Claustrophobia

[blossom]

Does anybody else on here suffer badly from claustrophobia?


I do since an incident when I was stuck in a lift in a multi storey car park when I was little and I am sick and tired of the way it affects my life on so many levels (excuse the pun that was not intended)
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I won't use lifts at all to the point where I accompanied my mum in her eighties to hospital recently and abandoned her at the lift to find the staircase and leg it up there and meet her at the top (I won lol)

I hate tunnels and do a lot of research before holidays etc if we are in a mountainous region to try and find how long the tunnels are or if there's a route without them. I am flying in a few months on holiday and am dreading it as last time I flew I had a panic attack and ran off the aircraft loudly telling our friends to go without me (I did go but it was a right to-do).

I am funny about public toilets in case I get shut in and those loos in some cities abroad which are like pods omg I'd rather wee down my leg than go in those

Anybody else this bad? How do you cope? Anybody had any treatment and has it worked? xx

 

[sarahpoppy24]

Yes I am not this bad now but I was. Mine was absolutely no lifts, the ferry from Plymouth to roscoff trip with family included me being locked in the car whilst frantically ringing my friends to try and get them to pick me up whilst begging my mum to let me out and I would walk to the station and get home somehow. I also used to be scared on the school bus when they locked the doors, I don't like buses, the under ground, bridges, i used to have re occuring nightmares about being stuck on boats and in rusty old multistory car parks and in lifts that were going rusty and were about to break. I also refuse to drive on the motorway because you can't stop and escape. This is going to sound really silly but when I was in school I would have panic attacks as when they shut the class room doors I couldn't get up and walk out if I wanted too. MRI scan, lasted 30 seconds. I have had these problems since I was a kid and didn't know I was clostraphobic untill I was an adult. I'm much better now because I understand it's a psychological thing and yes I avoid going on boats etc but now I will use a lift if it's modern, I wouldn't go in one that looked old of you know what I mean. I have no idea where it came from as none of my friends or family are like it. It's got a lot better with age. I think it's a fear of loss of control. I would also be intersted in hearing if others have had this and how they got rid of it completely. Xxx

 

[blossom]

actually yes sarahpoppy the only lift i have been in in the last few years is the glass lift in John Lewis . . .only on a couple of occasions, as its such an ordeal. I absolutely force myself and figured if it broke everyone would see and get someone ! I have to stand outwards looking out towards the docks and if more than about 4 people get in, I get out!

How long will it take for me to grow out of it? I'm 48 lol

 

[MissyMuffin]

I only get this on planes. I'm not scared of flying just that feeling of not being able to get off if I want to. It all starts to feel like a tube I'm stuck in. I watch every single minute ticking by till I can get out. Awkward on a flight to USA, I was a tight ball of stress lol

 

[sarahpoppy24]

I actually asked the stuardess on a flight as I was boarding if the wheels were ok as the tyre looked a bit flat to me. I also look for cracks etc on the air craft was I board. Mine is defiantly a control thing. Looking at equipment to see if it meets my standards. Glad it's not just me! Oh and I've also asked the lady that sits near the door in the cinemar if she could smell burning as I thaught it smelt a bit funny. X

 

[ch-ela]

actually yes sarahpoppy the only lift i have been in in the last few years is the glass lift in John Lewis . . .only on a couple of occasions, as its such an ordeal. I absolutely force myself and figured if it broke everyone would see and get someone ! I have to stand outwards looking out towards the docks and if more than about 4 people get in, I get out!

How long will it take for me to grow out of it? I'm 48 lol

I have an irrational fear of escalators. I used to force myself on them to "cure" myself of this fear, now I just accept that I don't like them and look for alternatives. I would love to visit London but I would not be able to cope with the Tube.

I would try hypnosis if I was worried.