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GLISTENINGLISTENINNGGGG
GLISTENING
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Tweet TwisterIt’s time to send your extremely funny and ‘out of the ordinary’ photo of the week to @tweettwister and win two tickets for the upcoming concert of EliteEnergy in the London O2 Arena!
Live feedAlex: Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea... anyway...photos have been sent to #tweettwister #hopingtogetthetickets
Alisha Wells: @tweettwister Extreme actions here in Bedford Central Park! Hope he’s going to be OK! #EliteEnergy #funnyphotos
http://www.tweettwister.co.uk
BEING SCARED ISN’T FUNNYThere are plenty of things people can be afraid of, like venomous snakes or oncoming traffi c. There are also people who are afraid of things that seem harmless to almost everyone else, such as driving through a tunnel or eating in public. These experiences don’t just fi ll them with dread, they also cause shortness of breath and heavy sweating. For some people it even feels as if they’re having a heart attack!
Experts believe that roughly one in ten people suffer from some sort of phobia. Agoraphobia, the fear of open places, is the most common and well-known fear. Another, but not as familiar, phobia is coulrophobia, fear of clowns. It may seem a strange fear to have but it is real. Coulrophobia even has celebrity sufferers: actors Daniel Radcliffe and Robert Pattinson, and even rap star P Diddy are all said to suffer from this phobia. A circus, now touring in Britain, is offering help to people who are extremely anxious about clowns.
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ClownselingRichard Kayton, one of the so-called ‘clownselors’ at the circus, explains where this fear comes from: ‘Clowns look a bit like human beings, but you can’t tell who they are,’ he says. ‘You can’t really see their face and you don’t know what is going on behind the mask.’ Kayton thinks people suffering from clown phobia could benefi t from so-called exposure therapy. This therapy is an extreme measure and can be very confronting.
Kayton explains their therapy is actually a simple programme. He just has to make sure he has taken necessary precautions, such as preparing the participants for what is coming. First the participants meet Kayton without his make up on, in his normal clothes. He then dresses up as a clown. Next it’s the participants’ turn. ‘It’s important they do everything on their own. I tell them to put on the makeup, dress up in the clown costumes and fi nally, to take a deep breath and make sure they are ready to go into the ring with me.’ Kayton says that most of their clownseling sessions have the desired effect: ‘We’ve had some great results, with some people actually leaving the circus dressed up as clowns!’
Confronting the fearCarolyn Fielding has been afraid of clowns ever since she went to the circus as a little child: ‘We went into the tent and some clowns were greeting the audience. I got nervous and started shaking. I was really scared and ran out of the circus.’ Carolyn tried different sorts of therapy: ‘I’ve taken medication and I’ve also tried sleep therapy but nothing worked.’ She decided to confront her fear head-on. ‘I wanted to get it over and done with. That’s why I signed
up for Mr Kayton’s session. At fi rst I was a bit taken aback by the therapy but I managed to get rid of my fear in just two sessions!’
Unlike Carolyn, most people with clown issues will avoid situations where they can encounter clowns. Fortunately for them, you’re not very likely to run into a clown in everyday life!
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The fear is realThe fear is realA recent British newspaper survey found that anxiety about clowns ranked No. 3 behind fear of spiders and needles.Other things a lot of people are afraid of are: snakes, public speaking and heights.
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