What is Claustrophobia? What Causes Claustrophobia?
Editor's ChoiceMain Category: Anxiety / Stress
Also Included In: Psychology / Psychiatry; Depression; Mental Health
Article Date: 21 Apr 2011 - 0:00 PDT
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Claustrophobia is an anxiety disorder; the sufferer has an irrational fear of having no escape or being closed-in. It frequently results in panic attack and can be triggered by certain stimuli or situations, such as being in a crowded elevator, a room without windows, or sitting in an airplane. Some people may even experience claustrophobia when wearing tight-necked clothing.
The word claustrophobia originates from Latin claustrum which means "a shut in place" and Greek phobos, which means "fear". Research has shown that approximately 6% of people suffer the disorder worldwide, but the majority are not receiving treatment for it.
People with claustrophobia can find the disorder hard to live with, as they will go to great lengths to avoid small spaces and situations that trigger their panic and anxiety. They will avoid certain places like the subway/underground and will prefer to take the stairs over using a lift/elevator no matter how many floors they need to ascend/descend.
According to Medilexicon's medical dictionary claustrophobia is:
"A morbid fear of being in a confined place."
What are the Symptoms of Claustrophobia?
A symptom is something the patient feels or reports, while a sign is something that other people, including the doctor detects. A headache may be an example of a symptom, while a rash may be an example of a sign.A claustrophobic may suffer symptoms similar to anxiety that are triggered by being in a small space. The phobia of the small space is based on the fear of running out of oxygen along with the fear of restriction. When in an small confined space, someone with claustrophobia may start to show the following symptoms:
- Sweating
- Accelerated heart rate
- Increased blood pressure
- Hyperventilation, or 'over-breathing'
- Shaking
- Sweating
- Panic attacks
- Light-headedness
- Nausea
- Fainting
- Fear of actual harm or illness
- elevators/lifts
- basements/cellars
- small rooms
- airplanes
- locked rooms
- cars
- trains
- crowded areas
- As soon as they enter a room they may urgently check out where the exits are and position themselves near them. When all the doors are closed they may feel troubled.
- In a crowded party, even if the venue is a large and spacious room, they will position themselves near the door.
- Avoid driving during peak times, when traffic is likely to be congested
- Avoid travelling as a passenger in a car during peak traffic times
- In severe cases, some individuals with claustrophobia may panic when a door is closed
- Avoid using elevators and use the stairs, even if this means getting tired, out of breath and sweating a lot
What Causes Claustrophobia?
Claustrophobia is generally the result of an experience in the person's past (usually in their childhood) that has led them to associate small spaces with the feeling of panic or being in imminent danger. Examples of these kinds of past experiences are:- falling into a deep pool and not being able to swim
- being in a crowded area and getting separated from parents/group
- crawling into a hole and getting lost/stuck
There are other theories behind the causes of claustrophobia, these are:
- Smaller Amygdala - the amygdala is a tiny part of the brain that is used to control how the body processes fear. During a study, Fumi Hayano discovered that people who suffered panic disorders had a smaller amygdale than average. This smaller size could interfere with how the body processes panic and anxiety.
- Prepared Phobia - there is also a theory that phobias develop on the genetic level rather than psychologically. The research behind this theory suggests that claustrophobia and some other phobias are dormant evolutionary survival mechanisms. A survival instinct buried within our genetic code that was once crucial to human survival but is no longer needed.
How is Claustrophobia Diagnosed?
Claustrophobia would be diagnosed as a result of seeing a psychologist. The patient may be seeing the psychologist because they suffer the symptoms of claustrophobia, or they could be originally seeing them about another anxiety problem or phobia.The psychologist would ask for a description of the symptoms and what triggers them. Using their knowledge and resources, the psychologist would then determine the type and severity of the patient's phobia.
There are methods put in place to help decide if the patient is suffering claustrophobia and to what extent. These methods are:
- Claustrophobia questionnaire - Originally developed in 1993 and modified in 2001 this has been a helpful way of identifying the symptoms of claustrophobia.
- Claustrophobia Scale - Developed in 1979, this method is made up of 20 questions that when answered can help establish the levels of anxiety when diagnosing the claustrophobia.
How is Claustrophobia Treated?
After diagnosis has been made, the psychologist would try one or a few of the following methods to help the claustrophobic deal with their fear:- CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy) - This is a well recognized treatment method for many other types of anxiety disorder. The goal of CBT is to retrain the claustrophobic's brain to no longer feel threatened by the places they fear. An approach taken may be slowly exposing the patient to small spaces and helping them deal with their fear and anxiety (in vivo exposure). This is the most common way claustrophobia is treated.
- Drug Therapy - This type of therapy can help manage the anxiety symptoms, however it does not deal with the problem itself. This along with the undesired side effects makes this method far from first choice for treating claustrophobia.
- Relaxation Exercises - Taking deep breaths, meditating and doing muscle relaxing exercises are effective at dealing with negative thoughts and anxiety.
- Alternative/Natural medicine - There are some natural products and homeopathic medicines that some patients say help them manage panic and anxiety.
Original article date: 3 Feb 2006
Article updated: 22 April 2011
Copyright: Medical News Today
Not to be reproduced without permission of Medical News Today
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13 Feb. 2012. <http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/37062.php>
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http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/37062.php.
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Visitor Opinions In Chronological Order (12)
Lapses In Trying To Fight My Claustrophobia
posted by Mario Garcia on 11 Aug 2009 at 9:48 amMy worse fear is riding the lift or elevator.The narrower it is, the more i just take the stairs just to avoid using one. But if given the choice, i would like to ride the high speed lifts. And to think the average number of floors the buildings i have gone to use the elevator here in our country is 28 with the highest i attempted at only 40 floors.
Do I have it?
posted by Lindsay on 8 Oct 2010 at 3:45 pmMy name is Lindsay. For the past two to three weeks I've noticed feeling nervous on crowded buses and metros. I also avoid crowded areas even if it is with people I know. On Monday, I had an extremely bad panic attack on the bus. I started looking up different websites to inform myself. All the websites said that the cause is usually from a traumatic experience from childhood. I have never had one. The only thing I can think of is since the anxiety started is a break up. I wouldn't think that that would be enough to cause this. I am just seeking some opinions
the walls do close in on you
posted by Lisa on 16 Oct 2010 at 12:02 amI was at work and was asked to go in between two shelves on a sliding shelf and was closed in.. now I can not get the image out of my mind and this is not an irrational fear... as it happened... so can not conviance me that the walls will not close in on you... as they did...
Claustrophobia - Panic
posted by Garon on 18 Feb 2011 at 8:09 amHi Lindsay,
Don't try to uncover some experience you had as a child. It most likely doesn't exist. I have had panic attacks and anxiety since I was about 21 and am now 36. I am completely fine and haven't had a panic attack in ten years, at least. I take Prozac 20mg daily and .5mg of lorazepam as needed if I start feeling nervous. You might stop having panic attacks when you are sure that is what it is. Just remember to take deep breaths and remind yourself of something pleasant when you get into the situation. Better said than done, I know. But try!! Good luck, It will get better.
Attack in less then 10 seconds.
posted by TanTan on 5 Apr 2011 at 12:27 amTerrible today.. we went for a school excursion to a court and it was only 6 levels but there were only stair to the 1st. So I had to use the elevator, I couldn't stop shaking and sweating, by the time we got to the 6th level I was almost in lears. It's so horrible! This was over a few seconds too! How can I make this feeling stop?
Attack in less then 10 seconds - Answer
posted by philip on 27 Apr 2011 at 7:49 pmHi Tan Tan,
Here are some thoughts on your situation. I have been a long time Claustrophobic. First of all, all buildings must have a stairway for emergency fire exits. Ask to speak with the manager of the building or head security person and explain your circumstances. The door may be locked on the outside from the bottom floor (entrance or first floor) but they will show you and can send a security person to the second or higher floor and he will walk down and open the stairwell so you can enter and use the stairs.
If you do not have the time or the opportunity to do the above process, and you find yourself entering the uncomfortable situation that you described (like having a bad dream), then (change the dream) close your eyes and remember/visualize a beautiful, exciting, real or fantasy memory that you had experienced or wished you had experienced earlier in your life. Believe me it works, fortunately or unfortunately you will arrive at your floor destination quickly.
Felt like being strangled
posted by Ana on 28 Apr 2011 at 9:32 pmWhen im in car i started to felt like someone strangling me and im having this headaches that make me often throwing up in a car or even in a small place especially in elevator..im tired of this situation..sometimes i feel threaten when people sitting very close to me...huh help me please
Panic Attack
posted by Ty on 30 Apr 2011 at 10:06 amYesterday I was in a job interview and I had a bad panic attack. I was sweating,shaking,headache, and couldnt catch my breath. Once I left the room and was outside I started to feel better. Do this mean anything?
nervous in crowded bus
posted by Gary on 10 Jun 2011 at 9:42 ami need your help i dont know where it comes from everytime iam in a crowded bus i get nervous because i always thing that what if i want to used the bathroom will the bus stop then my belly started feeling weird i try to think about other things to get rid of this feelings but this happen everytime iam in a crowded bus but when i get off the bus the feeling is gone i been late for work many times because i dont want to take the crowded bus i cant take this anymore please help me i want to get rid of this symtoms that making my life very uncomfortable
Loss of oxygen
posted by Nijah on 12 Jul 2011 at 3:42 pmI am currently 12 years old. My problem is once when I was younger I went to science center. There was this small box, you went inside and the people outside would lock it then you would have to find a key somewhere on the floor, but hen I noticed the walls were closing in, literally. I started looking for the key, my heart start to race, e few seconds later I just lost it! I was banging on the walls screaming, and hyperventilating. 5 years later (2010) I was playing with my younger brother he trapped me under a blanket I started to panic I thought I couldn't breathe. Do you think it's claustrophobia?
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