Fear of clowns: causes and treatment

Circus performances are always great. It would seem where else you can have plenty of fun, if not in this funny place. Between performances clowns always act. These humorous characters are able to attract attention with their jokes and various unusual movements.

However, not all people are able to perceive the bright appearance and jokes of dressed clowns. From their appearance, some are covered with horror that cannot be appeased by anything.

There are quite a few specific phobias. Fear of clowns is called coulrophobia. This term has an English origin coulrophobia and means neologism. Translated from Greek, the same term refers to an actor who is designed to entertain people, walk on stilts and hide his face from the public under a mask.

This type of obsessive state is an irrational fear that can turn into a disease. Fearing clowns is stupid, but there are people who feel either hostility to these characters or panic fear.

For a large number of people, the hypocrites cause positive emotions. However, there is a rather large category of individuals who do not accept the impulses of relatives sending congratulations through clowns. At the sight of a clown, people with a rich imagination can imagine that in front of them is a sinister entity. And it is not for nothing that eminent directors often use the image of a lyceum in order to enhance the effect of fear in the script of an action-film.

Circus artists always give great attention to the audience. Sometimes a clown becomes too intrusive to please children. It is this obsession that can cause both alertness and fear.

The clown mask hides the true emotions of the artist. This is what scares people. The huge mouth drawn is perceived as something threatening, and the eyes encircled by a thick black pencil do not always seem ridiculous.

The appearance of a clown involves a combination of colors, which sometimes cause some alertness at the subconscious level. White complexion, black eyes and a large laughing red mouth. For some, this image may seem ominous. Of course, not all people perceive clowns like that.

Coulrophobia refers to those fears that are fraught with uncertainty. The true face of a person hiding under a mask always remains a mystery. No one can discern the character and true features of the artist. Because of this, many have an imagination.

And as we know, most fears arise in childhood. Perhaps colerophobia, when he was little, frightened the lyceum. Children and even adults can not always react correctly to the humor that presents the unknown. It is the image of the clown that conceals the outlines of the unknown.

The loud laugh of a comedian and his awkward clothes can cause irritation at first, and then fear. Contributing to the development of fear and unnatural behavior of the artist, rather stupid jokes and even tricks. A lyceum behaves like a mentally unhealthy person. A normal individual triggers logical thinking, he perceives the comedian’s jokes as a certain performance, played out according to a certain scenario. And if a person has a tendency to exaggeration and rich imagination, then she can consider in the form of a clown a threat to her health and life.

Coulrophobia occurs for various reasons. However, among them there are the most common. Let's consider them in more detail.

• Children are often afraid of dolls, although they love these toys. Dolls are very similar to humans. Clowns have a lot in common with dolls. Only unlike them, they move and perform certain actions.

To some of the children, they seem ridiculous, and someone starts to cry. It is at this moment that a mechanism can work that will further trigger the development of irrational fear. Therefore, you need to be careful if your baby sees this character for the first time.

• A very big influence on the development of fears has modern television. Horror films with various unimaginable plots contribute to the development of a certain consciousness. Some people say that before watching a horror movie they didn’t even think that clowns could be a threat. Others simply disliked the lyceum, and after watching the picture, where a bloodthirsty comedian was present, they began to experience a phobia.
• If a person cannot imagine or explain something, he begins to experience irrational fear. A kind of makeup, huge shoes hide the real image of the artist, who is hiding under a mask. From here comes the development of an unconscious obsessive state. And this contributes to a rich imagination, which is not characteristic of every individual.

Therefore, this issue must be approached more than seriously. It must be remembered: if your child does not like it when they violate his personal space, then it is better to refuse close communication between the child and the actors. The clown’s behavior contains annoyance, loud laughter, and this can be very frightening for a child.

From birth, children get used to looking adults in the eyes. So they determine the true attitude of an adult to himself. And the image of a clown provides for some mystery.Under the make-up it is difficult to determine the mood.

A creepy red wig and a red nose in the form of potatoes only enhance the mood of suspense. The appearance of a comedian does not inspire confidence, for this reason, caution first sets in, and then fear.

If the child is brought up correctly, then he will gradually become curious about the world around him, then he will not be afraid of the unknown, but will ask more questions. From this, his horizons will expand, and he will not be afraid of coulophobia. If this is not done, then fears will develop into self-doubt. The child gradually closes, becomes uncommunicative. And such behavior will adversely affect his mental state in the future. And this should not be allowed in any case.

Coulrophobia is a rather dangerous mental condition. The sight of a clown causes horror in a person. In his mind, various negative scenarios are played out that scare. It may seem to people with obsessive behavior that the mask of a clown is distorted and turns into the image of an unknown mysterious creature that came after him from the other world.

Fear of near death embraces the individual, and he begins to rush about. Some may just run away, while others will show aggression. An attack on artists who simply wanted to amuse the coulrophoba is not excluded.

At the moment when the individual is panicked, adrenaline is released into the blood. And this factor has a negative effect on the normal functioning of the body as a whole. And then arrhythmia may develop or confused breathing, sweating, tremor of the extremities, increased blood pressure, double vision, dry mouth, and nausea may appear. It is also possible that the body will include protective functions, and a person will simply lose consciousness.

Fear of clowns is not considered a very strong problem. Lyceum do not walk the streets on weekdays. You can meet them only when the holiday comes, and everyone around is having fun, and they also perform in the circus. therefore The main advice for the coulrophobes is to avoid places where they can meet an artist dressed as a comedian.

However, there are times when unforeseen circumstances occur. For example, employees working side by side with a coulophobe do not always know that their comrade is afraid of the hypocrites. They can invite animators to the festive event, among which there are many clowns.

During the entertainment, the artists will congratulate and amuse everyone. Such actions involve close contact. A person experiencing a phobia can panic and lose health.

If you still feel fear of clowns, then you can offer some psychological advice.

• Learn to switch your attention from negative mood to positive memories. If you see hypocrites and feel that fear covers you, then immediately try to pull yourself together. Close your eyes and imagine a white square. So you clear your mind of any thoughts.

Then think about something nice. For example, the fact that relaxing on the sea brings great pleasure. Fresh breeze sets in a good mood. Dream of a summer vacation. Having done such an exercise at least once, you will see that this practice works.

• The more you try to get rid of fear, the more it will seize your consciousness. Therefore, try to make it clear: do not fight fear. To be afraid of anything is normal. When fear sets in, you need to ask yourself questions: “Can you justify your fear or not? You can explain to yourself why and why you are afraid? ”

A clown is standing in front of you, and everyone is having fun around.What will he do to you bad? Then turn away from the lyceum and try not to peer into his appearance, so that your consciousness does not “guess” anything superfluous. So you gradually get used to the fact that you are near the object of irritation and nothing bad happens.

• Admit to yourself that you are afraid of clowns. Sometimes, to get rid of a phobia, you just need to understand that you can be very scared. Try to get used to fear. As we know, habits often absorb any, even very strong feelings.
• Love yourself for who you really are with all the flaws. Love even your fear. Try to convince yourself that you need to change for the better all the time. If this activity completely swallows you, then you will not be up to your phobia.
• Do not use alcohol to get rid of phobia. When you see clowns at a holiday, you should not run to the store and buy alcohol. Intoxication does not give any positive result, but only exacerbates the problem.

A drunk person becomes aggressive. And where is the guarantee that you will not do anything stupid and will not fight with an artist dressed as a clown? Therefore, control yourself.

If you can’t cope with your fear on your own, then seek help from a psychotherapist who will conduct special studies and select methods for effective treatment. They may be as follows: hypnosis, drug treatment, desensitization, exposure - meeting eye-to-eye fear, humor, progressive muscle relaxation, modeling included.