The human mind is often prone to many fears. Fear of heights, water, certain insects, and so on are some of the issues that trigger our minds to behave abnormally during such cases.
In this article, we are going to describe one such fear of the mind known as Claustrophobia. Put in simple words this is the fear of being in a small and narrow space as your mind perceives.
Understanding Claustrophobia
As we told you above, at times it has been noted that people will show abnormal attitudes and a sense of fear in a narrow and small space.
The indication can be best seen in people at different times when they enter an area of small space.
For example, a difference in their attitude and a sense of terrific fear occurs when they enter tunnels, elevators, small cars, caves, cellars in jail, small rooms like the attic, and so on.
Studies show that the mind triggers this feeling of fear when this type of person is put in a small space.
How Does It Feel To Be A Person Suffering From Claustrophobia?
Are you a person who has this sort of phobia? If yes, then you very well know about the signs that can occur during such cases. If not, then it is important to know how the mind of a person having a phobia will act in such situations.
See, a person with claustrophobia will act anxious. This is the first sign to come up. Anxiety builds up symptoms like-
- Restlessness
- Palpitations
- Breathing trouble or difficulty breathing
- Faster heartbeat
- Sweating profusely
- Shouting for help or crying
- Nervousness
- Hallucination
- Fainting
- Sleep issues
These are some of the Physical Intimacy signs but there are some emotional triggers as well that are not difficult to identify. For example, here is a list of some emotional issues-
- Major fear
- Fear of death
- Feeling as if they need to come out of the situation.
Depending on how severe this phobia is, the signs may last even after the trigger has been removed. For example, such a person may still show the signs even after coming out or being rescued out of a confined or small space. The issues may last for a few minutes to hours or even days in some severe cases.
Is This Phobia A Common Issue Among People?
Studies show that about 15% of people have this sort of fear of being in a small and tight space. Studies show that it is one of the major phobias among many people. Often, there is no specific age at which this issue may crop up.
Most of the time, the issue can last right from childbirth or else it may develop later on at any stage of your life. However, the details of an interesting study show that this sort of phobia is more common in females than males.
Is There Anything That Can Cause This Phobia To Develop Later On?
Well in the earlier section, we have told you that claustrophobia may be present right from childbirth. But in reality, it may develop later on in life as well. Let us try to know in which cases can such a sort of trigger can develop and change your lifestyle forever.
A Trauma At An Early Age
Studies show that most children can develop this sort of an inbuilt fear from a small age. It may occur when they have experienced a situation where they had been trapped for a long time helpless and completely alone in a small and tight place.
A Trigger To Cause The Fear To Build |
Studies show that often the signs develop only when there is a presence of a trigger to the phobia. For example, such a person may behave and feel normal unless that trigger is present around. Entering a cave, feeling turbulence in a flight, and so on. |
Studies also show that a person suffering from this issue may feel the trigger even if they are not physically present in the situation. |
For example, a person with claustrophobia can show the signs even when watching videos or movies of people being trapped in tight places or even when seeing such places from a distance. |
Is There Any Way To Cure Or Reduce The Feelings Of Claustrophobia?
One good news for people who are experiencing such issues is that there is always a cure for claustrophobia. Let us tell you about these two concepts in a bit more detail-
Exposure Therapy–
This type of therapy involves the patient physically feeling or mentally recalling the events or a trigger. For example, a therapist can show you pictures of tight and small spaces, recall the event that triggers claustrophobia, or even physically put you in such a space.
The therapist will be under supervision all the time, but they will instruct you to come out of the situation on your own and manage your fears. Often, they will talk about controlling your breathing, avoiding mental fear, and trying to relax your mind in such cases.
CBT Or Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
In this therapy, you will undergo regular consultation with the doctor where you share each detail about your fears.
For example, you will have to tell how you felt in those situations, what symptoms occurred, how they even occurred, and so on.
Then the therapist tries to relax your mind and the brain and tells you to think about how you can use your brain to have control and behave in such a situation.
Use Of Medicines
At times when these claustrophobia issues are occurring very often a doctor can tell you to use a medicine. For example, pills that cure anxiety, depression, and so on. Final thoughts
Claustrophobia seems to be an involuntary control that gains fear and a sense of insecurity in your mind at times. But with regular therapy over a long time, the situation can be managed a lot.