Claustrophobia is a major issue for plenty of people worldwide. While small spaces are generally easily avoided, sometimes you have to confine yourself, even if only for a few moments.
Any building with elevators is going to have a few confined spaces, and you might find yourself in one. Some buildings only have elevators, with stair access being only for emergencies.
It’s best for you and the people around you if you’re able to manage your claustrophobia and elevator anxiety in a safe and healthy way. Elevators are a useful tool and will likely only become more present in your day-to-day life as time goes on and buildings get taller in city centers.
If you need tips and advice for managing elevator anxiety and claustrophobia, you’re in the right place. Here are 7 tips for getting over (or at least managing) your elevator anxiety related to claustrophobia.
What Is Claustrophobia?
Claustrophobia is a kind of anxiety condition that impacts people who are nervous about or afraid of being trapped in tight or enclosed spaces. The anxiety over these spaces can trigger anxiety symptoms as severe as a panic attack.
Claustrophobia is also recognized as a legitimate phobia by the DSM-5.
Phobias are irrational fears, making them incredibly difficult to manage. Even if the person suffering from the phobia knows that they have nothing to be afraid of, the anxiety can still be present, causing a lot of distress.
Specific phobias like claustrophobia can be caused (or impacted) by genetics, or early childhood trauma.
Someone in an enclosed space who is suffering from claustrophobia might deal with symptoms like:
- dry mouth
- rapid heartbeat
- excessive sweating
- nausea
- pins and needles
and other standard intense anxiety symptoms.
While claustrophobia is scary, it can still be managed. Finding a good mental health professional is a great first step towards conquering claustrophobia.
Some mental health professionals might decide to prescribe anti-anxiety medication, while others might take the behavioral therapy approach. Some will want to do both.
There are some situations in which you will have to face your claustrophobia head-on, like when you’re riding in an elevator. If you live somewhere with advanced technology, this is unavoidable. It’s best to think of a plan to manage this anxiety ahead of time so you don’t get caught in an uncomfortable situation.
Here are some tips to help.
1. Learn and Practice Relaxation Techniques
There are some relaxation techniques that you can do almost anywhere, whether you’re at home alone or in a public space (like in front of an elevator).
If you’re already seeing a mental health professional, they might be able to help you navigate relaxation techniques so you can find the one that suits you best.
If not, there are plenty of methods that are helpful across the board.
You can try deep breathing exercises that are specifically helpful for anxiety sufferers. Lengthening your exhales, for example, will soothe the parasympathetic nervous system, hopefully helping you to calm down for long enough to go through your elevator ride in relative peace.
Even just focusing on your breathing instead of on the task ahead of you can help to ease your mind temporarily.
2. Use Affirmations
It might seem silly, but telling yourself positive things may actually encourage you to think more positively yourself.
Having a nice, firm (but positive) talk with yourself can help give you the encouragement that you need to get through this situation unscathed. It’s not a long-term solution, but it is a bandage solution for when you need to get through a difficult situation in a pinch.
Tell yourself things that you know as a fact that will be hard to refute. Things like “I have been in this situation before”, “an elevator has never caused me harm”, “this will only take a few seconds, and then it’s over”, “I have dealt with much more difficult things than this and have come out fine”.
This self-motivation can be shockingly helpful in times of deep stress or crisis. You may even be able to find affirmations pre-recorded on streaming sites like YouTube. This way, you can actually hear them instead of just repeating them in your head.
If not, and you’d still like the hearing aspect, record some yourself on your phone and listen (with headphones) when you’re experiencing anxiety. Having a close friend or family member do this for you instead might be even more helpful as their voice will likely be soothing to you.
3. Know Your Enemy
Sometimes, the unknown can be really scary.
If you educate yourself on the type of elevator that you’re getting into ahead of time, you might find yourself considerably less anxious than you were before.
The learning might give you a bit of anxiety to start with, but education can be soothing alone, and going into something with a bit of awareness can be less scary than going in blind.
There are multiple different types of elevators, so learning about the kind that you’re going to be using might be a fun (if stressful) task for you. It will keep you prepared and ensure that you won’t have any surprises. You’ll already know what you’re in for, so to speak.
There are places to get information on elevators, such as this article from Dura-Vator. Hopefully, you’re calmed by the extra knowledge.
4. Practice Practice Practice
While you might feel silly practicing for riding in an elevator, phobias are no joke! It’s totally okay to need some time to trial run an elevator ride before you have to do it in a professional environment, or in a space that can’t be controlled.
There are likely plenty of buildings in your town or city (or at least in a city nearby) that have elevators inside of them. This gives you some options of where to go for your practice.
Starting in a safe place that you know well is a great choice. Safe spaces will likely cause you less anxiety overall, and knowing the area will make you feel more secure.
It might also benefit you to utilize the buddy system and bring a trusted friend with you on your journey. It might be embarrassing, but a good friend will understand your anxieties and support your quest for personal growth.
It might help to start with having your friend get in the elevator alone while you follow their path alone up the stairs. While you know logically that elevators are safe, this might help solidify that idea in your mind. Seeing someone you know arrive safely and without fear can be really relaxing to the brain.
After that step, getting into the elevator with them will be next. You can start by only going a single floor, or even by just stepping in and out.
Don’t push yourself too much and allow yourself to adapt slowly over time. It’s okay to be scared initially, and easing into the process might be easier on your anxiety.
5. Distract Yourself
There are plenty of good distraction techniques to use when you’re feeling anxious. The time spent riding in an elevator is generally quite brief, so you can use many of these techniques effortlessly.
Depending on the amount of time you plan on spending in the elevator, there are a lot of different self-distracting methods that you can use.
You can try counting backward from a number of your choice. While this isn’t a particularly difficult task, it will give your brain something to focus on that isn’t the space that you’re in. You can also pair this with breathing techniques by counting slowly and matching the counts to your breaths.
If that’s too easy, try saying the alphabet backward. This can be a little bit more challenging, especially if you’re racing an elevator that will only be going up a floor or two.
Keeping something tactile and strange in your purse or pockets can be a great distraction. Stress balls, or objects with strange textures that you can rub your fingers over, are great for bringing your mind somewhere that isn’t the elevator ride. You can even use your keys and try to match your key to its purpose by touch alone.
Phone games are great for longer elevator rides. There are so many free games and apps available on modern smartphones and they’ll all provide an excellent distraction from the world around you. Just make sure that you keep your phone on silent while you do this so you’re courteous to others.
For a very long ride, reading is very distracting. Bring a book or magazine with you. You can skim an article or get a few minutes of reading done as long as you have the space.
6. Learn Statistics
Doing some prior research on the statistics of elevators might seem scary at first, but after you’re done it may be stress-relieving.
Elevators overall are very safe. While you might know that your fear is irrational and irrational fears are rarely soothed by logic and facts, it might help for the short amount of time that you’re actually on the elevator. In fact, you can include it in your affirmations.
Elevators are equipped with plenty of safety features, meaning that they’re incredibly safe for passengers.
As a matter of fact, there’s statistically only a 0.00000015% chance of having an elevator-related death if you’re a passenger.
This number is so incredibly low that it’s almost hard to fathom.
While it might not soothe the genuine claustrophobic individual who doesn’t even want to step into the metal box, it will hopefully ease the mind long enough to get up or down the building.
7. Seek Professional Help
Seeing a professional for your fears or anxieties is a great idea, and can be truly beneficial to your growth.
There are plenty of different types of mental health professionals, and all of them have different specialties and methods for helping their patients. Finding someone who has helped clients with severe phobias in the past is the first step towards healing.
There are medications that can help with anxiety that will soothe you for the time that you are preparing to ride the elevator and actually riding the elevator. While many of these medications aren’t intended as a long-term solution, they can be helpful while you learn to manage your anxieties in other ways.
A good mental health professional will teach you mindfulness and coping mechanisms to help combat your fears and anxieties in a way that’s best suited for you and your needs.
Some people might feel embarrassed or intimidated when seeking out professional help for the first time, but there’s no need. Nearly half of surveyed American households reported that at least one member of their home had seen a mental health professional during the past year.
The cultural attitudes towards mental health are shifting, and there’s no shame in seeking out someone who can help you conquer (or at least manage) your fears so you can live a better and happier life.
Claustrophobia Around Elevators Can Be Managed
While it might seem overwhelming, you’re not alone. Nearly 5-7% of the world’s population is thought to suffer from some degree of claustrophobia, though not all of them find it debilitating.
This condition can be managed. You have to commit to some self-help and mindfulness techniques, working on conquering your fears, and potentially seeking out professional treatment for your condition. Elevators probably aren’t going away anytime soon, but your fear can be softened.
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