg behind my head and stand up, weird right? I’ve never gone to gymnastics or dance or even cheerleading, I can just do that. It causes no pain to me at all. I can also put both my legs behind my head and sit up without discomfort. One last thing, my name is Xanthe. It’s Greek for beautiful or blond haired, you pronounce it Zan- fee.
Lily says
I had globophobia from a young age and I can’t remember what my trigger was or when exactly it started. For me it was always the fear that a balloon COULD pop at any moment and was totally irrational because when it did happen the moment itself didn’t scare me as much as the build up.
This was starting to restrict my lifestyle as I would avoid situations with balloons as much as possible including birthday parties, certain restaurants and general big events just incase. I’m now 24 and I was starting to worry about how I would start a family without my phobia affecting my childs life. Living with globophobia growing up I’d not really considered that it was with me for life.
After some google searching I came across this website and starting reading the comments initially for support I wasn’t as alone in this as I thought. A combination of some people having sought help overcoming their fear with successful results, and some people in their 50s and 60s still living with globophobia I decided to take action!
I built up the courage to speak with my GP who referred me to a therapist. My therapist simply taught me coping techniques and how to conduct my own exposure therapy. That was a year ago and although balloons do still make me feel uncomfortable I am now much more confident around them. I still continue with my exposure therapy and will need to long term to totally get over my fear but I just wanted to share some encouragement incase anyone felt they were ready to step out and overcome their own fear!!
Sam says
Same, not necessarily the popping that scares me, it’s the anxiety that, at any moment, the balloon COULD pop.
Lo says
My fear of balloons is just the loud pop that can happen.
Aiko says
Holy… you put it into words. I was wondering if i was just a freak for dreading the chance of a balloon popping.
Nathan says
I am 40, and as far back as I can remember, I have been scared of popping balloons. Most any really loud sound that I couldn’t predict was the same (gun fire, fireworks). I can be around a thousand floating balloons, but if something or someone might pop them, I almost go into a panic attack and I get out of the area as soon as possible. My immediate family knew about it, but I never really told anyone else about it. Currently my wife of 13 years had no idea until last year we went to party city to shop for my 5 year old son’s birthday decorations, and one of the workers started blowing up balloons as we were in line to check out. She was talking to the other worker, not really paying attention to what she was doing, and popped the first balloon she was filling. Let’s just say her reaction was not what I was hoping for. She started laughing when I told her what the problem was. I ended up running out of the store. The worker ended up coming outside and explained to the both of us, that it is a very common thing. In the end, my wife felt bad for laughing, but I haven’t been back to any party stores since.
Nathan says
My wife’s reaction, not the worker.
Monica says
I can completely relate to that anxiety of going into party city and the fear of possible balloon popping. My family ignores it and laughs too and disregards how I feel. Needless to say you won’t find me in a room with any latex balloons or even out at Fourth of July.
Bec says
I know the feeling. My husband doesn’t understand that it’s a very real phobia, like heights, clowns and spiders. At the moment my work has balloons up in celebration of an upcoming holiday… I literally had to explain why I couldn’t work in the area that has them and felt so bloody small when my boss laughed about it. It really is awful.
Meowwwie says
SAME! I have a really early memory of me sitting in the car and crying because the fireworks were too loud. Here is a list of things i am afraid of (related to loud and sudden noises):
– Plastic bags popping
– Gunshots, Cannons, or any firing weapon
– Balloons (Only the latex ones. I have become quite confident with the foil ones!)
– Loud, sudden bursts of music on loud speakers
– Fireworks, like i said
– Firecrackers
– Any explosives
– Those popping bag things that come in boxes as packaging
Lol The End
Sahan says
I know how it is. I have rejected all parties I got invited to because of this. Kids at school bully me and think this is fun. I am in deep depression right now.
childhood Mistake says
Made the mistake of watching IT during childhood. Now scared of balloons pretty much forever.
Meowwwie says
Not popping tho… so idk if it’s Globophobia or not…
misty says
I have that too and so has my friend. My name is misty, my friends name is kody.
Holly Packard says
I think I have globophobia. I was about six or seven when my grandma had decided it was a fantastic idea to make chocolate bowls with balloons as the molds. As you can imagine the chocolate was melted and hot. This caused many balloons to pop. After we had gotten about five or six bowls formed and chilled my grandma made me stab the balloons with a knife. Some of the balloons were too small to immediately pop (HOW DOES THAT HAPPEN) and I flinched every time a balloon popped.
I’m a high school student now and I refuse to go to/have balloons at any parties (birthday or otherwise) just for the fear that the people around me will pop the balloons. The last party I went to that had balloons, the kids all held balloons and tried to jump on them and pop them with their feet and butts. It scared the crap out of me and I ended up hiding away for most of the party.
Anyways, I’m not sure I have globophobia since I can be in the presence of balloons and can stand thinking about them or smelling them. When they are still they’re fine, but when people begin moving the balloons I get super scared. I’m terrified of the concept of balloons popping.
Life sucks says
Dude I also have that same fear. I am ok with watching them but if they are too close and especially when someone holds it, I get super anxious that he or she would pop it. I am 16 now and I refused to join my school’s year end parties for 9 years. Kids at school makes fun of me but they never know what a person with this fear has to go through. Day by day they keep bringing balloons. If it keeps happening I’m probably gonna die of a heart attack or might be pushed to kill myself from depression. I have given all hope on ever having a family because of this.
R says
Don’t lose hope. People are especially mean in the school years. I have the exact same phobia as you and I was bullied many years in school. I ended up having a depression. It gets better though. I still have the same fear, but people are more understanding (or should I say accepting). I have very good friends now and they know about this fear. I recently went to my friend’s birthday party. Already when I got the invitation I got nervous. Even though she knew about my fear I thought that maybe she’d forget. I asked her if she would have balloons at her party and she told me that if I came, she’d make sure there were no balloons. Most of my friends don’t really understand my fear and might think it’s a bit weird, but they accept it and they’re considerate about it. I’m sure it’ll get better for you when you get older too, so please don’t lose hope of having a family. It’s a burden to have this fear and it makes things a bit challenging at times, but there are ways around it.
Victoria says
My phobia with balloons is slightly different than most that have been listed here. I’m not afraid of balloons in general, but I am absolutely terrified of balloon art. I can’t even begin to describe the anxiety I have when someone is twisting those long skinny balloons into a shape! And the noise it makes? Horrible! I just wait and wait for the thing to pop. Even if it doesn’t, I’m scared of the balloon creation afterwards.
Jenn says
I’m 32 years old and I’ve been afraid of balloons for as long as I can remember. From other kids popping them next to my face, throwing inflated balloons at me, throwing the balloon debris at me, classmates found ways to make me freak out. When we would have field day and had to carry balloons with a partner standing back-to-back, I would refuse to participate but be forced to by my teachers because I was being silly. And every time, my partner would make sure our balloon popped so we’d have to do it several times. I would have tears streaming down my face but was not allowed to not participate.
Fast forward. Now I’m a Physics teacher at an all girls school and for one part of a lab on static electricity, the students are supposed to blow up balloons, rub them on their hair, and see where they can get them to stick. As you can guess, this is my least favorite part. And I tell my students at the beginning that I will be talking them through that section as I have a fear of balloons, and I won’t even handle the bag of the balloons because I can’t stand the smell now. So as I’m instructing my students, I am shaking from head to toe in fear that a balloon will pop or touch me and I feel nauseous from the smell. At the end of the lab, I tell my students they can pop their balloons only after I step out of the room and they have to clean up all of the debris. And they do. They wait until I’m in the hallway and have my ears covered before WWIII Balloon edition ensues.
A couple nice things about telling my students about globophobia: 1) the look of relief on a girl’s face when she now knows what her fear is called; 2) the girls will dive (seriously, volleyball style) after balloons that get away from them to keep the balloon from touching me; 3) students will warn me before a pep rally or school event if there will be balloons dropping from the ceiling or on the floor so I can avoid them. I seriously need to rework that static electricity lab to remove balloons….
Eilidh Scobbie says
In school my class were recently meant to do the activity you described with balloons and I panicked as soon as I realised what we were about to do (one of my friends had warned me a couple of weeks ago that they had used balloons in science) and I didn’t even have the courage to tell the teacher about my phobia and had to get the person next to me to tell them and the teacher just looked at me as though they thought it was a joke. We didn’t end up doing it but one of the boys in my class came to me at the end and told me to stop ruining everything as we had already not done certain experiments with balloons because of me. Then earlier today in design technology we were making and firing rockets with compressed air and I had to leave the rest of the class to go and sit in another room because of how loud they were and some of them would explode if they weren’t made properly. This happened only two weeks after two more people had joined our class and they kept mocking me after the lesson because I had left. I really wish I would get some kind of warning before we are going to use balloons in school as this was the fourth time I have entered class to find we are using them.
Caleb B. says
I heard that when you rub your head on a trampoline, your hair gets static electricity and stands up.
Belinda Stacks says
I’m terrified of balloons. I don’t know why, I’ve never had a traumatic experience with them. Just one day someone handed me a balloon and I froze! I couldn’t even let go of it. I was about 25 years old and I was so embarrassed. Even sitting here reading this I feel my anxiety raise, my stomach hurts and I’m clenching my teeth. I miss out on so much because of this phobia. Work events, church parties. Luckily my family understands and they never have balloons at the grandkids parties. It’s so embarrassing when I walk into a room with balloons, I actually scream, cry and curl into a ball. I can’t even run away, I just freeze.
Lucy says
I have globophobia and I hate Having it. The fear Devoloped when I was 7 years old.I lived in the the Hospital until I was 10 months old. My mom had thrown a birthday party for me.After the party she asked me to round up all the balloons and bring them to the kitchen. I was a little weary about doing it, but I did it anyway. I was Putting the last balloon down when my mom picked up a kitchen knife. I was curious so I watched her. When the balloon popped I cried my eyes out and ran to my room. I think that is how my Globophobia fear started/devoloped.
Sonic says
Same thing kinda happened to me! My mom told me to pick up the balloons, and put them under the Christmas tree. And i’m scared of balloons, so i was nervous to pick it up. But then, my dad picked up a knife, and i watched him. Then, i saw him about to pop the balloon. I was screaming ”NO! NO!!!” But he still did it. My mom told me i have this fear because a balloon popped in my face when i was little! :(
Matko says
I had globophobia since kindergarten because when a balloon exploded it was very loud for me since the noise disturbs me. All children laughed into my face because i had the fear and i am really sad about it. I don’t have Globophobia anymore but children still remember me as “Kid who is afraid of balloons like some baby”. I don’t know what to do.
Firstname Lastname says
Stephen King’s It
findlay says
Hi everyone,
I had a fear of balloons for over 30 years and to this day I feel as if it ruined a large portion of my life.
Happily, I was able to overcome my fear about nine years ago now with the aid of a wonderful hypnotherapist and three hypnotherapy appointments.
My only regret is that I didn’t seek this assistance sooner.
So, if you are reading this and have a balloon phobia, don’t wait another second, get some help, whether it be a hypnotherapist or a psychologist, it’s worth taking the risk of a little more embarrassment, to defeat what is an insidious fear.
All the best.
Lily says
Hi, I know you left your comment ages ago but you really inspired me to get treatment for my fear and I now feel a lot more confident around balloons. I’m still a work in progress but it’s helped me out so much in general life so just wanted to say thank you!
HB98 says
I had this fear since I was 14 I’m almost 30 and I didn’t know it was a real fear. People and the therapists I went to all laughed at me when I told them why I was afraid of balloons. I haven’t tried hypnosis yet but maybe one day I will. It’s the big balloons you see at like weddings/concerts/car dealerships that I’m afraid of, small balloons I can deal with. It’s not so much the popping but the inflating part that scares me. I’m also afraid of pregnant woman cause they look like they swallowed big balloons. I’m not afraid of HAB cause I am a pilot so I don’t know if this counts as globophobia.
Vincent says
I think my fear started when I was about 5. I was at my 5th birthday party and there was this girl I was going to school with named Amanda. I can’t remember why, but I got in trouble and my dad told me to go in his room. As I stood there facing the wall I could hear MY birthday balloons popping. The more I cried the more she would do it. They told me she would stop if I stopped crying. Eventually I did and there were only a few balloons left. I believe that is the root of my fear. However, a few years later, my dad was with a woman named Linda who had a son named Brandon. For a while he was cool, until he put me through the same trauma. It wasn’t until age 10 or 11 that I got the confidence to get over this already. I visited my mom every other weekend and she was with this guy named Rick who had two kids, Matthew and Brianna. They knew of my fear and were the first to not make it worse. Instead every weekend (until we got banned because they made a mess and the cat kept choking on them) we would pop and play with them. Fast forward to present day, I still have remnants of the fear, but it’s pretty suppressed. I can stick one with a sharp object and squeeze, but I am not much a fan of the latter. I think the reason sticking it with a sharp object is easier for me is it’s quick and I don’t have the chance to anticipate the pop which I think is the real trigger for most. As I read above, there are a few of us (including myself) that don’t get scared when we don’t see them coming. The reason is because we can’t think about the fear of it happening. For those of you who fear it unconditionally it could (but I won’t guarantee) have to do with good hearing. If a sound seems louder to you it is more likely to make you jump out of your skin. Think of it as a kind of threshold volume. We all have it and when it’s reached, expected or unexpected for some, it causes us to jump. This plays into my not so good experience listening to fireworks on the 4th of July. I wouldn’t call that a fear though (even though I associate it with the sky breaking and the world coming to an end lol). My best bet for people who still suffer from this: find somebody to help you who won’t judge you and is willing to do it with you. You have to be in your comfort zone and at your own pace otherwise it will only add fuel to the fire. Doing it with somebody who you can trust may kill two birds with one stone by eliminating the fear and creating awesome memories. I hope somebody out there found this helpful.
Kylee says
I’m 15 years old and my fear of balloons is different then what I’m reading. Honestly I didn’t know this was an actual fear. The story starts back on my fourth or fifth birthday when my grandmother bought me this beautiful Hawaiian flower balloon. We were outside throwing a pool party and I kept telling her to hold the balloon tight because I loved it sooo much and didn’t want it flying away. She promised me it wouldn’t. Well, next thing I know it’s up in the sky… I was crying and crying… sadly I still get upset over it. My fear is balloons being outside or in places with high ceilings, like Walmart. The day before Valentines day my dad took me to Walmart and balloons were everywhere. None were really tied down so there were a couple touching the high ceiling. My heart started beating really fast, so I looked down the entire time. Not wanting to embarrass myself by asking to leave I stuck through it. Thankfully he didn’t ask me to hold the balloon he got my mom when we left. I just feel like I can’t breathe when balloons are outside like that..
Nick says
Kylee I have the same fear of having balloons be unattached or at night places
Maria Lella says
I’m 18 now and I still have my fear I love. Balloons but if I see one squeeze or about to it pop I freak and cover my ears. I was at work one day this girl grabbed a balloon and I was near her she popped the balloon and I was shaking for an hour but it’s weird cuz I love to get them but I hate with people around them. How do I get over this I wanna live a normal life and not keep on looking over my shoulder.
Brianna Dennis says
ME TOO, I crouch down and cover my ears and my heart starts racing. I tried to get over my fear by inflating a balloon and popping it myself with a stick pin; if I kept doing it, I could probably get used to it over time, but doing it just once wasn’t enough.
Anonymus says
I’ve got the same, for me it came so far that I don’t dare get on the street so only when I cycle to school and from school back home I’m outside but I feel sometimes like I do want to play with a balloon but I don’t dare inflating one. I might like them if I were alone but just like you, I’m freaking out as soon as someone else gets closer, But it aren’t only balloons for me. Also fireworks and everything else that (can) pop.
Kendra says
My name is kendra and i am afraid of balloons. I am 12 years old. A few weeks ago i was in science and we had to make a parashute but we had to use a balloon and i was going to blow one up but i passed out. Then i woke up and everyone started popping them. It was so embarrassing :*
Meowwwie says
Yes once at church there were balloons tied around everyone’s ankles and they tried to put one on me but nope! I sat with the teachers, covering my ears and crying. Btw i’m 12 too. Oh that brings me to the 2nd day of 6th grade lol not the first. My gym teacher had the brilliant idea to bring balloons to school for everybody to inflate and play with (and obviously pop because of course they’re gonna pop it). I ran and hid behind the basketballs, covering my ears. My hiding spot wasn’t that great so the teacher saw me and said in front of the whole class: “Oh, are you ok? Do you want a balloon?” No of course i do not want a balloon! But then she had to take it a step further and called my teacher all the way from my classroom to come talk to me. The only thing she said was “Are you scared of them?” And they thought i was afraid of the texture of the balloon like what, no look i’m covering my ears! So then my classmates saw me and all brought their balloons over to step on them right in front of my face! For whatever reason they thought this was funny and no the teachers didn’t stop them. They thought i was joking or something idk what they wanted from me. A reaction? No, thank you! And now, if i ask them, “Oh, do you remember the 2nd day of 6th grade?” Then they say “Nope”. I’m the only one who remembers cause I’m the only one who suffered! If I tell them “Don’t you remember you all bullied me with balloons?” Then they’ll all laugh and recall the time and say it was funny. It wasn’t. Not for me. They think it’s a joke or something i don’t think they know it’s a real fear or they’re just too dumb to understand what the heck fear is! Sry lol i’m just so mad uggh. I’ll trap them all in a closet or put them all in a helicopter I need revenge! But yeah anyways that’s my rant about the 2nd day of 6th grade hope you liked it.
Hecate Duece says
I’m 13 and my fear started when I saw Willy Wonka and the Chocolate factory. I was 7 and the part where violet turned into a blueberry scared me and that’s why I’m afraid of balloons too. I never saw the newer version of the movie even though I love Johnny Depp. I just wish people understood why I’m afraid. We did the science experiment with balloons and I literally walked out crying. The teacher was understanding but the pupils were a bunch of little.. and started laughing and popping them in front of me.
Patricia says
I think it started when I was a very little kid and a balloon popped in my face and I have been terrified ever since. This one time in grade 8 they were doing this game where you tie a balloon to your leg and if someone steps on it your out and I couldn’t contain my anxiety and had to ask to use the washroom so I could hide in there until it was over. Many teachers passed by and I had to tell them that I was afraid of balloons. SO EMBARRASSING. Whenever things like this happen, I just go to the washroom. Whenever balloons are near me, especially when kids are playing with one, I feel so uncomfortable and try and cover my ears and then try and hide the fact that Im covering my ears so I wouldn’t have to tell anyone that that is my fear. The weird thing is, that I only get anxious when I know there is a balloon near me. But if a balloon pops randomly, then I don’t even get scared by the pop sound. Does that happen to any of you? Thanks for reading if you did, and we will all suffer together my fellow globophobes!
jp says
It is actually weird how similar this is to me, I have had the exact same experiences! Whenever I see a balloon or am near a balloon I get anxious and try to cover my ears discretely but if one pops around me unknowingly I am completely fine. I have also been in a situation with the same game and I had to go away to the bathroom, I shit you not. I think when kids play with balloons, I get anxious because they aren’t as careful and could easily accidentally pop one. I know it’s not a rational fear, but still I can’t seem to get over it.
Patricia says
Thank you for replying to me! It makes me feel better knowing someone was in the same situation as me.
Anonymus says
(Sorry if I make mistakes in my text, i’m a 14 year old Dutch boy)
The sound of a balloon pop DOES scare me, but also when a balloon is near me I get anxious. When someone gets close to it I always walk or run away and say I’ll be right back, then at my hiding spot I think about what to tell to the person I was talking with (if I were talking to someone) Also firework or anything else that pops scares me. I’ve been to more psychologists but none of them helped me out. Also when I’m cycling back home I’m afraid when I see someone because I think they might got fireworks or something like that
Aftab says
I have the exact same thing
Meowwwie says
Yes that is my exact problem all of it yes right there.
Brittany says
As a kid I wasn’t terrified of balloons but I was nervous about being around them. I am now 25, a manager at a Party store so i pretty much blow balloons for a living. I get very bad anxiety when I try to blow balloons. My hands get clamy, my hair stands on my arms and I tend to hold my ear closes to the balloon. I really need to get over this. My employees make fun of me for it.
Suzie says
They are the epitome of evil with their squeaking, friction and random popping. The worst is when little kids walk past you and they are CHEWING ON THEM!! It takes all my might not to get violent. Why would anyone chew a balloon?? I have hated them since I was about 7 and I went to a party. The room was full of balloons and the games was to sit on them and pop as many as you can. I can still remember the horror. It was like a war zone.
Gabby says
Im gabby I’ve been scare of balloons since I was 2 months old. I had an ear infection and we were out for Dinner and there was a balloon twist. I’ve been watching balloon YouTube videos and they helped, try it.
Shannon says
My Mom is afraid of balloons. You are very brave to face your fear. Blessed be!
Jennifer says
I’m not alone!! I didn’t even know this was a real (defined) thing! As many of you have experienced, no one takes it seriously and I’m teased a lot. My family encourages my kids to chase me with balloons. It’s not funny. If I’m cornered I will crouch and probably start crying. It is straight up uncontrollable panic. Thanks to everyone who shared! I feel so much better!!
Trym says
I can see that i am definitely late to comment. I never knew of a name for the phobia, and i just looked it up recently.
But it is great to see i am not the only one. Like most others i see commenting i have been scared of Balloons/balloons popping, or settings where balloons could get popped as far back as i remember. And it mostly just got worse for many years. I started getting a bit better since the age of 19 (currently 21). And i had my first horrible experience triggering my phobia in a long time yesterday, so sorry that this is more of a story.
I recently started going to the local mental health office to see a psychologist (depression and stuff). Not a good psychologist for me, and i was considering to stop going, now i know i will because, a Mental health office that helps people suffering mostly with depression, anxiety and ptsd.. should not start popping a ton of balloons while there are patients there.. needless to say my psychologist just told me it was nothing to worry about, just balloons, when i reacted to the popping. I knew it was. So yeah. Feel free to delete this as it is not fit as a comment, just needed to went.
Ps. no problem blowing up balloons, being near them or anything like that if i am alone or with someone i trust won’t pop them.
John Potter says
I have had a phobia of balloons, ever since I was a child. I am glad I’m not the only one. I try to stay away from anyone who has a balloon, or, in some cases, don’t go into shops that have them inflated.
Evelyn Prado says
I have been afraid of balloons ever since I was kid. Now it has gotten worse and it makes me so mad that I’m afraid of them. I can spot them before anyone else see why I’m freaking out. I start to have anxiety sweating hyperventilating. I’m also afraid of loud noises. And I don’t know why.
Anonymous says
I’m the same about any loud noise. My fear of thunderstorms (only the type with lightning) developed before balloons (this one began around age 7 or 8). But for the same reason. Any sudden unexpected sharp sound makes me experience the same symptoms. If the anxiety’s really bad, I experience numbness/tingling/paralysis in my fingers and bottom of my feet. I hate 4th of July cuz I hate fireworks. I hate guns. I hate parties and social occasions with balloons/pyrotechnics. I feel bad when I feel like I’m forced to hole up indoors just to avoid feeling anxious. I’ll be 30 soon and really wanna get over this. It’s limiting.
m says
i’m 16 and i experience the same thing, i hate weddings (because it’s a tradition where i live to shoot few times in the sky when bride is coming home), i avoid kids and balloons in big curves, AND DON’T EVEN GET ME STARTED ON WHOLE THING WITH CHRISTMAS AND NEW YEARS EVE. I am morbidly terrified of firecrackers because i’m always afraid that one will somehow magically hurt me. i know in my head that nothing will happen and all my friends know about the phobia and they are careful with me, but i get so scared, i start trembling, crying, i hear ringing in my ears i even start screaming sometimes, and when i was little it was even worse, i was afraid of any loud noise such as vacuum cleaner, mixer, GOD FORBID IF MY DAD TOOK A DRILL OUT OF THE GARAGE to do something. my mum would have to go somewhere from home with me just so i don’t hear it.
i really need to overcome my fear and i would appreciate if you had tips for me.
Universal Wanderer says
My late mum shot a 44 cal gun into the floor in our house and then told me it was a goddamn balloon popping. Been afraid of them ever since. I can handle them from a distance, but hate them near me. Thanks Mom.
Eilidh Scobbie says
Hi, I have the same weird 6th sense where I can just sense where a balloon is or when there is going to be balloons somewhere. My friends often don’t believe me when I say that there is a balloon somewhere and I always have to tell them exactly where it is before they do believe me.
Dana says
Ive had this fear all my life and nobody seems to understand. My brother thinks that im doing it for attention and my dad thinks im a wimp. I was in science the other week and the sink was full of balloons. I couldnt leave so i just sat there shaking and breathing heavily. Im just so glad there are lots of other people like me.
Aj says
I have this fear now aswell and its horrible and I wish I didn’t have it. My fear of balloons is when it pops. I hate it so much. But it’s not just balloons, it’s every loud noise. Today at school one boy brought in loads of balloons and in all of my lessons today, they kept popping them. This happens every summer. And they don’t listen to the teachers either. My mum said just walk out, my teacher assistant said you have to try and cope, but I’m finding it all so hard. Someone please help me 😢
Anonymous says
I’ve had a fear of balloons since I can remember. Even in videos my father took of me as a baby I was screaming when they attached a balloon to my high chair. One day my friend started hitting me in the face with a balloon about 10 times to make a joke out of it. I told her to stop and I was squealing like a baby.
Anonymus says
Does your classmate know about it? My classmates know about it and when they forgot it and bring balloons they put them away (out of the classroom otherwise it isn’t good enough for me) and otherwise tell your teacher as soon as you know what lesson and what day it is and maybe you can find a solution. Btw all of your roommates sucks if they know and still pop them
Majd says
I’m kind of relieved now i know that there are other people like me.
I think that we globophobes must help each other coming over our fear, i suggest that each one of us state where we live so if someone lives near you, you can help each other.
For me i live in the united arab emirates, if someone lives there too please reply to me so we can help each other.
Vanessa says
My name is Vanessa and I’m afraid of balloons. When they pop it bothers me but I really need help not to be afraid you know.
Beth says
My boyfriend recently told me that he has globophobia. I kinda already knew that, since he always stays away from them and asked me not to have any at a recent party. I guess he was in therapy when he was a kid and he says it’s “manageable” now. What I didn’t know is that he also gets really turned by balloons! I’m trying to understand; he says it’s about conquering his fear. He sometimes even masturbates with them, but he’s absolutely petrified of one popping.
Does anyone have any advice on how I can help him with this? I feel like I’m walking on eggshells even bringing up balloons with him. I’m worried I won’t know how to react if he ever has a breakdown, like if we’re out in public and one pops nearby.
Carl jhonson says
Yep me too… My story is exactly like yours… I was so afraid of them… Now I have a fetish for them… Still was afraid to pop one… But I’m slowly overcoming it. Its a big turn on to conquer a fear :)
Guy says
I found myself too having this fetish. Since I was very young, can’t remember the exact age, I’m really afraid of any loud and sharp explosion-like noises. I was trying a therapy with a psychologist, and in some level she asked me to inflate them myself. After lots of tries and anxiety I have managed to do it, and much time after the therapy ended, I felt like I “miss” it, and tried to blow some balloons privately. Not a lot of time after is when I found out about the balloon fetish. My girlfriend knows about it and about my fear and she really helps me when something happens in public. I am still very teriffied and anxious about balloons when they are in others hands, but with her help (hours at home), I now can blow and tie balloons and stay in the room with them without running away.
If you want to help your boyfriend with it (and maybe even make it become funny and interesting for him), contact me privately and I’d love to help.
D says
If you are to that point in your relationship with him, I would encourage your participation with him. I too have the phobia and fetish. My partner thinks it’s weird, but participates. I’m a non popper. I really enjoy intimate time with her and balloons. I think she is warming up to it as well.
Vanessa says
My name is Vanessa and I’m afraid of balloons. I don’t like when they pop. I am in a wheel chair, I have cerebral palsy. I’m 13 yrs old. I’m a afraid when they pop but I want to know what I can do to get over my fear of balloons. I don’t know but when I was little I was not afraid of them. I don’t know if I got scared by one. I would like to get therapy for the fear. I need a therapists phone number.
andy says
I had a very severe case of globophobia as a child. If I would enter a room where there was even one balloon I would be paralyzed with fear. I would stare at the balloons the whole time, making sure they were not going to get me. My phobia started from my much older brother popping them over my crib as a baby. When I was in high school I started to feel like it was senseless to be so afraid of something that little girls weren’t usually afraid to play with. So I forced myself to start being around balloons. I would buy deflated balloons. I would blow them up with a little air pump, and then play with them eventually letting them float away in the breeze. I eventually got to the point where I was able to blow the balloons up to max capacity and found that even though they scared me they also were very cool. They defy gravity in a way that most things can’t. I eventually would put a blanket over the top of them and pop them until eventually I was able to pop them without the shield. I am now completely fearless of balloons. I even blow up balloons and deliver them for a local florist. I took something that was ruining my life and turned it into such a positive. I nowadays order the bigger balloons and those are what I give to friends and family because they are what I like to call longer flyers. They will float with helium for a week at a time. I wanted to share my story to let you all know that I have been where you are. I have had friends and family that laughed and tormented me mercilessly, but you can get cured, there is hope.
Guy says
Hi andy. If it is possible, how can i contact you privately?
Anonymus says
For me the beginning part of the story is exactly the same, but only I’m for the 7th time in therapy and it still hasn’t helped me out, people living near me know about it and always make fun of me. They also got fireworks and when they see me they tell me to cycle away very fast or they’ll blow up their fireworks. I’m 14 years old and I really don’t know a solution. When I cycle home from school I cycle as fast as possible and I only come to (birthday) parties when there are no balloons.
Rose says
When I was a small child I LOVED balloons. About 3 years old I had tubes placed in my ears because I was born with no holes in my ear drums. (I was a premature baby). So I thought hearing things pop was wonderful. Then I started hating them after a while because they made my ears ring when one would pop near me. I started forming globe phobia when I was 12. (I’m 16 now). I could handle fully inflated balloons and balloon related games near me as long as I didn’t have to hold one. My parents never knew about my fear until I was 14. At my 14th birthday party, my parents organized a surprise birthday party game. The game involved almost 200 balloons that had to be popped by guests to find a secret message to win a prize. Where the game was held at was a lobby at the community center in my neighborhood. Well, that room echoes sounds and makes them sound louder than the actual sound is. So people started popping balloons and I had to run to the bathroom and I bawled my eyes out because it hurt my ears so much. I couldn’t hear anything for five minutes because my ears hurt so bad.
Every time I see a balloon, it brings me back to that one day. Now just thinking about balloons makes me extremely anxious and I’ve tried calming myself down but I can’t. I go back to that memory and it seems like I can’t stop it. So I can’t touch, see, or hear a deflated or inflated balloon. Last week, my boyfriend took me to his homecoming dance and I didn’t know balloons were gonna be there. Plus I never told him about my phobia. None of my friends knew about it either.
Anyway, my boyfriend shoved a balloon in my face and I pass out from a sudden panic attack. (I know, it sounds weird to pass out from a balloon bein in your face) I woke up five minutes later to my friends shaking me awake and the balloon was still sitting on top of the table right next to me. I jump out of my seat and grip onto one of friends as tight as I can. It was probably the most embarrassing moment I’ve had this year so far.
My friends all looked at me like I was crazy and my boyfriend laughed while he shoved the balloon in my face again, thinking I passed out from my Type 1 Diabetes. I passed out again and slump on my friends shoulders and that’s how they figured it out.
Maria Lella says
What did ur boyfriend say about it when he found out because Idk what to do should I tell mine or no let him figure it out himself
Anonymus says
Tell him if you haven’t yet, it’s only better for yourself. It won’t be nice to start the conversation but you’ll feel nice afterwards. Also you can’t hide it forever
Andrew says
I had this fear up until about age 15. From an early age, I was nervous of them busting. One event used to really bother me – so much so that I occasionally would make excuses not to attend school parties.
During the party, I would dreadfully await one particular game. There were two teams that would race to a chair and sit on a balloon. I remember one time as I approached my turn, my scaredness became overwhelming fear.
Nerissa says
I wonder if claiming you have a severe latex allergy rather than a fear of balloons would help people as those who only have an issue with latex balloons. I myself have to go out of my way to avoid latex balloons due to a life-threatening allergy to natural rubber latex. I even have a service dog that sniffs out latex and warns me to its presence. I have never had an issue with people teasing or bullying me because of my allergy so it occurs to me that it may help people with an irrational fear of balloons to completely avoid latex products and claim an allergy. At least it would give them time to work on overcoming their fear without being harassed about it.
Vanessa says
How did you get over the fear?
jacob says
It’s such a silly fear I feel. I’m in my 20’s and have had this phobia as far back as I remember. When I was younger it wasn’t so bad but as I’ve grown older, I have become more of an anxious/nervous person and dealing with this silly fear hasn’t been an easy task. I attend a lot of parties and events and the main thing that comforts me is ignoring them and keeping my mind busy but there has been a few times when I had to remove myself from the event.
steven says
I can understand where you are I went to an xmas party today with those ballons that you let go and make a noise while flying around the room left me annoyed and upset. It all affects me and I am 43 years old. I have had this fear of balloons all my life. Its not silly its a real fear called Globophobia.
Melissa says
Wow, I know what my fear is called.
Verena says
I am not alone and am receiving counselling for my fear.
Reaching out and starting to talk about it and knowing the symptoms is helping me.
Chris says
I hate balloons! To make matters worse my parents think it’s a silly phobia and always pick on me, I also had friends that either help keep away balloons or bring them up to me and start chasing me around. Any time I see a balloon I cover my ears like an idiot and start getting ready to cry, but I hate it when someone brings one up to me and I start yelling at them, which is a lot to say because I hate being rude. I don’t even know what started it, the only balloons I’m not afraid of are water or REALLY deflated ones.
lori wennfield says
I have globophobia and so does my sister. Whenever I see a balloon, I run away plugging my ears. A friend once blindfolded me and told me she wanted to play a game with me. I said okay, and she popped a balloon close to my ear. I screamed and started crying. My friend said “What’s so wrong with you? It was just a silly game where you had to guess what you heard! Jeez, stop acting!”. Then I told her that I had globophobia, and she started laughing at me. We stopped being friends, and to this day, we haven’t made amends. She’s really mean nowadays.
Hailey says
I’m so glad that I’m not the only one with the phobia. I told my work colleagues and they gave me a weird look and laughed at me. I avoid children’s parties as I know there will be balloons there, but if it comes down to it and I have to go to a party and there are balloons and one bursts, then I will walk out and not go back in. It’s so humiliating! :(
jamie says
For me as a child I hated popping balloons, but I don’t think I was afraid of them.
The older I get the worse my fear seem to become. At first it was just the popping, but soon it became the sound of people inflating them. Now I can’t even touch a deflated balloon without having a panic attack.
Barbara says
I hate balloons. I am 66 years old and have hated them since I was a very small child. I would not go to parties because I thought there would be balloons and some would pop! I do not mind deflated or water balloons, only air filled ones that will pop unexpectedly. I just stay away from them if possible.
Sue says
I’m 66 too. I won’t go to events where there are balloons. If I go somewhere and they are there I go home.
Kalidam says
I was in 3rd grade and I had a double ear infection when I was smaller, I had tubes in my ears and so my ears were very sensitive, a kid snuck up to my right ear (the more sensitive of the two) and popped a balloon right there. I never really warmed up to balloons after that and I stayed away from them, this year my health class was given some balloons so about 15 people had balloons and were playing games and running with them. I got shaky and I knew I had to stay away from the balloons and people noticed I had a distressed look and was staying a long way away from people with inflated balloons, so they came up, balloons half inflated and asked if I was ok, I kept backing away the closer they got. Eventually they asked if I was afraid of balloons, I said yes and asked if they could back away and just stay on the other half of class, they did and one of my friends started coming up to me asking if I wanted her balloon, I got so scared I started backing away furiously and said “No can you just keep it away from me please?” she stopped. Later another friend of mine rubbed a balloon on the back of my head, I screamed very loudly and ran, I almost cried, I’m a tough person to make cry so she realized that the balloon was what made me that way, she stopped and walked away saying I was weird. One of my friends who knew I was scared started chasing me with one and I bolted, I mean, I was out of there screaming, she laughed and kept chasing me till she got tired, I was almost in tears. I felt like I was made fun of, it’s not a pleasant phobia and being made fun of isn’t fun, they kept making jokes about how going to birthday parties must suck and how I was lucky I wasn’t at their parties. This fear sucks and I’m going to try to get over it.
James Nankervis says
The same thing happens to me. I don’t mind deflated or sometimes normally-inflated balloons but if I see one that my brain says is too big or even if I see people that I know like giving me a hard time and they have balloons, then I will be out of the place in a matter of seconds. A habit that seems to have originated from when my mum accidentally locked me in the car and had to get a guy with a crowbar to smash a window to get me out (Australian summer heat is a killer, literally). But of course the window didn’t just break, it took quite a lot of bashing before the window shattered. This is what my parents think gave me a fear of loud, sudden noises.
Adam says
Kalidam, I had the same problem, for me it started when my parents took me shopping for my brother’s party when I was around 5 or 6 I was sitting on the cart and they were inflating my brother’s balloons and one of them popped. I freaked out so bad that my dad had to carry me out of the store and sit with me in the car while my mom finish shopping. After that I couldn’t even go into stores that had them already inflated. It wasn’t until maybe 6th or 7th grade that my best friend who had gone through a similar situation told me about some of the things that helped her get over her fears. After a couple days I agreed and we slowly started with just bags of balloons just sitting around the room. After a few weeks I told her we could try to inflate some of them and have me walk into the room. After a lot of failed attempts I was able to gradually be in the same room. After about a month and a half of being able to deal with them my friend had suggested I try holding an inflated one, after I felt comfortable with that she said I should toss it in the air and bat it like a volleyball. About 2 months later I was with my friend and her parents when we walked into a store that had balloons everywhere, my friend realize what was going and asked if i was ok and if i needed to leave she would walk out with me. I told her it was fine and that I will try to deal with it, the next thing i knew my friend and the store owner started to fan balloons over a wall. I freaked a little but i wound up actually picking one up and batting it accidentally right into my friends face. And we both started laughing. The owner told us that he too had a fear of balloons when he was younger and that just being around them everyday helped him ease his fear, before we left he said that we could pick out any balloon we wanted and we could have it for free. My friend picked a Whale shaped balloon and i picked a dolphin mylar balloon, and i actually was the one to ask if we could have them blown up this was the 1st time i ever stayed in the room while balloons were getting inflated. Fast forward to our 8th grade graduation party that my friend and I had together and because we had gotten good grades our parents had gotten us a bunch of whale and dolphin balloons. We all had fun at the party and afterwards my friend and i had gotten all of the latex balloons and had shoved them in my room. About a week later we were talking about our summer plans when i got up to get a drink and stepped on a balloon and it squeaked loudly. When i stumbled from stepping on the balloon i had saw the dolphin that the shop owner had given us a year and a half ago on my side table along with the other Dolphins from the party. The next thing i knew i grabbed the balloon i had stepped on and i sat on it and eventually popped it. My friend asked if i was ok and how i felt and i grabbed another one and popped it. By the end of the night we were both taking turns sitting on the rest of the latex balloons. When we went to events in high school that had balloons i still had a fear but it was mostly from the noise and not from the balloon itself, we would actually try and rescue balloons to take home and decorate our rooms with. Our friends called us the balloon gang. When we graduated from High school i surprised her with the Whale and Dolphin that we had gotten from that store owner as a thank you for helping me. I think what helped me the most was gradually getting exposed to them and gradually stepping it up until you can stand dealing with one in the room. What also made it easy for me is finding someone that not only i trusted but also understood what i was going through.
Clarissa says
I’m a high school student and when I have to work with balloons in class I have a panic attack. When I tell my classmates and teachers they look at me like I’m an idiot. Balloons are really the only thing that can make me cry nowadays.
Mansi says
Well I like balloons but fear starts when someone is about to prick it.
Casper says
I have no problem with fully-inflated or fully-deflated latex balloons. My problem comes when they’re half DE-flated. When a balloon starts to look like a weird, wrinkly blob, then it makes my skin crawl, and I refuse to get near the thing. Especially if it’s a red balloon. I CAN pick them up if I absolutely have to, and it’s better if there’s a string. But it gives me the willies if one of them brushes against me. I usually get someone else to handle them.
I have no idea how this fear started. I cannot recall any event which may have caused it. But as far back as I can remember, I’ve had this fear. And it’s only the latex ones. Mylar balloons are fine.
Kieran says
Yes! That is exactly what my phobia is like. I can hold balloons fully inflated, but if it’s like you described I will not go anywhere near it. And I’ll also steer clear from the remains of a balloon after it’s been popped.
Bill says
Same with me. I am 56 years old and have been suffering with this irrational fear all my life. A partially deflated, leaky latex balloon horrifies me! Strangely enough, a normal, safely inflated balloon I can touch, hold, and handle, although I cannot under any circumstances bring myself to physically pop it. I jump at the sound of a balloon popping, even if it’s in another room, and I am very uncomfortable being near where someone is inflating them. I remember that a balloon popped in my face when I was four, and a piece of latex got painfully stuck to my eyeball, so I can understand my fear of popping, but can’t explain my fear of a ‘dying’ balloon as it wrinkles and shrivels. I have tried, but I cannot bring myself to even touch it, and when I come across one, a wave of cold terror comes over me! Once, I tied a knife onto a yard stick to ‘kill’ one, and even then I had to look the other way.
There may be a link to another phobia in my case…Teratophobia, which is a fear of things that are or becoming deformed. Like, I can have a fully inflated balloon on the floor in my bedroom, and it wouldn’t bother me too much, but if I woke up the next day and discovered that balloon had leaked during the night, becoming shrunken, wrinkled, and misshapen, I would be terrified to go anywhere near it! Just trying to describe this fear makes me feel stupid!
Nicole says
Mine is quite different. I loved balloons as a kid. But I think by the time I became a teenager, I got more fearful of balloons bursting while holding them. More or less the combination of the pain and the unexpected popping that I fear.
Totally fine with balloons when they are not inflated to the max where they could pop. Which means, I can perhaps tolerate a balloon at 75% of its max size. Non max size balloons only tend to leak air even when a needle is used.
I can hold a fully inflated balloon for others, but no one is allowed to be near me lol. And I’ll not approach anyone with a fully inflated balloon in their hands too! So yup, the “trust issue” part is absolutely correct :D
Sofea says
What would happen if I make the person with Globophobia pop the balloon himself without his knowing? What I mean here is maybe with his eyes closed, I make him pop the balloon.
Jacob says
Hi Sofea
As I mentioned in the article, the best self help technique you can use is to gradually expose him to balloons by starting with a deflated balloon and putting more air in it as he becomes comfortable with it, eventually ending up with a fully inflated balloon.
Clarissa says
I know for a fact I would start screaming and crying.
kea says
That’s just cruel. Do you know what it’s like for us? My elementary school years were hell because I’d have kids who had balloons who would gang up on me and trap me in a corner. 6 to 7 of them would pop the balloons in my face one after another. They laughed and teachers thought I was joking. Made it hell. If you asked a globophobe to pop a balloon without them knowing, it would scare them to death. The sound alone is enough to send them into a panic attack. Don’t ever put that to the test, you could kill someone.
Zoe says
That’s not okay and would be extremely mean. This sort of thing happened to me and it annoys me until this day. I worked at a bar once and at the start of my shift, I had to count my cash in the register. One day, I realized I was $1 short, so I told the manager. He came back with $1 in coins inside of a balloon. I didn’t want him to know about my fear, so I brought it to the other side of the bar and was going to put it down in a bin on the outdoor side (out of the way, not visible to anyone). My manager being the ass he is, is standing on the other side of the room and shoots an elastic band to the balloon as I was holding it and it pops. I literally screamed and the coin went flying and landed in front of a customer sitting at the bar. Then he (manager) has the nerve to tell me to apologize for scaring everyone in the restaurant.
When I was in university, someone threw a baby shower for a classmate in an empty classroom. I walked in, saw like 30+ balloons, said nope and left. While I was in the hallway, I heard one pop and started walking faster away. A guy in my class also left after me and I saw him shaking and in distress. When I asked what was wrong, he said a balloon popped. I walked with him to another part of the school and eventually he went home because he said he needed to leave the building. For the first time, I felt like I wasn’t alone.
I feel like balloons should just be banned altogether like plastic straws. They are wasteful and only used once. Wedding shower? Baby shower? Birthday? Use flowers and paper decorations! They are reusable, recyclable, and biodegradable. It’s really such a waste and balloons smell horrible. I hate being at a mall, fair or festival and I can’t even enjoy myself. I’ve been using ear plugs to help with the sound but with seeing them it’s really difficult.
People are really inconsiderate to others and think it’s funny. I have heard a town in Maine has banned balloons.. let’s all move there.
JLT says
I definitely agree with you. I hate balloons and always had. I hate the sound of balloons popping. I was very afraid of balloons growing up. One time it was my Birthday and there were balloons. My sisters, cousins and my mom were blowing them up and I was saying “no please don’t pop them” and everyone started chasing me around with the balloons. I ran into my moms car and rolled up all the windows. I was screaming at them to go away and leave me alone but they were popping the balloons right outside the car. I was screaming so loud at them to stop, go away, please go away, leave me alone. I was so embarrassed and humiliated.
Hannah says
I was terrified of Fireworks as a kid, we would always have to leave if any started as I would cry and make a scene. When I was about 5 I went to a birthday party and was given a cute pink princess balloon to take home. I played with it that evening until it was time to take a bath before bed.
For some reason my dad decided this was the perfect opportunity to “cure” me of my firework phobia. While I was happily playing in amongst the bubbles he decided to take my balloon, sneak it into the bathroom and then burst it in my face. This resulted in a naked me sat there balling my eyes out, and from that moment onwards I was terrified of balloons.
As I got older my dad just said I was being a baby. “It’s just rubber, all it does is go bang. It’s not gonna hurt you” etc. My little cousin thought it was funny, I several years older would be crying, covering my ears and trying to get away while she was busy biting them and letting them pop in her face.
As an adult I still get really uncomfortable, nervous and on edge when I’m near people playing ruff with balloons. And I jump like crazy whenever one pops.