Claustrophobia

I have thought about posting on this topic before but held off because a lot of people don’t understand what it is like to have a phobia so the content here may make me sound crazy to those folks.  I have decided to disregard that concern and share my recent experience. 

Claustrophobia (from Latin claustrum "a shut in place" and Greek φόβος, phóbos, "fear") is the fear of having no escape and being closed in (opposite: claustrophilia). It is typically classified as an anxiety disorder and often results in panic attack, and can be the result of many situations or stimuli, including elevators crowded to capacity, windowless rooms, and even tight-necked clothing ^[1]. The onset of claustrophobia has been attributed to many factors, including a reduction in the size of the amygdala, classical conditioning, or a genetic predisposition to fear small spaces. One study indicates that anywhere from 5–7% of the world population is affected by severe claustrophobia.

Basic symptoms of claustrophobiaClaustrophobia is typically thought to have two key symptoms: fear of restriction and fear of suffocation. A typical claustrophobic will fear restriction in at least one, if not several, of the following areas: small rooms, locked rooms, cars, tunnels, cellars, elevators, subway trains, caves, airplanes and crowded areas. Additionally, the fear of restriction can cause some claustrophobics to fear trivial matters such as sitting in a barber’s chair or waiting in line at a grocery store simply out of a fear of confinement to a single space.

However, claustrophobics are not necessarily afraid of these areas themselves, but, rather, they fear what could happen to them should they become confined to an area. Often, when confined to an area, claustrophobics begin to fear suffocation, believing that there may be a lack of air in the area to which they are confined.  Many claustrophobics remove clothing during attacks, believing it will relieve the symptoms. Any combination of the above symptoms can lead to severe panic attacks. However, most claustrophobics do everything in their power to avoid these situations.^[2]

Those of you who read my blog saw my posts about our trip to Cedar Key and how lovely it was.  It really was a relaxing and fun vacation.  The only real negative of the trip was my claustrophobic episode at Universal Studios Islands of Adventure.  I would first like to note that I am incredibly rationally minded person.  One of the only exceptions to this is my claustrophobia.  We were having a fantastic day at the park and we decided to end the day by riding Hulk.  I have gone on this ride before and love it!  I have a difficult time with the harnesses on a lot of roller coasters but since I love them I do my best to power through my uneasiness.  One of my biggest fears is getting stuck in the harness after the ride ends; I have always been able to calm down my thoughts on this since it had never happened to me before.  I can no longer say that.  We had a blast on the ride and as we pulled into the waiting area to get off the ride my breath started getting uneven like usual and my heart started racing but I kept reassuring myself that I was only a few seconds from freedom.  We pull up to the exit point and all the harnesses lift except our row and I start having a panic attack. 

To those of you who have never experienced this I will do my best to explain it though I’m sure it won’t do it justice.  I felt the blood drain out of my head and my heart started racing and beating unevenly as I struggled to take deep breaths.  It felt like needles were piercing my skin as the panic fully set in.  My mind started racing and I became fearful for my safety and my freedom.  I felt the harness closing further in on me as every single second passed which caused me to tense almost all my muscles.  My stress level was so high that I was on the verge of passing out, which honestly would have been helpful because then by the time I woke up it would have been over.  The people attending the ride looked at me like I was insane and kept trying to say nice things and talk to me which was no help at all.  They couldn’t get the harness open with their tool so they had to call a technician and I thought I surely would never be free again which sounds insane I know.  After probably only a few minutes but what felt like a century they got us out and I almost collapsed to the ground once I stood up.  Once I was free I was able to calm myself down but I felt sick to my stomach for the rest of the day from the stress of it all. 

I am now worried that I won’t be able to ride roller coasters with shoulder harnesses again or at least for a while.  It has also caused my claustrophobic episodes to be triggered more easily since we got back which is really starting to upset me.  I am trying to work on self soothing myself in those situations but it is really embarrassing when it happens.  I hope none of you have phobias but if you do I hope this was something you can relate to.  I do not have many friends who have experienced anything like this so it is hard to not feel like a crazy person when it happens.  I can only hope that I continue to improve my ability to control my thoughts when I feel an episode coming.