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Environmental Phobias

Bathophobia – The Fear of Depths

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Bathophobia: A Truly Scary Phobia

According to the National Institute of Mental Health, phobias are the most common mental disorder in the United States. About 10 percent of sufferers experience extreme anxiety or are afraid of certain things such as depths.

What Is Bathophobia?

Ever get chills from standing at the top of a flight of stairs or at the edge of a diving board? Bathophobia is the fear of anything with depth. Many confuse this fear with the fear of heights, but this phobia is different. There are also some who mistakenly think that bathophobia is the fear of taking a bath.

It isn’t irrational to be nervous when you’re standing at the edge of a tall cliff. It makes sense, because the fall could seriously injure you. However, when you’re terrified of swimming pools, oceans, caves, dark tunnels, or stairs, you may have bathophobia. Bathophobia can also be accompanied by achluphobia (fear of the dark), ligyrophobia (fear of loud sounds), and acrophobia (fear of heights) since there is a similarity among these elements.

Try to think of situations where you encountered certain depths to see where you stand with bathophobia. It’s a tricky phobia to understand, but read along as we break it down.

Bathophobia Causes

When you struggle with bathophobia, you’re afraid you’ll be consumed by anything that has depth, such as a dark hallway, sand, or a pool. This phobia may be caused by traumatic past experiences with depths such as a near drowning, getting lost in a dark alley or tunnel, or falling down from a considerable height.

The precise cause is unknown and sometimes never emerges even during therapy. Certain medical conditions can also cause bathophobia, for instance, diabetes, heart conditions, thyroid illnesses, or dealing with daily environmental stress.

All of these conditions can lead to traumatic experiences that arouse bathophobia and aggravate its symptoms.

What Is Bathophobia Like?

Those who suffer from bathophobia will avoid all situations that put them face-to-face with depth. They won’t take back alleys. They dislike swimming and all bodies of water, such as lakes, pools, the sea, etc. Some may also have a hard time navigating structures with depth, like staircases and tunnels. Having this phobia can make life unpleasant, because there’s rarely a day when we don’t encounter something with depth.

Sufferers of bathophobia can experience panic and anxiety simply by looking at images with depths or hearing descriptions of them. Seeing or hearing such things can remind them of a terrible experience they had in the past that involved deep places. Such thoughts can trigger anxiety-related symptoms. If your phobia has reached this level, it’s time to seek treatment.

Symptoms of Bathophobia

Diagnosing bathophobia isn’t as simple as seeing if someone is afraid of stairs or trembles while on a diving board. There has to be a consistent pattern between panic and being confronted with the concept of depth before someone is diagnosed with bathophobia.

Phobias are complex and don’t always manifest in the same way among different people. A person with bathophobia may be comfortable with swimming but experience nagging anxiety around stairs. Another may be comfortable with water and stairs but can’t tolerate tunnels. Because fear is linked to memory, the type of depth someone ends up fearing will vary from person to person based on their life experiences.

These are some of the symptoms those with bathophobia generally experience:

Physical Symptoms

  • Dizziness
  • Trembling and palpitations
  • Shortness of breath
  • Chest pain
  • Severe physical discomfort
  • Numbness
  • Hot or cold flashes
  • Sweating
  • Nausea and stomach distress

Mental/Emotional Symptoms

  • Anxiety
  • Obsessive thoughts about places with depth
  • Fear
  • Feeling detached or losing control over thoughts when confronted with depths
  • Stress

How Do You Deal with Bathophobia?

Most people with bathophobia self-diagnose. They do so by thinking about the extent to which their fear is preventing them from functioning on a day-to-day basis. If the fear intensifies, becomes persistent, and frequently appears when no one else in a similar situation feels the same way, you might diagnose yourself as bathophobic.

The first step to dealing with a fear of depth is to admit that you have a problem. Remember, there’s no shame in having a phobia. It’s human nature to fear specific things based on our unique experiences. The next step is to approach someone you trust so you can talk about it. You can also seek counsel from your doctor. If your doctor can’t help, at the very least he or she will point you in the direction of someone who can. Never be afraid or ashamed to seek help. There are generally two ways you can deal with bathophobia: one is to use self-help treatments and the second is by seeking professional help.

Self-Help: What Are the Options?

There are a number of reasons for opting for self-help. Perhaps you don’t have the resources for professional help, you may not have access to a therapist with experience in treating bathophobia, or perhaps you haven’t yet come to terms with what you’re experiencing and aren’t confident enough to come forward for help. Whatever the cause, here are tried and tested methods that have helped others overcome phobias:

Consider Lifestyle Changes to Reduce General Stress Levels

Stress can aggravate the symptoms of phobia. It may be a lack of sleep, overburdening yourself with work, or arguing too much with your friends or parents. Reducing stress can have a significant impact on your anxiety level. Encountering a place with depth while your anxiety levels are high will only worsen an already bad situation.

Attend a Self-Help Group

Many in the United States and around the world suffer from phobias. You’re not alone. A self-help group can offer a feeling of solidarity, help you realize that other people are going through similar fears, and provide you with ways to deal with your phobia.

Exercise Regularly

Exercise releases endorphins that help you feel more calm and relaxed. It also provides you with an outlet for any pent-up anxiety.

Practice Meditation, Yoga, Reiki

These relaxation techniques have been practiced for thousands of years and are known to reduce stress. Meditation, yoga, and Reiki have many other benefits, but their ability to divert one’s focus and foster relaxation are the chief benefits for anxiety sufferers.

Exposure Therapy

At your own pace, try exposing yourself to the things you fear. You don’t have to start big. Aim for small milestones. Over time, exposure therapy will desensitize you towards things you fear.

Professional Bathophobia Treatment

Professional treatment for phobias usually includes exposure therapy and talking about your past, your day-to-day experiences, and your emotions. In extreme cases, it can involve medication. The type and dosage will depend on a number of factors that only a licensed professional is qualified to assess. Talking to a professional who has an understanding of how the human brain works will help you jointly identify the root of your phobia and what to do next. However, exposure therapy or desensitization has often proven to be the most effective method for overcoming phobias. The act of engaging in open conversation with a therapist, psychologist, or psychiatrist can help determine whether or not your fear can be addressed at the root. If not, medical professionals can provide further treatment like medication or exposure therapy.

Coping with Bathophobia in the Long Term

Sadly, not all fears go away completely, but there are ways to minimize and manage them. Your phobia doesn’t mean you won’t have a fulfilling life. The first and most important thing to remember is to never give up on trying to overcome your phobia. Don’t be afraid to ask for help from others. Try to meet or get in touch with others who have had similar experiences. If you can, speak with those who have successfully overcome bathophobia or other phobias. Be open to the idea that the solution can come from anywhere; you just have to keep looking.

Final Thoughts: Multiple Treatments for Bathophobia

Places in nature, shapes, lights, or colors with depth can trigger bathophobia. It’s a tough phobia to diagnose and live with but there are multiple treatment options and things you can do to overcome it.

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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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