Fear of Clowns

He brings laughter and joy to people - this is the original purpose of such a character as a clown. But this is not always the case.

In psychological practice, there is such a disease. Fear of clowns scientifically called kolrofobiya and represents the emergence of a sincere sense of fear of these merry and lovely, in the opinion of the majority, creatures, which is completely irrational and accompanied by panic horror. Moreover, the fear of clowns is found in both children and adults. According to surveys of scientists, a significant part of the population of our planet is afraid of clowns, and individuals are actually afraid of them. And it can be like a small child, and quite a successful person, who has the status and respect in society.

The emergence of kolerophobia in modern society

The fear of clowns began to manifest itself most vividly in society at the beginning of the twentieth century. Tom contributed to the cinema, as very often clowns appear in horror films, and as negative characters, and even completely maniac killers. Therefore, many people in the minds of a creepy image of a clown with a whitened face and not falling off with his smile, holding a bloody knife, chainsaw or other weapons. The fear of clowns was promoted, in particular, by the novel of the famous American writer Stephen King "It" and a film shot on it, where a clown maniac kills people and smiles with his eerie clown's smile. After him followed a whole series of similar horror films. Clowns figure in this "role" not only in the cinema, but in other areas of art.

Causes of fear of clowns

According to psychologists, people suffering from coulphobia, most scare the person who hides the make-up or mask. After all, in this case it is unclear what is really on the mind of such a person, since a completely artificial smile does not come off the person's face. The mimicry of clowns is also deliberately unnatural, they behave completely inadequately compared to normal people, they release seemingly stupid jokes. In general, all the behavior of clowns for people with a caulifobia, is fraught with some kind of dirty trick, it's unpredictable, and it's completely incomprehensible that he can do the next second what to expect from a clown. From the clowns look and behave like mentally ill people - this is one of their main trump cards to attract the attention of the audience. Colerophobes claim that the laughter of the audience in response to jokes of clowns is more like a nervous laugh. Therefore, the defense response of the psyche is alertness to the clowns. In fact, the fear of clowns can be attributed to a particular manifestation of the instinct of self-preservation.

Fear of clowns is also often associated with the fact that the kolerophobes are terrified by public ridicule. Frequent behavior of the clown is to find one spectator among the public and make fun of him. In psychological practice, it is not uncommon for a person to begin having problems with the psyche, and to develop a co-phobia.

Fear of clowns can develop from childhood memories, when a child, for example, seeing a movie with a clown-maniac, was greatly frightened, or after him unpleasant impressions remained. And do not forget that children are very impressionable, even a small detail in childhood can lead to the development of strong psychological problems in the future.

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Symptoms of awe-inspiring

• panic attacks while staying with a clown in the same room;
• worsening mood;
• drying in the mouth;
• dizziness;
• a sharp drop in blood pressure and, as a result, fainting;
• profuse sweating;
• trembling limbs;
• loss of control over behavior and emotions (a person suffering from a colerophobia can run away from clowns, rush into them, scream).

These symptoms of fear of clowns can manifest themselves either all or selectively. Naturally, the reactions and behavior are individual for each person and directly depend on temperament, emotionality, etc.

Treatment of fear of clowns

When it becomes clear that your loved one does not have a simple and incoming dislike for clowns, but it is clear that a person reacts to them not quite adequately, then the surest method is to turn to a specialist psychologist. Especially when the suspicion of kolrofobiyu observed in the child. First you can try to watch movies and or cartoons, where the clowns are exposed in a good light and are positive characters. If you go to the circus, it is better to attend children's sessions with clowns, where their performance is adapted to the audience of the kids. You can also play clowns at home: for parents to put on a clown's clothes when they are young, and the child saw that under the mask is quite an ordinary person, and the clown is not something supernatural and dangerous. By the way, this practice also helps adults suffering from kolerophobia.

In advanced cases it is better to immediately consult a doctor, so as not to provoke the above described actions further development of fear of clowns.

With fear of clowns or kolrofobiey it is necessary to fight and get rid of fear of clowns. Of course, you can exclude trips to the circus and avoid places where clowns perform. But the subject of your fear may well just suddenly meet on the street or in some unexpected place. And with an unresolved problem after a long runaway reaction can manifest itself very rapidly. Therefore, it is better to contact a specialist who will help you cope with fear and overcome the fear of clowns.