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Environmental Phobias

Tropophobia – Fear of Moving/Making Changes

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Let’s Unpack Tropophobia, or the Fear of Moving

Are you afraid of making changes in your life? Do you love your daily routine, and does even talking about a slight deviation from it shake you to your core?

If yes, you may be suffering from tropophobia, also known as the fear of moving or making changes. It can be difficult to explain your reaction to change. Sometimes you may come off as stubborn or defiant.

However, don’t worry. There are many different kinds of phobias, and thanks to advancements in the medical field and increased awareness, dealing with this phobia is well within your reach.

You can wave your fear goodbye with patience, dedication, and consistency. Or at least learn how best to cope with it.

Keep reading to learn more about the fear of moving, its causes, and treatment.

What Is Tropophobia

Everyone fears change. It’s the factor of the unknown that takes away the predictability of life and instills fear in humans.

Most like to follow a daily routine. The fact that they know what is coming next gives them peace and security. Any divergence can be a source of discomfort and stress. However, this can lead to anxiety for people who have tropophobia.

Tropophobia is the irrational fear of moving or making changes. It is often associated with metathesiophobia, the fear of change. Both fears cause anxiety at the thought of what is to come after the change.

The fear stems from the uncertainty that is to follow. Moving things or making changes means we need to make mental adjustments. These minute changes can push us out of our comfort zone and threaten our security, making us anxious.

Also, at times, the change may be due to uncontrollable situations that further increase anxiety. A person may feel trapped in the situation when the changes are due to factors like a pandemic, recession, or an accident.

Tropophobia does not necessarily mean physical movement or change. It could be a change in personality, attitude, or skills. It could mean moving from one country to another, from one state to another, or just moving to the apartment next door.

Someone with this phobia gets very anxious at the thought of moving anything. The phobia can extend to the point where the person may start experiencing panic attacks.

A person may start avoiding the stimuli to stop the feelings of anxiety and stress. This means they would avoid moving things or making any changes. Although they may not experience any symptoms this way, their phobia remains.

 

Tropophobia Causes

Fear is a natural and necessary reaction for survival. However, it becomes a phobia when fear repeatedly advances to an extreme level in response to certain, nonthreatening stimuli.

The exact cause of why a regular thing or activity can become a subject of fear is still unknown. However, there are a few theories about why a person may develop specific phobias like tropophobia.

The most important factor in the development of mental illnesses is genetic predisposition. If a person has a family history of any mental illness, especially anxiety disorder, they are at a higher risk of developing a phobia. However, there has to be a stimulus which sets the wheel in motion.

So, even a predisposed person will not develop tropophobia if not triggered. However, even the smallest stimuli, like watching someone else cope with a mental illness, can trigger a predisposed person.

Another common factor that leads to a phobia is experience. If a person had a traumatic experience after making a change, their unconscious mind will correlate change and bad experiences and develop tropophobia.

 

Tropophobia Symptoms

The most common symptom of specific phobias is anxiety. Apart from anxiety, a person may experience a few or more of the following symptoms depending on the severity of the phobia.

Physical Symptoms

  • Sweating
  • Hyperventilating
  • Irregular heartbeat
  • Increase/decrease in blood pressure
  • Digestive issues
  • Headache

Psychological Symptoms

  • Anxiety
  • Panic attack
  • Dreading something bad will happen
  • Fear of losing control
  • Fear of dying

 

Tropophobia Treatment

There is no definitive treatment for tropophobia; however, therapies that work for other specific phobias also work to overcome the fear of moving.

First, seek a proper diagnosis by a medical practitioner. And if it’s confirmed, look for treatment options.

Self-help

Before seeking professional help, try self-help methods to manage your phobia. Realizing that you are in control of your brain and your thoughts, will go a long way in managing reaction to fear.

Much like in therapy situations, you can learn to exchange irrational thought patterns with more rational ones. You can adopt various habits like keeping a journal, exercising, and meditating to clear your mind and put your thoughts in order.

Symptoms can make it difficult to live with a phobia. By practicing breathing exercises, you’ll be better prepared to calm your body during an anxiety attack.

You can also try self-talk, motivating yourself, and remaining positive. Or try exposing your brain to small changes like moving your bed from its usual position, taking a different route to school or office, and so on.

Gradual, continuous exposure to change will help reduce your reaction to it.

 

Professional Help

In cases where self-help isn’t enough, seek professional help. A qualified professional will better understand your phobia. They’ll work with you to plan the best course of action to help you overcome your fear.

Some therapies usually used to treat specific phobias are:

  • Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT)
  • Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR)
  • Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT)
  • Exposure therapy

In rare cases, when the patient is experiencing repeated panic attacks and therapy hasn’t had time to take affect, the doctor may prescribe anti-anxiety or antidepressant medication for some time.

 

Living with Tropophobia

A person with tropophobia avoids change at all costs. They may even pass up educational or professional opportunities if it involves change.

Sometimes, the phobia has advanced to such a level that one can’t even tolerate a change in routine. So, if breakfast is to be eaten at 9 a.m., it cannot be a minute earlier or later.

This becomes troublesome not only for the person who has the phobia, but also for those living with and around them.

If you think you may have tropophobia, talk to your loved ones about your feelings and take the necessary actions.

 

Conclusion

Change is difficult for everyone, but more so for people with tropophobia. However, don’t let a phobia define your limits. Don’t let it come between you and success or love.

Step outside, take a deep breath, and don’t just wait for change—be the change.

FearAZ.com is looking for personal stories of any 'fear of' or phobia. If you have an interesting story you'd like to share, we welcome your submission. If the story fits with our content and guidelines, we'll add it to our site.
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Your Fear Goes Up and Down

Are you someone who would rather climb the stairs than take the elevator? You call it squeezing in a workout after being sedentary the whole morning. Or perhaps you claim it's a faster route. These are both typical, normal, and acceptable reasons. But what if you need to be in the conference room on the eleventh floor in five minutes, and you're wearing your business suit and wingtips? Would you still prefer to take the stairs? If your answer is yes, then maybe it's time to take a closer look at your reasons for avoiding elevators. Elevators stir all sorts of emotions in passengers. From the discomfort of closeness to strangers to the sensations in our gut, elevators can be a source of the heebie-jeebies for many, but for some, they can also be a source of terror. Let's dig a little deeper into the latter, and see what this terror is all about and what can be done to manage it. To begin with, does being inside an elevator give you chills or the sweats? Or does it trigger an unpleasant memory? Perhaps you remember movies you've watched where something terrible happens inside an elevator. From Silence of the Lambs, The Shining, Final Destination 2, or the king of all elevator horror films, 2010’s Devil, the elevator becomes witness to something sinister and horrible. And you want nothing to do with any of it. You know that you're not claustrophobic. You can deal with heights just fine, too. And you know that you're not going to be trapped inside. All of these contribute to a fear of elevators—but they don't apply to you. Yet being inside one does something to you. It's hard to explain.

What is the Fear of Elevators Called?

What you have is a fear of elevators, which is called elevatophobia. It is most commonly triggered by an experience of getting stuck inside either due to a power outage or technical maintenance. Hearing about other people's experiences or watching a movie about similar circumstances can prompt a fear of elevators getting stuck with you inside. Usually, claustrophobics and agoraphobics may also develop elevatophobia because the triggers and objects of these fears are related. Claustrophobia is the fear of closed and cramped spaces, while agoraphobia is the fear of being trapped without any means of escape. Put the two together, and the elevator becomes the perfect combination of both phobias. The space is limited and closed, with only one means of entry and exit. You can add another point of access if you consider climbing the cables like they do in the movies, but that certainly isn't ideal.

Symptoms of Elevatophobia

If for some reason an elevator stops due to an outage or some technical difficulty, passengers with elevatophobia may go into full panic mode. Even if the maintenance team advises that it will just be a matter of minutes, by then, the person's mind has become irrational with the fear of the elevator falling, being stuck for hours, or other unpleasant thoughts. You would expect a person to exhibit the following physical symptoms: Additionally, you would be filled with that overwhelming anxiety where you feel that you have zero control over the situation. You start fearing the unknown and are filled with negative thoughts about death and imminent doom. You become irrational and unresponsive.

Possible Complications of Elevatophobia

When the panic sets in, the possibility of emergencies related to pre-existing conditions may make themselves known. This might include serious health crises like heart attacks or asthma attacks. When this happens, fear becomes a medical emergency. Elevator rides do not last long; it's just a matter of minutes or even less. But the fact that a person can escalate from panic to a near fatal medical situation classifies the fear of elevators as a 'hard phobia.'

Trying Some Self-Help Methods

Your fear of elevators can likely interfere with your social and work life and relationships. Not everyone understands that elevatophobia, like most phobias, can be crippling. But don't be disheartened. Depending on the level of your fear and level of control, you can gradually face and manage your phobia. Here are some recommendations you can try:
  1. Make a List of Everything that Entails Riding in an Elevator This is a systematic approach to getting over your anxiety. By following a step-by-step process, you can identify where the fear kicks in at its strongest. You can write a list of steps like pressing the topmost button and waiting to arrive on that floor, watching as the door closes and opens, being alone inside the elevator, or having delays with the doors opening. Now try doing the opposite. For example, face away from the door or occupy yourself with your phone so that you are distracted.
  2. Create Your Fear Ladder Although the name says fear of elevators, it is not the whole process that scares you. There are just phases and parts of the elevator riding experience that cause you to panic. So go back to the list you initially created and label the fear level you feel. You can do it numerically, too, like ten being 'really scary,' six, 'manageable scary,' and one, 'not scary at all.' You can put the corresponding fear levels so you can focus more time and effort into activities that are more scary to you.
  3. Face Your Fear By now, you have identified what scares you the most. You can try repetitive action to minimize your fear and increase your sense of ‘normalcy’. Remember that the longer you expose yourself to your fear, the better you get at handling your emotions. If you are feeling overwhelmed, stop. Pushing yourself too fast and too soon can backfire. Modify your pace and go slower instead.
  4. Talk About Your Fear People by nature, unfortunately, are not quick to offer understanding and support. You need to tell them what's wrong before they can empathize. Talk to someone who you trust and ask for their support, especially in the initial phase of overcoming your fear. If you are too afraid to ride the elevator alone, you can ask them to go with you, and before you realize it, you are on your floor, and there was no indication of panic.
  5. Learn To Be Patient Be patient with yourself and your predicament. This is, after all, your fight against fear. It might take hundreds of elevator ride practices before the fear gets under control. Even then, there might be some hesitations and episodes of nervousness. These are acceptable and expected, so cut yourself some slack and congratulate yourself for every progress.

Seeking Professional Help

Along with self-help, you can always enlist a medical professional's aid to support you with your elevatophobia. Talking to someone who has experience with similar cases can be comforting, because you know that you are not alone, and this situation can get better. Talk to your doctor about the severity of your fears and the symptoms that you experience. Explain how you deal with it in an attempt to control it. An exam and a health history are made to ensure that there are no unrelated or underlying problems that your symptoms might mask. Usually, phobias like this are approached with a combination of psychotherapy and medication. Your doctor will talk about these options with you, and it's entirely up to you, with your doctor's recommendation, what you want to pursue. For psychotherapy, the most common type is cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), which aims to help you find different ways of behaving, thinking, and reacting when about to step inside an elevator or when already inside it. With medications, there are beta blockers and benzodiazepines, but note that these can have side effects. Whatever these side effects are, you should promptly share it with your doctor.

Simple Tips to Overcome Elevatophobia

Elevators are not perfect, but their likelihood to malfunction, fall, or get stuck is very low. If you are not fully confident with this information, you can help overcome your elevatophobia by learning common elevator safety tips and basic elevator operations. These should help curb your mild fear until you become more self-assured. In addition to that, here are some of the things that you can do to gradually overcome your fear of elevators—both in getting on and riding one.

Conclusion

Yes, elevatophobia can be a challenge in today's world, but don't allow the elevator to win. Don't let it stop you from taking a job on the top floor or attending a social gathering on the rooftop. Sure, you can take the stairs if you insist and arrive winded and sweaty, with the party about to wrap up. But is this the quality of life you seek? Elevators are designed to make life easier. There are guaranteed ways to help you overcome elevatophobia. Take the first step and seek help. Soon, you’ll see yourself breezing through the floors with those arduous stair climbs little more than a memory.
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