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Environmental Phobias

Entamaphobia – Fear of Doors or Open Doors

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Close the Door on Entamaphobia

Have you ever felt terrified at the sight of open doors? Does the thought of an open door trigger you and send you into panic mode? You’re not alone.

If you’re dealing with this fear, you may be wrestling with many questions such as:  What is the fear of open doors called? Or, is it a legitimate phobia?

In answer to these questions, the phobia of open doors is known as entamaphobia. And while it may sound unusual, it is a legitimate fear. As a matter of fact, it’s a fear that could severely impact your functioning and overall quality of life.

However, there are ways in which you can manage your triggers better, deal with the fear, and gradually overcome it. Read on to learn more about entamaphobia, what causes it, and how you can overcome this fear so it doesn’t control your life!

 

What Is Entamaphobia All About?

Entamaphobia is essentially the fear of doors. It is derived from the Greek words eisodos portos, which roughly translates to “entrance” or “entryway,” and phobos, which translates to “phobia.”

It is typically associated with claustrophobia, which is the fear of closed, cramped spaces that causes individuals to be fearful of closed doors. And it’s also closely connected with agoraphobia, which causes an individual to be afraid of going outdoors or of being in public spaces among strangers.

In entamaphobia, an open door may trigger a seemingly irrational or disproportionate sense of anxiety, fear, or panic. Typically, this phobia is associated with doors in general, regardless of whether they’re open or closed, but open doors may be particularly triggering.

Though this phobia may not rank at the top of the list of phobias, it is not uncommon either. In fact, actor Matthew McConaughey also experiences entamaphobia.

Entamaphobia Causes

If you suffer from entamaphobia, you may often wonder, “Why do open doors give me anxiety?”

Like most phobias and anxieties, entamaphobia is often rooted in one’s childhood. If you experience this phobia, it may be because you went through a scarring or traumatic incident in your childhood involving open doors that has left a lasting impact in your mind.

For example, as a child you may have been in bed trying to fall asleep, but your bedroom door was left ajar. This might have caused it to open slightly in the breeze, and the sound or movement may have startled or frightened you. Or, perhaps you watched a horror or thriller film that involved creaking doors.

These experiences could have left an impression that has persisted into adulthood. It may cause you to experience severe fear when a door is left open. It may also leave you feeling vulnerable if you think that any threat may be able to barge in and gain access to you through an open door.

If you’ve grown up in a toxic or abusive household, even that may cause you to be afraid or uncomfortable with open or unlocked doors.

In many cases, this fear of open doors gradually develops over time. Perhaps you’re a nervous individual prone to feeling afraid, stressed, or panicked. This anxiety can worsen over time and result in an actual phobia. Sometimes, a stressful period in your life can also cause you to develop intrusive thoughts regarding open doors, which translate into entamaphobia.

 

What Are the Symptoms of Entamaphobia?

It is always good to be able to recognize the symptoms of a phobia so you can be better prepared to deal with it. Entamaphobia symptoms can manifest physically, mentally, and emotionally.

Physical Symptoms

  • Shivering
  • Hot flashes
  • Cold sweats
  • Palpitations
  • Sweating
  • Trembling or shaking
  • Breathlessness

Mental/Emotional Symptoms

  • Dread
  • Anxiety
  • Panicking
  • Feeling helpless
  • Extreme discomfort
  • Nightmares or insomnia
  • Hypervigilance
  • Intrusive thoughts relating to open doors

 

Self-Help for Coping with Entamaphobia

Learning to cope with entamaphobia may reduce its severity and symptoms. It’s also helpful to know what to do if you experience a panic attack when your entamaphobia is triggered.

Some ways in which you can regulate your nervous system and cope with an entamaphobia trigger include:

  • Deep breathing exercises
  • Yoga or other physical exercises that help you feel grounded
  • Self-affirmations that remind you that you are safe and secure
  • Journaling to release pent-up anxiety
  • Educating yourself on the nuances of entamaphobia, so you feel more informed and in control
  • Mindfulness meditation

If your entamaphobia is not too severe, you may be able to address it with self-help strategies alone.

 

Professional Help

In instances where your entamaphobia becomes debilitating and you find yourself struggling to function normally, seek professional help.

For entamaphobia treatment, a therapist will typically help you address your phobia in the following ways:

  • Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) challenges and alters your negative thought patterns and beliefs associated with open doors.
  • Exposure therapy will gradually increase your exposure to triggers. Over time you become immune to them and are no longer overwhelmed by fear and anxiety.

Experienced professionals can help you cope with entamaphobia in a controlled, safe space to ensure the treatment is effective.

 

How to Avoid Entamaphobia?

It may be impossible to control what phobias you develop in your life, but you can control how you approach and respond to triggers.

If you wish to avoid experiencing enatamaphobia’s symptoms, you can take measures such as adding locks to the doors in your house so they click when they are shut. This will help you know for a fact that a particular door is securely closed, and you won’t feel unsafe at the thought of a door being left open.

You can also ask your friends, family, and coworkers to accommodate your fear and triggers concerning open doors. Ask that they close your room or office door if they happen to open it at any point.

Simple measures like these can significantly help you avoid the symptoms of entamaphobia.

 

Conclusion

Phobias can be debilitating if they aren’t understood, acknowledged, and dealt with properly. They can also leave you feeling alone and misunderstood, especially if you find others don’t relate to your feelings.

Allow yourself the space to acknowledge your phobia and take steps to address it. Remember, you’re not being unreasonable or a burden. What you are experiencing is valid. And with a little work and care you can face your fears head-on and overcome your phobias. Soon, you may even be opening the door to possibility!

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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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