Claustrophobia, Its Symptoms and Treatments
Claustrophobia is a form of anxiety disorder where a person exhibits an extreme and unreasonable fear of small or enclosed spaces. During an attack, both physical and emotional reactions may be experienced. Claustrophobia is usually characterized by feelings of being trapped and having no means to find an exit or a way out of a location.
About one in 63 Americans has suffered some form of claustrophobia in his life while others have the disorder as a chronic condition. It is not clear what causes claustrophobia, but people who suffer from it find that it runs in their family. The first experience of claustrophobia usually occurs in early childhood or adolescence and develops from there. It usually disappears when a person reaches adulthood.
Claustrophobia is a disorder that can be overcome. If not, it can be effectively managed. If left untreated, it can limit normal day-to-day, social, professional and personal activities.
Who are most at risk of developing claustrophobia?
As a form of anxiety attack, claustrophobia is usually the result of repeated episodes of anxiety when a person is within an enclosed space or locked room. If he is not able to manage his fears effectively and choose to avoid similar situations, there is a great chance he will experience another attack with more severity. If he has a family member who suffers from claustrophobia, he may also have the potential to develop the disorder.
What are the symptoms of claustrophobia?
The symptoms usually mimic those that people with anxiety disorder suffer from: trembling, hyperventilation, sweating, dizziness, fainting and feelings of panic and terror. When in an enclosed room or space, people with claustrophobia compulsively try to escape, look for an exit or begin to feel fear once the door is closed. They may also consciously try to avoid riding elevators, planes, trains and closed cars. In its mild form, claustrophobia may also compel a person to keep to exits or doors when in a crowd.
How is claustrophobia treated?
Depending on the severity of the disorder, one or a combination of treatments may be used to either manage or eliminate claustrophobia. Probably the most common treatment used is psychotherapy, which involves counseling to help a person overcome his fear of enclosed spaces and handle situations that trigger a claustrophobic attack.
Another common way to deal with claustrophobia is by using Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, also a treatment used to manage other types of anxiety disorders. CBT involves teaching a person to control his thinking process when exposed to situations that induce fear and panic. By controlling his thoughts, a person suffering from claustrophobia learns to change his reaction from fear to calmness.
Often, CBT exposes a person to an actual ‘trigger’ situation to help him get used to the feeling and practice managing his reactions. This is called ‘flooding’ and the exposure lasts until the person is able to manage his phobia and the feeling of panic passes. Once he realizes that nothing actually harmful happened to him, he will feel more confident the next time the same situation occurs.
While the exposure may be controlled (the person who has claustrophobia either has someone with him in the room or has someone guiding him as he tries to handle himself within the room), the situation is real to the person and he can apply the coping techniques taught to him to prevent him from giving in to extreme reactions.
Another form of psychotherapy is counter-conditioning which is used when a claustrophobic person cannot handle flooding. He is still exposed to trigger situations, only this time, the exposure is done gradually and he copes with his feelings by using visualization and relaxation techniques.
If neither flooding nor counter-conditioning is effective, a technique called modeling may be used. Another person or ‘model’ is assigned to confront a trigger situation without exhibiting fear and a claustrophobic person is encouraged to emulate the same behavior.
Another form of treatment is with the use of medication, using drugs to treat depression or anxiety. These drugs will not cure claustrophobia, but they help the person regulate physical symptoms associated with the disorder. These types of drugs, for example, can help bring back an increased heart rate to normal or prevent sweating and agitation by helping the body to relax. This form of treatment is most effective if used in combination with psychotherapy.
