Clown Phobia

By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Enda_McLarnon]Enda McLarnon
Understanding Clown Phobia
It is hard to explain to people why anyone would have a phobia, and clown phobia is no exception. It is probably easier to understand why people would have a fear of rats for example. They are ugly dirty creatures who could bite you and cause an infection. The reality is that very few humans ever experience this, yet people do understand the fear. This would be a similar response to fear of public speaking or fear about heights.
When it comes to the more obscure phobias like feathers, buttons and clowns then the general public is not quite so accepting of this irrational fear. However, for the individual who is suffering from this phobia, it is every bit as real for them. We all have fears I believe and some many more than others. What is real for you may not be for another but the fact that you have such a fear at all, should hopefully allow you to just understand how it must be like for people who suffer from clown phobia.
My first thoughts would have been that this fear had come from a bad childhood experience. Perhaps the person had been frightened at a circus or a birthday party by some unsuspecting person dressed as a clown. For some that is actually the case. The person at work I mentioned, had been picked from a circus audience and planted on top of a horse that was trotting around the circus ring. He had been petrified that he would fall off. he then associated that fear with that of the clown, who in his mind, endangered him in the first place. Clearly this is a related or associated fear but it is for certain, a very real fear.
For others who suffer from clown phobia it does run deeper in their psyche. The fact that the face looks sad and is covered with make-up is in itself a frightening image. It would be similar to people who suffer from a fear of heights. They are perfectly fine standing on the ground but ask them to stand on a chair and they freeze. The actual height is not the important thing for that person, it is simply the fact that they are not stable and on the ground. For the person who suffers from clown phobia, it is simply the image itself that is frightening.
Like any phobia it can be treated and cured through a blend of counselling and helping techniques such as hypnotherapy. If you have never thought about how restrictive having a clown therapy can be, then pause for a moment and think of this. You regularly see clowns at circuses, on posters, at birthday parties, on the TV, in shopping malls and in many films. Those who suffer from a clown phobia will try very hard to avoid all these situations and that alone can place a huge restriction on a person's life.
The other big difficulty for those who suffer from this is that almost everyone else associates clowns with happiness, fun and laughter. That only serves to further isolate the person who suffers from clown phobia as they know that people will really struggle to understand why anyone could dislike and try to avoid what is supposed to be a thing of humor and laughter.
Spare a thought for the many thousands of people who suffer daily from this restrictive and horrible phobia.
You can read more about clown phobia and understand better those that suffer from it by a quick visit to: [http://endamac.hubpages.com/hub/PhobiaOfClowns]Clown Phobia
Article Source: [http://EzineArticles.com/?Clown-Phobia&id=6644892] Clown Phobia