Coulrophobia (fear Of Clowns): Causes, Symptoms And Treatment
Clowns usually produce different sensations and emotions in us. We generally associate them with fun and endearing moments; to the pure entertainment of when we were children and enjoyed their occurrences.
However, for a small percentage of the population, the figure of the clown is associated with sensations negative and unpleasantto the point that they feel real dread. This is what is known as ‘coulrophobia‘ or fear of clowns.
Fear of clowns: the role of the subconscious in coulrophobia
The phobia of clowns is usually closely related to latent emotional causes in the person’s subconscious, which is why there is no simple treatment to cure coulrophobia. However, there are different treatment methods and techniques that can help those who suffer from this fear with a good rate of improvement.
Symptoms of coulrophobia
The visible part of the clown phobia is panic, fear and the distress of the phobic in the presence of the image of the clown. Although it is common for this fear to be perceived as something ridiculous or funny by third parties, the subject who experiences a phobia of clowns can trigger severe anxiety attacks in the situations described.
Others associated symptoms to fear of clowns are:
Causes of clown phobia
The causes responsible for this irrational phobia are several, and each case is unique. Most people affected by coulrophobia report having experienced a negative personal experience around the figure of a clown. However, the majority of experts in clinical psychology and phobias maintain that the fundamental cause would be found in the imagery created by the media (TV, movies, series) about clowns.
The figure of the clown has been commonly used in horror films as a technique to cause fear in the viewer. Thus, the filmmaker creates a very effective cognitive dissonance, using a figure commonly associated with entertainment and fun as the complete opposite: a sadist or a psychopath, thus surprising the audience.
There is also a large consensus among mental health professionals that one of the main causes of coulrophobia is due to the characteristics of makeup that clowns use. The bright colors, the exaggerated eyes and smiles, the red nose, are shocking stimuli for a child’s mind, and can cause fear, in the same way that some little ones also fear sitting on a child’s lap. Santa Claus.
The fear of clowns, consequently, may have one of its origins in the distrust generated by a histrionically made-up face, which does not allow a glimpse of authentic facial expression.
Treatment for coulrophobia
Many parents choose to try to prevent their children who are afraid of clowns from being in situations where clowns are present, such as birthday parties. This may seem like a reasonable measure if the fear is very intense, but the truth is that clowns can appear in other different contexts. The best treatment to overcome coulrophobia is the one that a psychotherapy professional can develop based on a good diagnosis, to adapt the remedy to the causes of the irrational fear.
The most common techniques and treatment methods to combat clown phobia usually include psychological therapy.which through habituation, allows people with phobia to progressively make contact with the cause of fear (clowns, in this case), so that the bad sensations gradually decrease.
In the course of psychotherapy based on desensitizationthe anguish experienced should decrease. The first sessions usually revolve around discussion and reflection on fear, and then begin to see images related to the object of phobia: clowns. If the treatment is effective, the patient should be able to feel comfortable and without suffering any of the symptoms of coulrophobia even in the presence of clowns in the same room. The desensitization process allows people with a phobia of clowns to gradually become familiar with their fear and, finally, to become desensitized to the phobia, overcoming it.
