Phobics, which experiences made you fear balloon pops?

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  • meidolooner
    Junior Member
    • Aug 2020
    • 9

    Phobics, which experiences made you fear balloon pops?

    As a looner that still has a big fear for purposefully popping balloons, I have a couple of memories that might have made me fear balloons so much back in childhood. The fear was so intense that until my teens I was afraid of being anywhere near balloons.

    The first memory I have is of a circus show where a girl had several helium balloons and a clown shot them all with a gun as she screamed for help (who decided to put such a scene in a kids show anyways?). That got me so scared the event burned into my memory. Not sure if this is where my fear started, but it is likely!

    Another memory is when we had a party of sorts at a music school I went to as a kid. We were told it was absolutely necessary to bring a balloon to it. Already being quite afraid of balloons and also being very shy, I didn't bring anything but still attended the party. I remember vividly how another kid sat in front of me with a balloon in hand and proclaimed "I am going to inflate it!". I had to run away lol. Balloons were most probably popped on that party too. I remember the teachers had some kind of plan for them to be popped at the same time or something like that.

    I also remember another celebration banquet I went to as a kid. There were lots of balloons and kids there. Through the whole thing I was just trying to avoid being near balloons, but I remember at one point someone walked past me with helium balloons and one hit the "fire exit" sign and popped.

    I'm sorry if this post brings up traumatic memories you would rather not remember, it's not the intent. Only share what you are comfortable with!
    I like to work my lungs, huff and puff~~
  • palloncino90
    Senior Member
    • Jan 2018
    • 391

    #2
    Re: Phobics, which experiences made you fear balloon pops?

    Seeing people blowing up balloons terrifies me since I was a child, I've always had the fear of the burst, without any particular experience, like fear of fireworks and firecrakers even if I have overcome the fear of the latter.
    I want to live surrounded of big and colorful balloons

    Comment

    • wildheart
      Senior Member
      • Apr 2015
      • 859

      #3
      Re: Phobics, which experiences made you fear balloon pops?

      My fear started when I was young. Can’t remember how old but must’ve been around 5. After shopping somewhere I had a balloon and asked someone to blow it up for me. They blew it up, but wouldn’t give it back, they kept blowing it bigger. We were in a lift on the way back to the car. They kept the balloon against their lips but didn’t blow because there were other people in the lift with us.
      Once we got out, they kept on blowing until the balloon exploded incredibly loudly. It was in an underground car park, so you can imagine the echo.

      That’s all I can remember. When asked why they had popped it, they said they just wanted to see how big it could go. I can’t remember how I reacted, but that memory is very strong and wasn’t pleasant. It’s my earliest memory of a balloon popping and I’m pretty sure that’s how the fear started.
      How big will it go? Only one way to find out...
      My website: loonerstories.weebly.com

      Comment

      • craggy2012
        Senior Member
        • Jan 2012
        • 824

        #4
        Re: Phobics, which experiences made you fear balloon pops?

        Ironically I'm still phobic when others around me have balloons. Kids playing with balloons at family parties for example- yet when I'm in a situation of control I don't fear the bang or pop as I'm expecting andprepaired for it.

        Comment

        • meidolooner
          Junior Member
          • Aug 2020
          • 9

          #5
          Re: Phobics, which experiences made you fear balloon pops?

          Originally posted by craggy2012
          Ironically I'm still phobic when others around me have balloons. Kids playing with balloons at family parties for example- yet when I'm in a situation of control I don't fear the bang or pop as I'm expecting andprepaired for it.
          Absolutely, kids with balloons are so scary! And it's spooky in general when people around you have balloons, especially tightly inflated ones. You have no idea what's on their mind and what they are gonna do with the balloons!
          I like to work my lungs, huff and puff~~

          Comment

          • PBK
            Senior Member
            • Mar 2019
            • 372

            #6
            Re: Phobics, which experiences made you fear balloon pops?

            I was around 6. I was at a birthday party and the biggest balloon that was used for decoration was a huge green balloon almost as big was I was that was blown to the absolute limit taped to the wall with scotch tape.
            At the end of the party I managed to pull the balloon off the wall to take home and the tape remained stuck to the balloon. I tried to peel the tape off and "BANG" the balloon popped with an explosion that scared the absolute crap out of me and all the other party goers. I ran out to my mom's car crying and vowed to never pop a balloon again and have been phobic ever since.
            Another time was a few years later I bought a bag of black balloons from the local pharmacy and blew one up in the living room until it was absolutely full and the neck was long and swollen. It was a perfect pear/lightbulb shape. I started to play with it. I batted it a little too close to our stipple/popcorn ceiling and BOOM! Scared the crap out of me there, too.

            Over the years I've been exposed to situations at social events involving balloons and people that like to pop them for kicks. Everything from corporate "team building" games to restaurants with kids that play with them roughly to dances or gatherings where drunk people pop them with cigarettes or whatever. Usually if I see balloons I find a reason to excuse myself and leave the events. I avoid anything with balloon drops like the plague. A big reason I won't go on a cruise (in the pre-Covid world) or New Years parties. My wife is very understanding of all this.
            One of the true tests of my resolve was BMQ (Boot Camp) and Infantry training in the Canadian Forces. We had these doll balloons that were about 4 feet tall fully inflated and made of a dark green latex we used for marksmanship and bayonet training. I had to not only blow these balloons up but was scared of accidental pops before they were placed. I absolutely could not show any fear or our range instructor would have a heyday with it.
            Last edited by PBK; 24-08-2020, 19:21.

            Comment

            • Balloonymous
              Member
              • Sep 2017
              • 57

              #7
              Re: Phobics, which experiences made you fear balloon pops?

              I believe my popping issues comes from the fact I could never actually do it all alone, or afraid that people could hear it and asks questions. Whenever I blew a balloon or an inflatable, if something popped, it usually meant that it was over since, if the first pop hadn't raised questions, a second one absolutely would. It probably eventually lead to pop = bad, and dreading it.

              Comment

              • StretchEmerald
                Member
                • Jul 2019
                • 43

                #8
                Re: Phobics, which experiences made you fear balloon pops?

                Originally posted by meidolooner
                The first memory I have is of a circus show where a girl had several helium balloons and a clown shot them all with a gun as she screamed for help
                Oh hey, I think I may have got my fear from a similar place – I remember a circus act where there was a balloon right at the very top of the tent ceiling, and a clown stood in the middle of the tent and lit a candle, at which point the balloon exploded with this massive bang! I started crying so much we had to leave ^^;

                I don't remember exactly when that was, but I think it's the earliest memory I have of being scared of balloons.

                Comment

                • SweetBouncer
                  Senior Member
                  • Mar 2020
                  • 163

                  #9
                  Re: Phobics, which experiences made you fear balloon pops?

                  If I remember right my fear started thanks to a reposition of the 1990 telefilm of It, i saw it when i was very young 4 or 6 years old more or less. It led me to be scared of balloon and clowns, but in time i managed to win over both fears. I also remember that one day, when I was 13-14, I did an involuntary B2P of a balloon, what was special was that this balloon was one similar to this one, maybe of other brand. https://www.cattex.com/categoria-lis...li-grandi.html

                  It was pre blown and exploded mid-blow, but was pretty intense to me.

                  Comment

                  • Carlos
                    Junior Member
                    • Nov 2016
                    • 22

                    #10
                    Re: Phobics, which experiences made you fear balloon pops?

                    Originally posted by PBK
                    I was around 6. I was at a birthday party and the biggest balloon that was used for decoration was a huge green balloon almost as big was I was that was blown to the absolute limit taped to the wall with scotch tape.
                    At the end of the party I managed to pull the balloon off the wall to take home and the tape remained stuck to the balloon. I tried to peel the tape off and "BANG" the balloon popped with an explosion that scared the absolute crap out of me and all the other party goers. I ran out to my mom's car crying and vowed to never pop a balloon again and have been phobic ever since.
                    Another time was a few years later I bought a bag of black balloons from the local pharmacy and blew one up in the living room until it was absolutely full and the neck was long and swollen. It was a perfect pear/lightbulb shape. I started to play with it. I batted it a little too close to our stipple/popcorn ceiling and BOOM! Scared the crap out of me there, too.

                    Over the years I've been exposed to situations at social events involving balloons and people that like to pop them for kicks. Everything from corporate "team building" games to restaurants with kids that play with them roughly to dances or gatherings where drunk people pop them with cigarettes or whatever. Usually if I see balloons I find a reason to excuse myself and leave the events. I avoid anything with balloon drops like the plague. A big reason I won't go on a cruise (in the pre-Covid world) or New Years parties. My wife is very understanding of all this.
                    One of the true tests of my resolve was BMQ (Boot Camp) and Infantry training in the Canadian Forces. We had these doll balloons that were about 4 feet tall fully inflated and made of a dark green latex we used for marksmanship and bayonet training. I had to not only blow these balloons up but was scared of accidental pops before they were placed. I absolutely could not show any fear or our range instructor would have a heyday with it.

                    Any idea where someone would get one of those Canadian Forces doll balloons...?

                    Comment

                    • BallonBTP
                      Member
                      • Apr 2020
                      • 40

                      #11
                      Re: Phobics, which experiences made you fear balloon pops?

                      Hi,

                      Even though I am only a former phobic I will tell how it happened to me:
                      The way my phobia started was rather trivial. My parents gave me a balloon to play with, and while I was playing around with it, it suddenly popped with a loud bang. From that moment on I had a balloon phobia. Later it slowly changed 180 degrees, but that's another story.

                      Greetings
                      BallonBTP

                      Comment

                      • PBK
                        Senior Member
                        • Mar 2019
                        • 372

                        #12
                        Re: Phobics, which experiences made you fear balloon pops?

                        Originally posted by Carlos
                        Any idea where someone would get one of those Canadian Forces doll balloons...?
                        They were custom made in Quebec for the Canadian Forces. The best guess I have is the same factory that produced the Tilco/Prestige line of balloons that went defunct in the mid-2000's. They stopped using them in the CF right around the same time Tilco went under and a Supply Tech I knew that I casually asked said they stopped getting them in supply and could no longer get them. I didn't press for further details because I didn't want the conversation to get weird.

                        I don't know where you would find them. The Canadian Forces rarely ever sold/sells anything military issue to civilians and the control of everything from ammunition and explosives to paper and balloon targets was very strict.
                        That being said you might be able to find them in a Canadian Army/Navy or surplus store but I bet the chances are very slim. Plus if you did find any chances are they'd be hard and brittle by now.

                        Comment

                        • b0f0s0f
                          Senior Member
                          • Nov 2016
                          • 296

                          #13
                          Re: Phobics, which experiences made you fear balloon pops?

                          When I was around 3, my parents took me to some retirement party that had huge round balloons. There are photos from the event, they were probably thick fluted 16" balloons that were perfectly spherical and jet black. Apparently one or several of them popped, and they were ear-shatteringly loud in the enclosed space. From then on, I was absolutely terrified of balloons. When I hit puberty and developed the fetish, I slowly grew out of the deathly fear, but I still get scared by popping balloons and it makes me nervous when others are handling them. I like popping in principle but I'm usually too scared to do it myself.

                          Comment

                          • Ryan556
                            Member
                            • Sep 2016
                            • 70

                            #14
                            Re: Phobics, which experiences made you fear balloon pops?

                            Can't really pintpoint where my fear started (though i've gotten over a lot of it), but as a young 4-6 year old I only ever had balloons from either myself or older brothers bday parties. Sometimes if we got haircuts our place used to have a helium tank and would give balloons to the kids which they stopped doing years ago. But I can remember having a very over blown balloon from the haircut place and then exploding out of nowhere a while later which scared the living crap out of me. Then whenever I had left over balloons from a bday party my neighberhood friends would come over and pop them all which usually ended up with me crying because I didn't want them popped. I think the last factor would be elementary school and having teachers that loved to do popping races but of course my phobia had kicked in strong so I always asked to sit outside. Took me until I was 13 and took home a big 16inch balloon that lasted a month to somewhat like and trust balloons again.

                            Comment

                            • Kartoffel
                              Junior Member
                              • Sep 2020
                              • 5

                              #15
                              Re: Phobics, which experiences made you fear balloon pops?

                              The earliest situation I can remember was actually related to fireworks (but i probably already had the phobia before, cant eally remember as i was abou 3-4 years old that time). On one new years eve we were at some of my parents friends place not far away from home and i still remeber watching the fireworks from inside without any fear (but as stated before I dont know if this rally happend to be so), but when we went home fireworks were still going off everywhere and my father had to carry me home as I was just crying the whole time (which is the only thing from this evening i still remeber very well). Still i am not sure if this is where everything started, but it was definetly a situation that made it even worse.

                              Comment

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