The Fear of Belly Buttons, Rare but Real
Do you wake up feeling disgust when thinking about belly buttons?
Does going to the beach worry you? Maybe you avoid going anywhere where you might be exposed to belly buttons.
Do you feel disgust or anxiety when someone wears risqué clothing showing their belly button? If the answer…
Fear of Short People: Achondroplasiaphobia
Does dreaming about the dwarfs in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs cause you to wake up in a cold sweat?
What feeling do you get when seeing little people? Is it fear, anxiety, disgust, or a mixture of all three?
Do you move in the opposite direction at the first sight…
Decoding Cacophobia: The Fear of Ugliness
Do you feel anxious when you encounter or think of something that you consider ugly? Is it difficult to explain why you avoid looking at certain things?
Do you feel extreme disgust or fear when you look at someone who is unattractive? You don’t hate the person, but the mere…
The Down and Dirty of Autodysomophobia
Have you ever walked into a job interview and felt overly conscious about the way you smell?
Does the thought of taking your shoes off at a friend's house make you nervous?
Do you spend hours browsing remedies for body odors? Perhaps you invest in all sorts of perfumed products or…
Defecaloesiophobia: A Very Personal Fear
Have you ever felt afraid to go to the bathroom after a filling meal? Do you get freaked out by the thought of a painful bowel movement? If your answer to these questions is yes, then you may have defecaloesiophobia.
Now, bowel movements don’t exactly make for a fun topic of…
The Excessive Fear of Heart Problems
Being scared of heart disease is not unusual. Indeed, people have reasons to fear heart diseases—they can be deadly. But having an excessive fear of heart problems to the point of distress is peculiar. The condition has a name: cardiophobia.
What Causes Cardiophobia?
Under ordinary circumstances, fear elicits a natural…
Extreme Fear of Pain
Do you overreact whenever you experience the slightest of pain?
Sure, pain has the ability to scare people, but in your case, the distress you feel may be over the top. You're aware that your reactions to pain are intense, but you can’t help it.
If this sounds familiar, you might have algophobia.
What…
Looking Into Ommetaphobia - The Intense Fear of Eyes
Eyes: How do you find them?
Yes, eyes, as in those two glowing beacons on your face which transmit sight to the mind?
Are you terrified to look at them? Does the mere thought of them make you feel anxious? Are you fearful of situations that involve the…
The Fear of Fainting, Not Rare but Real
While at the mall, are you suddenly overcome with fear that you might faint when there’s no apparent reason for that to happen? Do your feelings of panic in the moment escalate your fear of fainting?
Or, while behind the wheel—out of the blue—has a fear of fainting…
Let's Untangle the Fear of Hair
Phobias denote extreme fears of particular situations or objects. Trichophobia, by definition, means a constant fear of hair, especially the fear of loose hair on the clothing, body, or elsewhere. The fear could result in various symptoms that might affect daily life.
Quick Fact: The fear of hair is also…
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:
Shortness of breath or rapid breathing
Dry mouth
Excessive sweating
Chills
Heart palpitations
Hyperventilation
Nausea
Weakness
Dizziness
Vomiting
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:
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
It’s not exciting, but watch the elevator go up and down where you can have a good view of it. You'll realize that getting into one is a normal thing to do, and everyone gets off safe and sound, not to mention perspiration-free.
While riding it, make a mental list of the things that you need to accomplish for the day.
Go through your ABCs, and for every letter, think of a girl's name. If you haven't reached your floor yet, go through the same process, but this time, think of a boy's name.
Go through your social media feeds. Comment, like, and share.
Pop some super mints in your mouth.
Make it a point to ride an elevator at least twice a day.
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.