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Body Phobias

Kopophobia – Fear of Becoming Fatigued

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Do You Fear Being Fatigued?

Have you been battling exhaustion for some time now (say, months)? As a result, have you developed an intense, irrational fear of bad things happening when fatigue occurs?

Or, could it be that you witnessed a loved one dealing with severe fatigue that led to illness or dire repercussions. And because of that, maybe you avoid things that tire you.

In either situation, as a coping mechanism, you’ve ended up developing an acute aversion to the thought of getting tired or engaging in activity that can wear you out.

The condition you suffer from may be kopophobia.

Whether you’re exhibiting any of the signs above, or just want to learn more about this disorder, here are a few things to know about this peculiar condition.

What Is the Fear of Fatigue and Exhaustion?

What is kopophobia? Kopophobia is the persistent, excessive, irrational fear of becoming fatigued. Sufferers of this condition tend to avoid anything that can lead to fatigue in general.

For instance, any slight feeling of losing energy or getting tired after a day’s job could trigger extreme reactions from an individual with kopophobia. Avoiding fatigue could also take the form of disengaging in otherwise regular daily life activities, such as going to school, cleaning, cooking, exercising, etc.

Individuals with kopophobia can’t help but act in such a manner. They know that avoiding getting tired is almost impossible, and doing so is not an ideal way to live. However, anxiety about being tired could leave them paralyzed with fear.

In extreme cases, even the perception of fatigue can lead to dire reactions.

People suffering from kopophobia might have developed the condition from a current or previous fatigue-related illness. Another possibility is that the phobia might have been inherited from a parent. Some people are also said to have an increased risk of developing phobias, for instance, those with obsessive-compulsive disorder, depression, or anxiety.

Symptoms of Kopophobia/Fear of Becoming Fatigued

People with kopophobia can experience symptoms associated with other forms of phobias.

Physical Kopophobia Symptoms Include:

  • Tremors
  • Hot or cold flashes
  • Hyperventilating
  • Fainting
  • Nausea
  • Laziness
  • Muscle tension
  • Dizziness
  • Dry mouth
  • Insomnia
  • Migraine
  • Disorientation
  • Breathlessness
  • Increased heartbeat
  • Sweating profusely

Psychological Kopophobia Symptoms Include:

  • Apprehensive anxiety
  • Self-isolation
  • Anxiety
  • Panic attack
  • Depression

Self-Help for Kopophobia

If you are a phobia sufferer, challenge yourself to think that you can control your mind and learn to choose healthy, positive reactions to fatigue. Little by little, try to convince yourself that tiredness is a normal reaction of the body whenever you exert effort in performing physical or mental activity. That fatigue is only a sign that the body needs rest — it’s not the onset of a catastrophic illness.

Another thing you can try is to gradually expose yourself to doing physical activity. Start with simple physical exercises, such as basic yoga positions. The “feel-good” effects of exercise can help alleviate anxiety and stress symptoms.

Read up on fatigue. Educating yourself about your condition can help you feel more in control. You’ll learn to recognize when your physiological and psychological reactions to fatigue are typical, and when they are severe. Learning as much as you can about your condition is a great step to help guide you as you battle the condition.

Indulge yourself in activities that can relax the body. For instance, go for massages when you start feeling tired. Take a day off, unplug, rest, and be ready to go again when you have recovered your energy. Taking a day or two to rest is more productive than avoiding an activity or situation because you are feeling apprehensive about the possibility of experiencing fatigue.

Maintaining a proper diet is another efficient way to curb fatigue. Eating healthy and nutritious meals will reduce your tendency to be chronically fatigued.

Meditation and mindfulness are also good coping strategies for the short-term treatment of phobias. These practices can help a phobia sufferer get through when symptoms flare up.

Professional Help for Kopophobia

Deciding to seek kopophobia treatment is already a giant stride toward recovery. What are the available options for people suffering from this phobia? Possible treatments include:

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

CBT is the most frequently used treatment for disorders of this nature. This approach involves altering the patient’s thinking pattern and behavior so that they have healthy and positive thoughts. Although CBT is long term, it can result in great outcomes as patients may learn to manage their response to the condition’s triggers.

In this treatment, the therapist helps patients uncover the source of their fear. Patients are also encouraged to have thought diaries or journals to assess their thoughts and replacements properly.

Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP)

NLP employs the key elements of action, modeling, and effective communication to treat disorders such as kopophobia. The therapist understands that every individual is different, and each has unique views and experiences. In the treatment, the therapist helps patients learn: why they think and behave the way they do; how their views affect the way they act in their world; and how to adjust the way they process information so that they can react positively and productively. The therapist encourages patients to view the world not only from their eyes, but also from other people’s point of view. The goal is to help patients understand that people’s thoughts, language, and behavior patterns are a product of their viewpoint, which may not be accurate.

Dialectical Behavior Therapy

Dialectical behavior therapy, commonly used in treating patients with personality disorders, can be effective in helping people with kopophobia. The therapy is long term and aims to train patients with alternative ways of reacting to their condition’s triggers. Coping strategies include: half-smiling; mindfulness; and distress tolerance skills.

Other Professional Help

In severe cases, the doctor may also prescribe medication. However, the prescribed medication is only for alleviating the physiological symptoms, not for treating the phobia itself. The medication is also meant for short-term use only (typically around one or two weeks, or once the desired effects have been achieved). The medication can be helpful for patients whose phobia is caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain or a similar condition.

Tips for Coping with Kopophobia

To recover from the phobia, you will have to be intentional and forthright with your preferred treatment procedures.

Regularly visualizing a life where you are free from your fear would also do wonders. A life where you don’t get distressed anymore from the thought of tiredness; one where you can get things done without fear.

Also, be kind to yourself. Know that when you start feeling tired, it is fine to take a step back until you’ve recharged.

Expose yourself gradually to the normalcy of being tired. Listen to your therapist’s advice. Eat and sleep right.

Conclusion

Regardless of where you got your phobia, know that you can beat it. Confronting your fear my be difficult. But gradually, and with proper support, you can face your fear and learn to adjust your response. Taking as long as you need to get comfortable with the process is fine. What’s important is you’ve decided to go for it. You might even surprise yourself with how quickly you’ll banish your fear.

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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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