Do you take coulrophobia, or the fear of clowns, seriously?

[Knaight]

I have a general policy of taking phobias seriously, and do have friends with some phobias (e.g. of needles). That said, coulrophobia has literally never come up in my entire life. Maybe it's regional, maybe it's cultural changes in time - clowns pretty much don't exist where I'm at. If the profession isn't dead, it's niche and tucked away.

[Fishman]

I assume that most people here have an idea of what coulrophobia, or the irrational fear of clowns, is. My question is this, do you take the condition of coulrophobia seriously, or do you look at people claiming to suffer from it as attention seekers, because in your mind there's nothing scary about clowns.

I'm sure it exists, but I don't take things that are irrational seriously, except stuff like Pi. I don't think they do this for attention, but I do think they're being silly about it and need to view things more rationally.

[Giggling Ghast]

I have friends who clown, some of them volunteer at hospitals and old people's homes and they are the kindest, nicest, most perpetually warm-hearted people I know.

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[Eldan]

{Scrub the original, scrub the quote}

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[factotum]

but I do think they're being silly about it and need to view things more rationally.

Telling someone with an actual phobia--e.g. the medically recognised term, not the extreme dislike which has also been discussed in this thread--that they're being silly and to be more rational is pretty much akin to telling someone with medical depression that they should just cheer up, you realise that?

[Jaycemonde]

Funny, I was just looking at a PAYDAY 2 Crimefest article and saw the word.

No, I don't. People are only scared of clowns because they watched It or because they've got weird colourings on their face dissimilar to any human's. Take it off and all you've got left is a human probably screaming internally.

Funny, I was considering mentioning Payday 2 as well. I imagine that a lot of the civvies and cops in that game develop an irrational fear of clowns after being involved in any of the game's heists.

For me, yeah. I'd be more scared if someone had a knife as opposed to the knife being by itself. I don't know about other people.

I have a mild phobia of sewing needles. I know that one sitting on a counter won't hurt anything, but I'll try to avoid touching it anyway because I keep getting mental images of it jammed into my finger or even some part of my face and it freaks me out. Irrational? Yeah, I know, but I can't help it. It's not as great as my fear of wasps, though. **** wasps.

No, people with a mild version of the actual phobia instead of a mild dislike can simply hang on longer before losing it. Trying to fix an irrational fear with rationality does not work that way. The person already knows it's irrational but they can't do anything about it.

Yup. I feel like my fear of wasps is very much so rational, but it literally keeps me two feet behind a locked door if there's a wasp nest outside. I once took half an hour to pump gas because of a wasp in the pump. I actually start crying if I see them. I can't help it at all. But at the same time I can handle pictures of them without a problem.

Telling someone with an actual phobia--e.g. the medically recognised term, not the extreme dislike which has also been discussed in this thread--that they're being silly and to be more rational is pretty much akin to telling someone with medical depression that they should just cheer up, you realise that?

Yyyyyyup. Must be nice to be one of these people who don't have fears of anything.

[Frozen_Feet]

Telling someone with an actual phobia--e.g. the medically recognised term, not the extreme dislike which has also been discussed in this thread--that they're being silly and to be more rational is pretty much akin to telling someone with medical depression that they should just cheer up, you realise that?

Not exactly. Milder forms of phobia can be circumvented by rational thinking. The problem is that rational thinking takes active effort and consumes energy. No-one can be on their guard forever. Even the most rational-minded phobic ever will get scared if they're surprised. This is true of non-phobics just as well. Most humans will jump at the sight of spiders or poisonous insects if one jumps on their face or if they suddenly notice one on their shoulder - even if they'd be perfectly fine if they could approach such creatures at their own leisure. The only difference is extremity of reaction. (A non-phobic will likely scream for a second and then be fine. A phobic might have a full-blown panic attack.)

[noparlpf]

Not exactly. Milder forms of phobia can be circumvented by rational thinking. The problem is that rational thinking takes active effort and consumes energy. No-one can be on their guard forever. Even the most rational-minded phobic ever will get scared if they're surprised. This is true of non-phobics just as well. Most humans will jump at the sight of spiders or poisonous insects if one jumps on their face or if they suddenly notice one on their shoulder - even if they'd be perfectly fine if they could approach such creatures at their own leisure. The only difference is extremity of reaction. (A non-phobic will likely scream for a second and then be fine. A phobic might have a full-blown panic attack.)

Have you ever had an anxiety disorder? What you're saying is basically like saying somebody can get over cancer with rational thinking.

[Asta Kask]

Have you ever had an anxiety disorder? What you're saying is basically like saying somebody can get over cancer with rational thinking.

I have an anxiety disorder and there are workarounds. They're fairly effective but they have their own problems. But there are others who don't have such workarounds. Still, 'coping strategies' are common and important enough that they're taken seriously by psychologists and doctors.

[Giggling Ghast]

Due to some backlash I received because of my earlier comments, I want to stress that I do believe clowns have their place. I have no problem with juggalos, for instance. And they work very well as Batman villains and side characters in gothic horror stories centred around carnivals and circuses. Also, zombie movies.

[Durkoala]

So...does anybody have any links to any good clowning performances? This thread has made me curious and inspired enough to consider putting a silly idea to paper.

[Frozen_Feet]

Have you ever had an anxiety disorder? What you're saying is basically like saying somebody can get over cancer with rational thinking.

You got it wrong way around. What I said was that even the most rational person will get scared if they're surprised, because rational thought takes time. There's no difference there between healthy and phobic people, the difference is in extremity of reaction. Rather than cancer, hemophilia would be a better comparison when it comes to physical issues. Normal people will bleed just as well when stabbed, they just don't risk bleeding to death from trivial injuries.

[Zrak]

Similarly, the "workaround" for their anxiety (in this case using the enlightenment as a security blanket) is more analogous to a bandage than any cancer treatment; it's essentially totally effective but can take enough time that, in the case of a "hemophiliac" or phobic, severe damage can still have been done by even a minor wound before it is applied.

[Wardog]

Not all phobias are irrational--for instance, a fear of heights (acrophobia) has some rationale behind it, because falling from a height can hurt or kill.

Sometimes heights don't bother me at all.

Sometimes, I get really nervous when I'm near a steep drop - to the extent that I'm probably more likely to fall than if I was calm.

I think that's a good example of a fear of heights becoming irrational.

[Asta Kask]

I have difficulty standing on chairs. The very thought gives me the creeps.

[BannedInSchool]

So that glass-floored balcony hanging over the edge of the Grand Canyon is right out then, eh?

[Asta Kask]

I don't think I could come within 10 feet of the edge, frankly.