One of the worst things about my phobia was that I had to keep
it secret. When my friends invited me to their birthdays, I had to
say I was busy, because I couldn’t go anywhere near balloons.
I’ve always disliked balloons. But last year I decided that my
fear was out of control, and I had to do something about it. I went
with my mum to see our GP, who sent me to a specialist. A couple of
months later, we had the first of a course of eight “Cognitive
Behavioural Therapy” sessions.
The therapist began by telling me that plenty of people have
phobias and that balloon phobia even had a name (“globophobia”). It
really helped to know that other people had the same problem.
She asked me about my early life and tried to work out how my
phobia had started. We talked about how I react to different
stressful situations, marking how bad I’d feel on a scale of 1 to
10. She explained that my fast pulse rate, and my feeling hot and
tense, and needing to escape were a normal response to stress. She
taught me how to control my breathing, relax and talk to myself
positively to control my anxiety.
Gradually, each week, I had harder things to do – at first just
touching balloons, but by the end of the course - bursting them. On
the way to the sessions I often got quite upset, because I knew I
was going to have to face my greatest fear. It was hard work, and I
nearly gave up.
I still don’t like balloons, and would rather not have them near
me. But thanks to the therapy, I can now accept invitations knowing
that I can deal with my fears.