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. Clowns always perform between shows. 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-up clowns. From their sight, some are covered with horror, which cannot be relieved by anything.

There are quite a few specific phobias. The fear of clowns is called coulrophobia.... This term has the English origin coulrophobia and denotes a neologism. Translated from Greek, the same term refers to an actor who is called upon 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. It's stupid to be afraid of clowns, but there are people who have either dislike for these characters, or panic.

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

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

The clown mask hides the artist's true emotions. This is what scares people.The huge mouth drawn is perceived as something threatening, and the eyes, outlined with a thick black pencil, do not always seem funny.

The appearance of the 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. To some, this image may seem ominous. Of course, not all people perceive clowns this way.

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

And as we know, most fears arise in childhood. Perhaps the coulrophobe, when he was little, was frightened by the actor. Children and even adults cannot always react correctly to the humor presented by the unknown. It is the image of the clown that conceals the outline of the unknown.

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

Coulrophobia occurs for a variety of reasons. However, among them there are the most common ones. 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 are very similar to dolls. Only unlike them, they move and perform certain actions.

They seem funny to some of the children, while others start 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.

• Modern television has a very big influence on the development of fears. Horror films with various unimaginable plots contribute to the development of a certain consciousness. Some people point out that before watching a horror movie, they did not even think about the fact that clowns could pose some kind of threat. Others simply disliked the actors, and after watching the picture, where the 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 peculiar make-up, huge boots hide the real image of an artist who is hiding under a mask. From here comes the development of an unconscious obsessive state. And this is facilitated by 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 when his personal space is violated, then it is better to refuse close communication between the child and the actors. The behavior of the clown contains annoyance, loud laughter, and the child can be very scared.

From birth, children are accustomed to looking adults in the eye. This is how they define the true attitude of an adult towards himself. And the image of a clown provides for a certain mystery.It is difficult to determine the mood under the makeup.

A creepy red wig and a red potato nose only heighten the mood of the unknown. The appearance of the comedian does not inspire confidence, for this reason, first comes alertness, and then fear.

If you raise a child correctly, then he will gradually develop curiosity about the world around him, then he will not be afraid of the unknown, but will ask more questions. This will broaden his horizons, and he will not be afraid of coulrophobia. If this is not done, then fears will develop into self-doubt. The child will gradually withdraw, become uncommunicative. And this behavior will have a bad effect on his mental state in the future. And this should not be allowed under any circumstances.

Coulrophobia is a rather dangerous mental condition. The sight of a clown terrifies a person. Various negative scenarios are played out in his mind, which are frightening. For people with obsessive behavior, it may seem that the clown's mask is distorted and turns into the image of an unknown mysterious creature that came for him from the other world.

The fear of imminent death grips the individual, and he begins to rush about. Some may just run away, while others will show aggression. An attack on artists who just wanted to cheer up the coulrophobe is not excluded.

At the moment when the individual is seized by panic, adrenaline is released into the bloodstream. And this factor has a negative impact on the normal functioning of the body as a whole. And then arrhythmia may develop or shortness of breath, sweating, tremors of the extremities, increased blood pressure, double vision, dry mouth, nausea may appear. It is also possible that the body will turn on protective functions, and the person will simply lose consciousness.

Fear of clowns is not considered a very strong problem. Actors don't walk the streets on weekdays. You can meet them only when the holiday comes, and everyone is having fun, and they also perform in the circus. That's why The top tip for Coulrophobes is to avoid places where they might come across an entertainer disguised as a comedian.

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

During the entertainment, the artists will congratulate and amuse everyone. Such actions involve close contact. A person experiencing a phobia may panic and become unhealthy.

If you still feel a fear of clowns, then there are some psychological tips to offer you.

• Learn to shift your focus from negative moods to positive memories. If you see the actors and feel that you are covered with fear, 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 of something enjoyable. For example, that a vacation at the sea brings great pleasure. A fresh breeze sets you in a good mood. Dream of a summer vacation. Having done this exercise at least once, you will be convinced that this practice works.

• The more you try to get rid of fear, the more it will take over your consciousness. So try to understand: don't fight fear. It's okay to be afraid of anything. When fear comes, you need to ask yourself questions: “Can you justify your fear or not? Can you explain to yourself why and what are you afraid of? "

There is a clown in front of you, and everyone is having fun.What will he do you bad? Then turn away from the actor and try not to peer into his appearance, so that your mind does not "conjecture" anything superfluous. So you will gradually get used to the fact that you are near the object of irritation and nothing terrible happens.

• Admit to yourself that you are afraid of clowns. Sometimes, in order to get rid of a phobia, you just need to understand that you can be very scared. Try to get used to the 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 occupation completely absorbs you, then you will not be up to your phobia.
• Don't use alcohol to relieve your 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 aggravates the problem.

A drunk person becomes aggressive. And where is the guarantee that you will not do stupid things and fight with an artist disguised as a clown? So keep yourself in control.

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