Comet 17P/Holmes may seem harmless but to Cometophobics it's no laughing matter. Cometophobia, or one who has a fear of comets, affects an extremely small portion of the population. But to those who suffer from this type of phobia, the recent news of 17P/Holmes' erratic behavior has many cometophobics seeking treatment.
Rather than shrinking as it gets further from the sun as most comets do, this one just keeps getting bigger and brighter. At the beginning of the week, the cloud of dust and gas surrounding the comet's core -- called the coma -- had already grown larger than the sun. Now, just a few days later, the coma's diameter is twice that of the sun -- the dust cloud measures some 2.7 million kilometers across whereas the sun is just 1.39 million kilometers across. And there is no sign that it is finished.
"The comet is now a long ways away, but the dust cloud is still growing," Dr. Maciej Mikolajewski from the Torun Center for Astronomy at Nicolaus Copernicus University told SPIEGEL ONLINE. "It's the first time I've ever seen such a thing. I've never seen such a bright comet in my life."
Source - Spiegel Online
What is Cometophobia? Not to be confused with Coulrophobia, an abnormal or exaggerated fear of clowns, cometophobics fear comets.
Overdoses of adrenaline can cause irritability and agitation, while too much noradrenaline can leave a person feeling disconnected and high. If arousal continues, the adrenal glands create anti inflammatory chemicals to speed tissue repair but cortisol will also suppress the immune system, leaving it vulnerable to illness and disease.Treatment For Cometophobia
Extra sodium is retained, endangering the performance of the cardiovascular system by causing fluid retention, raising the heart rate, increasing blood pressure and possibly inducing blood clots. Stomach ulcers are a classic symptom of stress, as the stomach cannot deal with the extra secretion of acid that occurs during times of turbulence. Acute and cumulative stress over a period of time can even cause death. Source - Depression-Guide.com
From CTRN Phobia Clinic:
Is your Cometophobia severe?
Are you looking for the fastest, most effective way to overcome it?
If so, take a deep breath, and read on now...
CTRN's VIP Program for Cometophobia is very, very different from any program you're likely to come across elsewhere:
– First, critically, the VIP Program assigns you a highly experienced Board-Certified Practitioner who will work with you, individually, for as long as it takes to overcome your Cometophobia. In most cases, we offer this service for a fixed fee. That's right - a fixed fee. It helps to ensure our interests are aligned: You want to wave a permanent goodbye to your Cometophobia as quickly as possible, and so do we.
Source - CTRN Phobia Clinic
Hypnosis
We were unable to find a hypnosis treatment for Cometophobia but we did find one for fear of asteroids.
Close enough.
OVERCOME FEAR OF ASTEROIDS (Asteroidophobia)
verbatim suggestions
“For you fear of asteroids is a thing of the past. In its place you are courageous, unconcerned, brave, dauntless and self reassured. From now on, and more so over time, the intrepid outlook of your free spirit grows stronger and this incorrect fear fades away. You take normal precautions and nothing more.”
Source - hypnotictapes.com
There are those who believe it was a "cometary fragment" that hit the Tunguska region of Siberai in 1908.
The collision of a cometary fragment is thought to have occurred in the Tunguska region of Siberia in 1908. The blast was about the size of a 15 megaton nuclear bomb. It knocked down trees in an area about 850 square miles, but did not leave a crater. The consensus among scientists is that a cometary fragment about 20 to 60 meters in diameter exploded in the Earth's atmosphere just above the Earth's surface. Only small amounts of material similar to meteorites were found embedded in trees at the site.
Source - Tulane University
A bit about odds:
No one should worry about being struck, personally, by a comet or asteroid. The threat to an average person from disease, car accidents, accidents in the home, and from other natural disasters is much higher. However, people should worry about the long-term threat to the Earth of asteroids and comets. The chances are extremely small that a devastating impact would occur in a single lifetime. But over then next 1,000 years, the odds are no longer negligible.
Source - NASA
This should help lessen some fear of comets unless you suffer from euphobia, fear of good news.
By LBG
Image [1] wpcmath.com
Image [2] hypnoticblaze.com
Image [3] rob-clarkson.com
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