I want to not be scared

[Fred]

Might am scared of the pops of a balloon are there any ways to stop this fear.
Other than pop them myself.
Being a popper sounds awesome and I love the vids.

[Harley]

Re: I want to not be scared

Only way to stop fearing the pops is to get used to them. I myself started by taping a pin to my toe (max range) and then I could kick small balloons to pop while covering my ears. That made the popping much, much less scary. Soon I could pin pop balloons the usual way - still scary but I was in control, and doing it with some force made it even easier. Felt less nervous when it went quickly. The final step was being able to pin pop them while blowing them up. THAT was not easy, but I eventually learned it too.

I don't say it completely removed the fear, because it didn't, but it put it at a level where I was somewhat comfortable being around balloons. Up to that point I had a complete phobia. :P
The more you pop, the less scary it will feel. It's STARTING that can be very, very difficult!

[wildheart]

Re: I want to not be scared

I’ll tell you how I did my first blow to pop. I could barely hear it, but before it popped I had no idea how loud it would be. I had the balloon in a wardrobe with a long tube to inflate it. I was on the other side of the door with hearing protection and a blanket over my head. It’s scary at first because you have no idea how big it’s geting but it’s not very loud when it does pop. Best to record it as well. Then you can just use less hearing protection each time. Then perhaps have it pop in the other side of the room, getting closer and closer each time.

[Dude1234]

Re: I want to not be scared

I did my first intentional one recently I was scared to the way i I did it was cover the balloon a balnket with only the mouth piece sticking out it worked well sounded like a normal pop it also shredded terrifically. I'm not scared of the sound im scared of others hearing the pop

[Meililoon]

Re: I want to not be scared

I started out in a similar way as you. I was (and still am to a degree) really scared of popping balloons, but I always thought it looked really fun in the videos I found on youtube at the time. My best tip is to get some hearing protection and try to pop some underinflated balloons with something sharp. I started off by taping a needle to a stick and used that to pop them. Do this enough and you'll get used to it and can move the balloons closer and make them bigger, and eventually pop them using other methods. Just remember that there's no shame in using earplugs, even if you're a seasoned popper. I still use them whenever I bring out my balloons, even after ten years as a semi-popper.

[srob2]

Re: I want to not be scared

Just blow up and pop lots of balloons. Start by pin popping, that is easy, but inflate balloons less if you can't. Then blow up a bunch of balloons, pin pop a few and try to sit, stomp or squeeze the rest. Then try a b2p, or pump to pop first if you have a pump.

[SusieDK]

Re: I want to not be scared

Hi there,

Now I cannot be sure how you feel and what you want to achieve. It might also be, that you are already confident by blowing up balloons and having them around you. However I got the impression you are not yet so confident, so I will suggest a more ‘early’ approach to deal with the fear:

Instead of going right to trying to get used to popping balloons (which I totally agree can only be ‘learned’ by simply doing it in various steps) I suggest that you try to get used to balloons and thereby also what could be called the everpresent risk of popping.

I suggest you do this:

Simply get yourself some good balloons - 11, 12 or 14” would be a good choice; the important thing is to not choose too small ones and not too big ones either. The reason for this is that you have to feel some risk of popping, but not all too much. Then simply take a balloon and blow it up as far as you dare. Look at it and admire what you have achieved. It is likely that after a short while you will calm down so much that you dare blowing a little bit more. If you don’t then just let the air out and enjoy that you have just blown up a big balloon (by your standards). If you dare fill in extra blows you also let the air out and enjoy your achievement. The whole idea is to get used to the fact that balloons are not all that ‘dangerous’ as you imagine, - making you feel more safe around blowing them up and being around them.
Next time use the same balloon. This gives you the advantage of knowing how big it can at least get, and you might be able to make it bigger than last time. Then simply repeat trying to make yourself blow in a little extra blows. Again let the air out and use the same balloon again the next time.
Of course the balloon weakens somewhat by each inflation, but it will also get softer, so it won’t seem getting more ‘dangerous’. At some time the balloon will most likely pop - maybe even while you are blowing it up. This will make you jump (not so badly bad, - worn out balloons don't pop especially loudly), but remember something very important: Even though it made you jump, the danger is completely over (that balloon won't pop again), and not least important you just managed to pop a balloon by blowing it up too much. Also bear in mind that the balloon popped from old age, so when you start over with a new balloon, it will not be weak, and you can feel safe again.

Just do this exercise over and over (it is ok with some days between each 'session'), and soon you will begin to feel much more comfortable both by blowing up balloons and by having balloons around you.

Having reached this stage the way is open for you to go on with the suggestions from earlier in this thread.

Thank you for reading my posting - good luck and have fun!

Sincerely
Susie

PS. The above method worked for me, and I had a really really bad phobia - even the mere word ‘balloon’ made me tremble from fear. Today I can blow up practically any balloon until it pops. I am not fearless, but now it is a thrill and highly pleasant.

[LoudPop]

Re: I want to not be scared

For me I decided I had to get over my fear of balloons popping and later fireworks/firecrackers popping. I don't recommend using hearing protection or muffling the balloon. The whole point is to get comfortable with the noise. That being said, you can start off with popping underinflated balloons; which will not be as loud. Like Susie said, get comfortable with inflated balloons. I remember being scared to tie a knot in an inflated balloon because I knew it then had to be popped or I'd have to worry about it popping on its own at a random time. So, I would blow them up and let the air out, getting more and more comfortable and each time I would try to inflate it larger than previously. At some point, you just have to start popping balloons to get over the fear. The ultimate goal is blow to pop a good quality balloon; maximum BANG!

[Tracy]

Re: I want to not be scared

What Susie said. By the way, I disagree with LoudPop a little bit. I typically use earplugs while I blow up balloons, because accidental pops during inflation still scare me a bit. And if you really cannot even bring yourself to deliberately pop a small one, it's ok to cheat at the beginning. Couple things to note:

1. Try to pop as many as you can in a single setting. They get much easier as you go.
2. Start with very good quality balloons, and don't be shy about underinflating.
3. If you get freaked out by an unexpected pop, if at all possible keep going.
4. Don't let a lot of days pass between popping practices.

Even nowadays, though I absolutely love popping balloons, I still do a "warmup" before a big balloon session where I underinflate a few balloons. I pop those to get used to it, and then I pop one with a pin as I am blowing it up to get me accustomed to the effect of a truly accidental pop on inflation. If you're morbidly curious, I can link you to a short vidclip of me doing this.

[Casey88]

Re: I want to not be scared

What Susie said. By the way, I disagree with LoudPop a little bit. I typically use earplugs while I blow up balloons, because accidental pops during inflation still scare me a bit. And if you really cannot even bring yourself to deliberately pop a small one, it's ok to cheat at the beginning. Couple things to note:

1. Try to pop as many as you can in a single setting. They get much easier as you go.
2. Start with very good quality balloons, and don't be shy about underinflating.
3. If you get freaked out by an unexpected pop, if at all possible keep going.
4. Don't let a lot of days pass between popping practices.

Even nowadays, though I absolutely love popping balloons, I still do a "warmup" before a big balloon session where I underinflate a few balloons. I pop those to get used to it, and then I pop one with a pin as I am blowing it up to get me accustomed to the effect of a truly accidental pop on inflation. If you're morbidly curious, I can link you to a short vidclip of me doing this.

Point number 1- I plan to do this as well soon. I am brave enough now to pop cheap advertising balloons with earplugs (pin, stomp, sit) , but I will try to pop 8-10 balloons in one go in a hotel room without them.

[Tracy]

Re: I want to not be scared

PS if I ever needed a side-line job in the US, therapy work with people scared of popping balloons would be a great one!

[Casey88]

Re: I want to not be scared

Point number 1- I plan to do this as well soon. I am brave enough now to pop cheap advertising balloons with earplugs (pin, stomp, sit) , but I will try to pop 8-10 balloons in one go in a hotel room without them.

I did this last night, popped 10 balloons in a go without any earplugs. I thought of going to the new year as a fully fledged semi-popper but I didnt enjoy this experience at all. I intentionally kept one small advertising balloon left with me now, and I enjoy more of cuddling and hugging it.

[Myra]

Re: I want to not be scared

Don't pop them if you don't enjoy it. Balloons should be fun! No point torturing yourself by forcing yourself to pop them.

[palloncino90]

Re: I want to not be scared

Don't pop them if you don't enjoy it. Balloons should be fun! No point torturing yourself by forcing yourself to pop them.

I totally agree

[Casey88]

Re: I want to not be scared

yeah, will do so !