claustrophobia

Claustrophobia: description

Claustrophobia, also called space anxiety, is one of the specific phobias. This means that those affected feel a disproportionate fear in the face of a specific cause. For example, people with claustrophobia develop strong feelings of anxiety in narrow and confined spaces (for example in elevators, subways) as well as crowds (concerts, for example).

The counterpart of claustrophobia is agoraphobia, or fear of claustrophobia, where those concerned are afraid of open, wide squares. Some experts have now begun to summarize both forms of fear under the generic term agoraphobia, because their common feature is the fear or the avoidance of places and situations.

Claustrophobia – social impact

Claustrophobia can severely restrict their lives both professionally and privately, for example, because they have problems traveling or avoiding many situations and places that are natural to others – from going to the movies to congress.

Claustrophobia – spread

The fear of tight spaces is widespread. According to research, about 7 to 8 percent of the population suffer from it. It often occurs in combination with a panic disorder. That is, in the anxiety-filled situations, the victim attacks panic, which is accompanied by physical symptoms such as palpitations, sweating and suffocation.

Claustrophobia: symptoms

What is claustrophobia? Like all phobias, this disease manifests itself in an inappropriately intense anxiety – in this case, in tight and confined spaces or crowds. In some patients, the fear of suffocating is in the foreground, in others the fear of being trapped. It is clear to those affected that basically nothing can happen to them and their fear is irrational. Nevertheless, they do not manage to dominate them.

The expression of anxiety ranges from discomfort and anxiety to panic. The symptoms of anxiety then include physical symptoms such as palpitations, sweating, shortness of breath or hyperventilation. These can be so strong that they terrify those affected.

For fear of the physical and mental symptoms of claustrophobia, those affected avoid appropriate situations. As a result, the disease often worsens and patients are increasingly limited in their radius of life.

Claustrophobia: causes and risk factors

The urge to be locked up is one of the existential human experiences. In people with claustrophobia, however, it assumes exaggerated proportions.

Fearsome situations as a cause

Sometimes a claustrophobia arises because of a very frightening experience. For example, a child gets stuck somewhere while playing, someone is buried or accidentally locked up, or gets into a threatening situation in a crowd. Why some develop claustrophobia after such an experience, but others do not, is not yet fully understood.

Fear without a trigger

In other cases, the claustrophobia develops creeping, without a scary experience can be fixed as a trigger. Here, the cause of the disorder can be even more difficult to determine.

Predisposition and negative experiences

However, it is known that the personality and thus also the fundamental anxiety of a person are influenced by genetic predisposition and experience at an early stage. Some are therefore particularly vulnerable and develop more mental disorders than others – including anxiety disorders such as claustrophobia.

Claustrophobia: examinations and diagnosis

If you avoid closed or narrow spaces or crowds for irrational fear, seek help. First contact person can be your family doctor. He will ask you about your specific complaints. If the suspicion of claustrophobia hardens, he will refer you to a therapist.

Physical examinations

In order to rule out possible physical causes of the anxiety symptoms, various investigations are carried out in the case of claustrophobia. This includes the acquisition of some blood values, an electrocardiogram (ECG) or an examination of the thyroid gland by means of ultrasound.

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can be used to rule out pathological changes in the brain as the cause of anxiety. However, such an investigation is a considerable challenge especially for people with claustrophobia. It may be necessary to have special equipment that is more open-plan than the common equipment, allowing more space for the patient.

Claustrophobia test sheet

To detect claustrophobia, there are special questionnaires that record the symptoms of the disorder. The following questions could ask the therapist to diagnose a claustrophobia:

• In which situations do you feel strong fear?
• What physical symptoms appear when you enter such a situation in your mind (for example rapid heartbeat, sweating, or hyperventilation)?
• Do you think that your anxiety reaction is exaggerated?

In addition, the therapist will check whether there are other mental disorders, such as depression or panic disorder, in addition to claustrophobia. To restore mental health, they must also be treated.

Claustrophobia: treatment

Claustrophobia can be significantly alleviated or even completely suppressed with psychotherapeutic help in most cases. There are currently no drugs that work directly against the anxiety disorder.

Claustrophobia: Confrontational Therapy

The most effective way to treat phobias like claustrophobia is by confrontation therapy. The patients go to situations that scare them. You take the subway, attend a concert or lie in a solarium. This is how they experience that the fear that builds up in them eventually fades again without anything happening to them. This experience helps to reduce the fears.

Claustrophobia: cognitive behavioral therapy

A cognitive behavioral therapy can complement the treatment success in claustrophobia in addition to the confrontation therapy. But she also works alone. The patient, in collaboration with the therapist, finds out which thought patterns sustain the phobia and dissolves them.

Claustrophobia: applied relaxation

Applied relaxation is a technique in which patients learn to relax in seconds in anxiety-provoking situations. Because relaxation and fear exclude each other. This method is based on Jacobsen’s progressive muscle tension.

Claustrophobia: Disease course and prognosis

With the help of the confrontation therapy a claustrophobia can be treated very well. Up to 80 percent of patients achieve a significant improvement in their symptoms during the first session. Decisive for long-term therapeutic success is that patients regularly expose themselves to the once-fearful situations. Although anxiety can flare up again and again, it is crucial that you still face them. This prevents them from seemingly overpowering again.

In addition, claustrophobia, as well as most other illnesses, is the case: the sooner it is treated, the better the chances of recovery. Untreated, however, the claustrophobia rather worse and can severely restrict life.