Might have just accidentally treated my phobia.

[looneylooner]

So, hadn't played with balloons in around 6 months after having one pop on my pump and it throwing me off for a bit. Went in to town today and bought some. Got home, and got out the electric pump. For some reason I kind of expected the first balloon to pop whilst inflating, and it did, however I was wearing headphones at the time, and it really wasn't so bad. I blew up a few more with my hand pump, then a few with the electric pump. I noticed that a few were looking a bit suspect (those little light coloured spots that look like weaknesses). Usually I would just take a pair of scissors and snip the necks so as to deflate without the pop, but I thought "F it", took a dart and popped them. I'll admit these were 12" Uniques, which I understand have one of the softer pops in the balloon world, but still.

It was so liberating. With the headphones on it wasn't an issue, just a dull sounding "Thwump". I'm pretty sure this is the first time I have deliberately popped a balloon. Knowing that there really wasn't anything to fear, I blew up some more even tighter than I usually would (to the point they were just starting to get necks, which used to always be a red flag for me). It was thrilling.

I'm not suddenly a popper overnight (though I will admit, I did get a rush of power when popping them), as I will always prefer to inflate and play with a balloon than just senselessly destroy it, but I feel like this phobia I have lived with all my life might be at least manageable, if not cureable.

I plan to blow up and pin pop a few more in the coming days. I'm thinking I'll blow them to differing levels of inflation, maybe two to each level, then pop one whilst wearing headphones, then one without, working my way up to fully inflated. I doubt I'll ever be comfortable popping a Belbal 14" without protection as they are like bloody bombs going off, and I doubt I'll ever have the guts to B2P, but getting to a place where I'm comfortable with balloons would be amazing, especially given I have two young nephews, so will likely be in situations where there are balloons and I am not in control. I might always be a little on edge, but not to the point where I am constantly watching every balloon in the room for fear of it popping.

Another advantage, it might let me get up the courage to visit and escort and have her blow up and play with balloons for me lol

So yeah, phobics out there, it might be possible for you to overcome the phobia. I certainly never felt I would get to a point where I would willingly pop a balloon, but now I'm planning to do more so build up a tolerance for it.

[7balloon]

Re: Might have just accidentally treated my phobia.

Congrats. Allows for more full enjoyment if you aren't as bervous.

[looneylooner]

Re: Might have just accidentally treated my phobia.

Congrats. Allows for more full enjoyment if you aren't as bervous.

Haha, thanks Yeah, I had a great time playing last night, usually I'm really on edge, but last night I just enjoyed the balloons without any worries

[srob2]

Re: Might have just accidentally treated my phobia.

12" Uniques are really great balloons if you are scared, they aren't as loud as the other sizes and much cheaper and easier to find than larger sizes. Only downside is they can be unpredictable - I've popped a lot without trying to, or had them pop doing a b2p on purpose but before they got as big as they should. 9" Uniques are much more predictable and almost always get a fully inflated neck, and sometimes don't pop when blowing as hard as you can.

[FinallyPopper]

Re: Might have just accidentally treated my phobia.

Congratulations, I am happy for you!

I still remember the day I managed to willingly pop balloons for the first time (at age 22), it was a lifelong dream come true.

I would advise you to make it a habit to "practice" popping balloons on a regular base. You have had a brave day, but there might be bad days where the fear creeps back. Do not let yourself get discouraged and stay with it. Try to have some fun when popping balloons (get a bunch of cheap ones that are only good for popping so it won't feel like a waste). You will soon see that your fear will diminish, altough slowly.

Also your next accidental pop won't throw you off as much. You may also be surprised by how far you may come after a few years. I speak from eperience, when I first started popping I also thought I could never comfortably B2P, but nowadays it is one of my favourite things to do.

[Meililoon]

Re: Might have just accidentally treated my phobia.

I would advise you to make it a habit to "practice" popping balloons on a regular base. You have had a brave day, but there might be bad days where the fear creeps back. Do not let yourself get discouraged and stay with it. Try to have some fun when popping balloons (get a bunch of cheap ones that are only good for popping so it won't feel like a waste). You will soon see that your fear will diminish, altough slowly.

Also your next accidental pop won't throw you off as much. You may also be surprised by how far you may come after a few years. I speak from eperience, when I first started popping I also thought I could never comfortably B2P, but nowadays it is one of my favourite things to do.

Practicing popping regularly helps a lot to keep the phobia in check, at least when you're in control. I've been popping less balloons than I used to in the last few years and I've noticed it's more difficult for me to get started now than it used to. I can still do it and have fun with it, but I often find that what started out as a planned popping session ends up being a non-popping session instead.

The best thing about decreasing the phobia is that you often dare to play rougher with your balloons. One of my favorite things these days is when a balloon pops while I'm playing roughly with it, without me actively trying to pop it on purpose. So long as I have more ready to replace it at least.

[HeliumLover]

Re: Might have just accidentally treated my phobia.

Practicing popping regularly helps a lot to keep the phobia in check, at least when you're in control. I've been popping less balloons than I used to in the last few years and I've noticed it's more difficult for me to get started now than it used to. I can still do it and have fun with it, but I often find that what started out as a planned popping session ends up being a non-popping session instead.

The best thing about decreasing the phobia is that you often dare to play rougher with your balloons. One of my favorite things these days is when a balloon pops while I'm playing roughly with it, without me actively trying to pop it on purpose. So long as I have more ready to replace it at least.

I 100% agree with this, I'm a semi-popper and while I don't pop balloons just for the sake of popping them, my enjoyment comes from when I get to completely lose restraint and play as hard as I want to with a balloon without worrying if it pops or not. TBH when I start reaching the point of climax, my fear of the balloon popping almost entirely goes away.

[looneylooner]

Re: Might have just accidentally treated my phobia.

Well, update, had another play today. Blew up a combo of Belbal 12", Amscan 12" and Belbal 14". Blew one of the 14" by mouth till it was starting to neck (again, this is pretty bold for me). Had my fun, then decided to pop four of the balloons. Popped one of the amscan with headphones on, it was fine. Took the headphones off for another and yeah, it was a heck of a lot of a sharper bang. Didn't feel as "fine" as when the headphones were on, but hey, it didn't kill me. Then popped one of the 12" belbal with the headphones on, didn't feel like it was a worse bang than the Amscan with the headphones on. Didn't dare pop the 14" with or without headphones on lol, had one pop on me a year back whilst wearing headphones and it was LOOOOUUDD lol.

Still, when I play I typically have on headphones due to watching videos to get me in the mood, so it's unlikely I would need to face a Belbal 12" or 14" popping with no protection. I don't imagine I'll be at a random party where someone has Belbals, as they feel a bit more niche lol. I'm gonna keep working on it, pop a few every week or so, maybe try to pop a couple at a time without headphones on.

But hey, I've popped like 8 Balloons in the past 3 days, having never delibarately popping a balloon in 30 years. I don't think I'll ever be comfortable popping them, but I think I'll maybe get to the point where it's a minor nuisance I would ratehr avoid :P

[srob2]

Re: Might have just accidentally treated my phobia.

If its just the noise bothering you, b2p a Unique or use a pump. Not sure how tight the Belbals were, but they probably were louder.

It is unlikely you'll see fresh high end decorator balloons popped at a party, but you might see a b2p, an accidental overinflation, or just someone blow one big enough to worry you.

[aron_crow]

Re: Might have just accidentally treated my phobia.

Noob question, I hear a lot about 12" uniques but have never seen them on a website or online store. I am from India, so we don't get shit here except for Chinese/Local made stuff

[Meililoon]

Re: Might have just accidentally treated my phobia.

Noob question, I hear a lot about 12" uniques but have never seen them on a website or online store. I am from India, so we don't get shit here except for Chinese/Local made stuff

Only online store I've seen them on is Jennyloons. You can probably find them on Amazon or Ebay too, but likely under different names.