Maybe what you need for the balloon thing is immersion therapy. It worked for me and spiders. I've always had an uncontrollable revulsion to spiders... until some years ago when I spent a weekend at a friends cabin. That place was *thick* with spiders everywhere. I mean millions of the little devils. So thick they made the floor crunchy... I slept on a couch that probly had hundreds crawling over my sleeping bag all night. They'd just fall outta trees onto your head... by the hundreds they fell like rain.
After that, I still don't like 'em much... but *nothing* will ever approach that level of creepiness again.
:-)
Now... all we need is a room full'o balloons...
I forgot to include you in the above post! :-P