For most people, clowns are the life of the party. For the rest of us, these creepy face-painted freakshows bring nothing but a circus of fear. If the sight of them in their oversized shows sends you running for the exits, just know you are not alone in this feeling. It’s called coulrophobia and it can turn a funhouse into a house of horrors for roughly one in ten adults. But don’t fret! We have a troupe of books covering therapeutic techniques, personal stories, and expert guidance to help you face your fear. Keep reading and we’ll have you clowning around with confidence in no time!
Mind Over Makeup: Tricks to Tame the Terror
Here are four self-help books designed to help you confront and overcome this fear. These books provide practical advice, therapeutic techniques, and personal stories to guide your journey to reclaim your peace of mind.
Overcome Your Fear of Clowns: How to Stop Your Coulrophobia by Angie Walters
Look behind the makeup to discover the roots of your fear!
Presented in a simple and chatty format, this book offers easy steps to put those clown fears to rest. Whether it’s circus clowns, movie clowns, or burger-selling clowns, it starts with understanding where your fear comes from. After that, you can deal with it with a different mindset, just like any of the other more popular phobias out there. Only then can you begin to face your fear. Presenting you with tried-and-true techniques, this book walks you through every step to dealing with coulrophobia.
The Ultimate Self-Hypnosis Cure for the Phobia of Clowns (Coulrophobia) by Glenn Harrold
A lasting change starts with the subconscious!
Glenn Harrold, the highly experienced hypnotherapist, offers a self-hypnosis guide specifically designed to help individuals overcome clown fear. If it is true that most phobias are just learned patterns of behavior that are anchored in the unconscious mind, then a good way to free yourself of this fear is to reprogram your mind through effective self-hypnosis methods. This comprehensive guide to self-hypnosis offers a permanent and lasting solution to all types of clown phobia by first releasing negative conditioning and then programming your mind to feel positive in the company of clowns. Follow the instructions in the guide and listen to the MP3 hypnosis download and you will free yourself from coulrophobia.
Fifteen Minute Therapy: Clown Phobia by James Brackin
12 techniques that will cure a phobia or fear of clowns in fifteen minutes or less!
This phobia treatment claims to be a proven cure for clown phobia, with results in less than two hours. Dealing with your fear of clowns is now easier than you think thanks to the techniques available to you now. Each of the twelve techniques in this book is also available as an audio file. You can use them quickly, whenever you need them. Center yourself in less than fifteen minutes! You already know that clown fear is not logical or rational, but your fear of clowns has likely been getting worse over time, so perhaps the time to face it is now!
Fear of Clowns Hypnotherapy by Dr David Postlethwaite
Replace your fear with serenity!
Dr. David Postlethwaite has over three decades of clinical practice as a hypnotherapist, and he’s here to help. His methods involve addressing the root causes of your fear to plan effective strategies for overcoming it. He will guide you in reframing your thoughts and responses to clowns, gradually desensitizing you to them. Dr. Postlethwaite teaches you a range of cognitive-behavioral techniques and mindfulness exercises to reduce anxiety and build healthy coping mechanisms. Filled with detailed explanations and instructions, each chapter is designed for you to follow along first and then implement it in your daily life. This book also includes an unlimited-use hypnotherapy session. With his soothing voice and expert guidance, Dr. Postlethwaite helps you enter a state of deep relaxation where you can focus on your subconscious mind and become less sensitive to clowns.
Experiencing It Differently
There is also some benefit to looking at things from a clown’s point of view or emotionally connecting with a clown protagonist, even for those with coulrophobia. By seeing the world through a clown’s eyes, one may develop a more positive and lighthearted outlook—when it comes to clowns, anyway! This perspective can also help individuals confront and overcome their fears by humanizing the clown, transforming it from a source of anxiety into a symbol of courage and creativity. Emotionally connecting with a clown protagonist can encourage you to appreciate the depth and complexity behind the painted smile. Here are two books that exemplify that idea.
Clowns: In Conversation with Modern Masters by Ezra LeBank & David Bridel
A Unique and Heartfelt Study on the Art of Clowning
This book is a collection of conversations with twenty of the world’s most famous clowns. They reveal the origins, inspirations, techniques, and philosophies that propel them. These masters speak openly about their first encounters with clowning and their decision to follow that path—even discussing the teachers and mentors who taught them. In this book, clowns are humanized and demystified as they explore the role of clowning in the modern world and examine the growth of their careers and the signature routines that became each clown’s trademark.
Clown Shoes by Robert Markowitz
A tear-jerker story of a clown seeking redemption in pursuit of his true calling.
Will Ross is a New York attorney who quits his legal career after a child abuser he defended is acquitted, tragically leading to the child being murdered. Broken and overwhelmed with guilt, Will becomes a guitar-playing clown and pursues a career as a children’s entertainer. It looks as though he has truly left behind his old work, even at the cost of his relationship after he refused to take up a case for her. But then the life of Will’s young guitar student is threatened, and he is compelled to return to law to save this child.
Conquering Coulrophobia With A Smile
Just remember clowns are just people in oversized shoes and colorful wigs, usually just trying to make us laugh. By reading this list, you’re one step closer to seeing the humor behind the paint and the joy behind the jester. Face your fears and keep smiling, my friends!
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