Fear of traveling in public transport, in an elevator, fear of enclosed spaces

March 31, 2021

Multi-storey buildings and skyscrapers have long become a part of our modern world. Having an elevator in them made life much easier for many of us. Parents with small children, employees of companies whose offices are located on high floors, elderly people - for all of them, the passenger elevator has become an indispensable device.

But still, for some people, its device causes real fear. Can what is happening be called a phobia? Of course, but you won’t find such a diagnosis in modern medical reference books. Fear of elevators is considered one of the manifestations of claustrophobia, known to many - the fear of enclosed spaces.

Today in society this fear is called elevator phobia.

People who are afraid of elevators will always choose the stairs instead. However, despite all the benefits that walking provides, it is quite time-consuming, energy-consuming, and sometimes simply unrealistic (imagine - you have to climb to one of the top floors of a high-rise building!). Just the thought of having to cross the threshold of an open elevator door can cause people to have a real panic attack.

How to overcome your fear of elevators on your own?

You can cope with your fears using the following ways:

• try to take the elevator at least one floor every day;
• before entering the lift, calm down and smile;
• while in the booth, breathe deeply and evenly;
• while riding in an elevator, talking to someone on the phone;
• always carry a flashlight with you;
• going up in an elevator with a group of people.

People who are afraid of lifts need to know that their fears have nothing to do with reality. Modern elevators have safety systems that are instantly activated during a fall, and before installation and operation, all mechanisms are thoroughly checked. The doors of many lifts are equipped with sensors and sensors, so they will not close until all passengers have exited. In case of a stop, the elevator switches to autonomous power supply and the light in the cabin does not go out.

Symptoms of elevatorphobia:

• cardiopalmus;
• increased sweating;
• trembling in the limbs;
• increased blood pressure;
• dyspnea;
• dizziness;
• fainting.

Don't look for excuses for your fears. To overcome a phobia and cope with attacks of fear, you need to figure it out and honestly answer yourself - what is the reason for this fear?

What could be the trigger that leads to the formation of this fear in a person?

Specialist help

There are cases when a phobia penetrates the subconscious and a person is unable to overcome his problems on his own. You should consult a psychologist. Having studied the nature and characteristics of your fear, the specialist selects appropriate therapy.

Group therapy against liftophobia

• individual conversations;
• group classes (patients first share their fears and then their successes in combating them);
• art therapy (recreating your feelings with the help of poetry, music, dance, as well as sublimating your fears onto canvas, clay or any other available objects);
• hypnosis (one of the most effective methods: by putting the patient into a trance state, the specialist pulls out information from the subconscious that the person would not be able to remember in a normal state, in the same way the real cause of the disease is determined, and the correct attitudes are gently suggested);
• drug therapy.

The presence of phobias has long become the norm. You need to realize that your fear is a disease that can deprive you of many of the joys of life and even destroy existing benefits. Don't ignore your fears.

A passenger elevator is an extremely useful and necessary device, and in our age of high-rise buildings and skyscrapers, it can be said to be irreplaceable. Nevertheless, its design and operating features inspire outright fear in some people. Can this be called a phobia? However, you will not find a separate diagnosis in medical reference books. Among people and doctors, the phobia is simply called elevator phobia.

Causes of phobia

1. 1 . Psychotraumatic experience. Often fear appears after a person has already been in an unpleasant situation involving an elevator. Once upon a time he was already stuck in it or heard frightening stories on this topic from family and friends. Or, while using the elevator, he felt ill for various reasons, and he experienced psychological stress.
2. 2 . Claustrophobia (fear of closed spaces). An elevator is most often a small closed cabin, and therefore a person may really be afraid that it will be impossible to get out of the elevator if necessary.
3. 3 . Fear of falling and crashing in an elevator shaft . This fear is most often the result of developed imagination and watching thrillers. (“thanks” to the cinema). But we should remember that our lives are not like movies, and in reality, cable breaks happen extremely rarely, since all equipment is manufactured according to modern safety standards and undergoes mandatory checks before use. Agree that today it has become much more dangerous to use transport or even cross the street incorrectly as a pedestrian.
4. 4 . The need to be close to strangers in small spaces. If you are an anxious and suspicious person, then questions may arise in your head: if you get stuck, what can you expect from other passengers? The fear of the unknown is triggered - it’s scary to ride in an elevator with a stranger and not know what’s on his mind.
5. 5 . Loneliness. To fall into a trap, to be left alone in the dark - at such moments a person experiences a subconscious fear of loneliness. He is afraid to remain face to face with his negative emotions and experiences.

The most common complaints in the presence of fear of traveling in transport

• Phobias are obsessive fears. Phobic anxiety
• Feeling afraid in open places or on the street
• Fear of leaving the house alone
• Fear of riding in public transport
• The need to avoid certain places or activities
• Fear of fainting

Treatment of disorders with manifestations of feelings of fear.

Today, the fear of traveling on a bus, trolleybus, metro and other types of public transport, as well as the fear of traveling in an elevator, where a person encounters a limited enclosed space and a large crowd of people in this limited space, is quite widespread.
Call us and we can figure it out correctly and help you get rid of your fear of transport!

Examples of complaints about a feeling of fear before traveling on a bus, subway, or elevator:

“I’m afraid to ride buses after I found out that the bus overturned. As soon as I have to travel, my condition worsens. I understand that

something is wrong with my psyche, I try to distract myself, switch gears, but more often than not I can’t do anything. I am fixated on my feelings and feel constant discomfort throughout my body, but nothing hurts, only tightness in the heart area and sometimes a stone on my chest, my heart beats very quietly, almost inaudibly, my cardiogram is normal, my lungs are fine, my hands often get cold, legs and feel internal trembling, discomfort in the stomach. I saw a psychologist, worked with him for a long time using different programs, methods, and tried hypnosis. The psychologist says that this is a fear of closed spaces. It lets go for a short period of time and then it all happens again...”

“Two years ago I was riding on the subway, and there was a desire to go to relieve myself, but not a strong one. I was in the subway for a long time; I didn’t want to get out. It ended with me almost peing myself in public, which I had always been able to tolerate normally before. Now I'm scared to even go into the subway. It can suddenly come up, and I can’t stand it. When I go to the toilet, the urine is still a little clear. I saw a urologist - no pathologies. I went to the venereologist - too, everything is fine. I tried to be treated by a neurologist - without any changes. Now I’ve been going to a psychologist-psychotherapist for a year now (such a specialization does not exist, we are talking about an ordinary psychologist - author’s note). We've already talked about everything in the world, but the problem remains. And the worst thing is that now I’m afraid to ride buses. As soon as I want to sit in it, I immediately feel like I’m going to wet myself.”

“I can’t ride in elevators! I always walk, it’s good that I don’t live so high, only on the 8th floor. And I very rarely go out to visit a friend; I have to go to the 22nd floor. Although I myself have never gotten stuck in an elevator, my fear of elevators is terrible. It all started when a friend of mine got stuck in an elevator and talked about it so vividly that my chest felt cold. I’m very afraid of cramped and closed spaces.”

Fear is a feeling of internal tension associated with the expectation of threatening events and actions. This is a protective reaction of higher nervous activity aimed at preserving life.

When the central nervous system malfunctions, various kinds of pathological reactions can form, causing feelings of fear, which are called “phobias” in official medicine. Basically, the formation of fears (phobias) of traveling in public transport and elevators, being in cramped enclosed spaces are associated with a high load on the human psyche in everyday life.

Phobias are obsessive and senseless fears, such as, for example, fear of heights, large streets, open or limited, visually closed spaces, crowds of people, fear of getting terminally ill

disease, fear of fears, and this can include

fear of traveling in elevators, buses, subways

and etc.

Obsessive fear, or phobia, is an intense and irresistible mental state that engulfs a person, despite the understanding of the meaninglessness of his fears and attempts to cope with them on his own.

Phobias, or obsessive fears, for example, the fear of riding the subway or other public transport, today are often defined as the presence of neurosis, but this is not always the case. It is impossible to immediately talk about its true origin just by the external manifestation of a mental disorder.

Phobia (fear), in any of its manifestations, is only a symptom, a small fraction, which indicates the presence of any mental disorder, and does not give clear indications that this mental disorder is neurosis, even if it is combined with so-called panic attacks , which, like a phobia, is a symptom.

If a psychotherapist encounters a symptom in the form of a phobia, his main task is to conduct a differential diagnosis in order to accurately determine the main source that causes this mental reaction - obsessive fear.

If we talk about the fear of traveling in public transport (bus, metro, trolleybus, tram) - fear of confined spaces, then this diagnostic index may be included in the context of such mental disorders as:

1. Various types of neuroses - Borderline mental state. These mental disorders most often include obsessive fears.

2. Anxiety disorders – Borderline mental state. As with neuroses, obsessive fear often manifests itself in this mental state.

3. Depression – Borderline mental state. Occurs in long-term and deep conditions.

4. Toxic brain damage - alcohol, drugs, toxins, other psychoactive substances.

5. Organic brain damage - trauma, infection, tumors, etc.

6. Endogenous mental diseases – Developing as a result of disturbances in the metabolic processes of the brain.

7. Acute psychotic states – psychoses.

In the overwhelming majority, all mental disorders are treatable, but for this you need to pay due attention to your mental health and consult a competent psychotherapist who will correctly assess the condition, identify the true causes, individually prescribe and conduct adequate complex therapy.

What to do if you discover that you have elevator phobia?

1. 1. There is no need to panic and immediately diagnose yourself (leave this to a specialist).
2. 2. You need to understand that this is not a one-time incident or a consequence of the thriller you watched the day before. For some, fear goes away after they analyze and give a rational explanation for the appearance of this fear. Others need more time to restore their health. But you need to remember that modern specialists are able to cure all phobias. Only by not paying enough attention to your fears can you develop even more mental disorders.

The Cure for Fear

There are many approaches to eliminating phobias. Here are just a few:

Treat like with like . The purpose of the method is to bring a person face to face with his fear, to make him understand that the object of fear is actually safe. The method can be carried out both in ordinary and virtual reality. For example, psychotherapists often use computer games to treat claustrophobia, in which the character has to fight in skyscrapers and cramped street labyrinths. After a session of such a game, the condition of the patients improves significantly.

Self-help methods . The goal is to teach the patient a fundamentally different reaction to fear. Instead of panicking, use relaxation techniques. For example, you need to concentrate your gaze on some point and begin to breathe deeply, evenly, but often. In this case, you can mentally count the steps of an imaginary staircase.

Tatiana Ressina:

Parade of planets and superstitions Another option is
to turn on your imagination and imagine some bright, bright picture with which positive emotions are associated.
For example, the seashore, a beach, a forest clearing... Many people find it helpful to do active exercises : muscle activity helps burn adrenaline, the stress hormone that causes anxiety and horror. In general, there are a lot of self-help methods that have a distracting effect. These include washing with cold water, kneading massage of the hands and neck, performing breathing exercises, sucking lollipops, lightly waving the arms, auto-training, etc.

Hypnosis, neurolinguistic programming (NLP) . NLP techniques are based on working with certain speech patterns. By reciting a special text, a person calms down and comes to his senses.

Medicines . Drugs that reduce anxiety and panic (antidepressants, psychotropics, antipsychotics) are used to relieve attacks of fear, but have only auxiliary value. It is advisable to avoid the use of medications that have a strong effect on the psyche. In the absence of contraindications, it is permissible to use valerian tincture, bromine preparations, and some safe tranquilizers.

Time . There are known cases of spontaneous recovery from claustrophobia. Moreover, the older the person, the higher the likelihood of his recovery. Therefore, often in the second half of life, the symptoms of the disease decrease, or even disappear on their own.

How is liftophobia treated?

A person can overcome his fears himself using the following methods:

• Study the instructions and safety rules when using elevators. Remember or write down the telephone number of the emergency service or the dispatcher on duty, get acquainted with the structure of the elevator shafts. Try to have a flashlight and a mobile phone with you.
• While in the booth, remember about breathing exercises. Breathe rhythmically, pay attention to the number of inhalations and exhalations. This will restore your clarity of thinking and distract you from the reasons that cause fear.
• Gradually increase the time you spend in the elevator. First, take the elevator 2-3 floors, and the rest of the distance take the stairs. Day by day, increase the elevator ride by at least one floor, and reduce the number of flights of stairs you walk.
• Practice elevator rides in the company of several people or, conversely, alone. If you are afraid of being alone in a confined space, start talking to someone on your cell phone or enter a lift cabin with other people. Otherwise, let strangers go ahead and wait until the lift is free.
• Relax more often. Try to rest and eat properly, avoid stressful situations, do yoga, meditate.

What is the fear of elevators called?

In medicine there is no special term that would correspond to this phobia. The fear of elevators is similar to the fear of enclosed spaces. This is a kind of manifestation of claustrophobia. Fear of lifts can be called elevator phobia.

People who are afraid of elevators try to go up or down only by stairs. They avoid mechanical or electrical lifts at all costs. When they see the elevator, they begin to panic. Such a phobia can lead to poor health, increased heart rate, increased blood pressure, and even fainting.