A phobia is an irrational fear of an object. In class, we often talked about people’s fears and how they adjust their life in order to avoid that thing. We also talked about exposure therapy and ways people can overcome the fear in order to continue on with a normal life. Exposure therapy allows a person to come in contact with the object they are afraid of in a controlled environment for the purpose of the person becoming more accustomed to the fear.
In my experience, I have an irrational fear of balloons. I used to not be able to think about a balloon without having a panic attack. To this day, I don’t know what caused the fear or when I realized that it appeared. I never formally went to an aversion therapy but I still carry the fear with me to this day. How I overcame some of my fear was by slowing being exposed to the fear through different situations. All four years of high school I was head of the spirit club committee which meant decorating for school events with balloons. As the years went on I became less afraid of them due to the high volume of them I was around all the time. I still jump when people squeeze them and get abnormally anxious yet, I have come to a better relationship and coping mechanisms for it.
Without realizing it, I did my own version of exposure therapy. I put myself into controlled situations where I knew what was going on and when it got too much I could leave or make someone else handle what I couldn’t. Although I still experience fear, it doesn’t alter my life like it used to. I can function more normally and don’t have to eject myself from places where blown up balloons are or might be.