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Situational Phobias

Liticaphobia – Fear of Lawsuits

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Are You Afraid of Litigious Actions?

Have you ever come across a courtroom drama while browsing through TV channels and felt yourself overcome with anxiety? Do you carry a camera or a camera-equipped phone with you all at all times to capture “evidence”? Are you hyper-aware of your surroundings and make sure you don’t make any wrong moves, however small, that may land you inside a courtroom?

If so, you may be suffering from liticaphobia, also known as the fear of lawsuits.

It must be difficult for you to explain to your loved ones why you are so cautious and avoid making the smallest mistakes. You may fear that others may mock you. However, with the increasing number of lawsuits occurring each day, you’re not alone. There is a long list of phobias that people suffer from, of which liticaphobia is a fairly common one.

However, with proper guidance and therapy, you can manage your fear of lawsuits and live a healthy, happy life. Read on to learn how.

What Is Liticaphobia?

Liticaphobia is the fear of lawsuits or the fear of courtrooms. A person suffering from this phobia has an irrational fear that s/he may face a lawsuit. The person may also fear that they will have to face jail time and may not be able to mount a defense.

People suffering from liticaphobia are extra cautious with their everyday decisions because they don’t want to upset anyone or instigate a lawsuit. They may find themselves in a constant state of worry and anguish.

Liticaphobia, meaning fear of courtrooms phobia, may leave one trembling at the thought of facing a lawsuit, not having money for bail, or having to face jail time. The fear may even exacerbate to the extent of causing panic attacks.

Thankfully, like all phobias, liticaphobia can be managed with the right treatments.

Similar Extreme Fear & Phobia: Fear of Justice

Liticaphobia Causes

While the liticaphobia definition is clear, the exact cause is yet to be known. However, there are several speculations. Genetics are considered a major contributing factor. There is a higher risk of an individual developing liticaphobia if they have a history of mental illness in the family.

There is also a greater risk if a family member or someone close is suffering from liticaphobia or any other phobia. For example, if you know someone who is suffering from liticaphobia, they may already have verbally shared their anxieties with you. They may have talked about the excessive number of people facing lawsuits, those who are incarcerated but innocent, or those who have to spend a fortune to get acquitted, etc. This may cause you to develop a thought process along the same line and result in anxiety and fear related to courtrooms and litigation.

Another cause of liticaphobia may be watching too many courtroom dramas. One may become paranoid and be constantly worried about being sued.

Childhood experiences can also lead to the development of this phobia. For example, if a person watches their parent, relative, or neighbor go through a devastating lawsuit, it may lead to them develop a strong fear of lawsuits.

 

Liticaphobia Symptoms

Symptoms of liticaphobia vary from one individual to another and largely depend upon the severity of the disease. Following are some common symptoms of liticaphobia.

Physical Symptoms:

  • Sweating
  • Trembling
  • Hyperventilation
  • Increased heartbeat
  • Increased blood pressure
  • Dry mouth
  • Dizziness
  • Nausea
  • Numbness
  • Headaches

Physiological Symptoms:

  • Fear of being in court
  • Fear of facing a lawyer
  • Fear and anxiety
  • Fear of helplessness
  • Confusion
  • Feeling disconnected

 

Liticaphobia Treatment

Phobias are irrational perceptions of reality, so helping the patient realize that their fear is irrational is the key to treating any phobia.

With liticaphobia, people suffering from the phobia are typically law-abiding citizens who have nothing to worry about. So, helping these patients realize that their fear is irrational and that they face no real threat from the law may address their phobia.

Here are some effective ways to treat liticaphobia.

Self-Help

Self-help is the best and least intrusive way to get over any fear. This includes activities that help reduce fear and anxiety, such as yoga, meditation, and practicing mindfulness. You may even want to consider self-help groups because they’ll give you an outlet to share your fears with others who may be undergoing the same experiences.

Journaling and talking to your loved ones or someone you trust is also excellent for expressing your fears and thoughts. Consistently practicing these techniques can go a long way in helping alleviate the symptoms of liticaphobia.

Professional Therapy

Therapy, or talking therapy, is the most effective way of treating any phobia. There are many types of therapies that can help patients face their fears and work on ways to deal with them.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

Cognitive behavioral therapy, or CBT, works on the principle that our reactions or behaviors are influenced by our thoughts and emotions. So, how we perceive a situation directly affects how we react. CBT helps patients change their perceptions to align with reality and finds solutions to dealing with the phobia.

A therapist trained with CBT will help the patient alter his/her thought process so the negative thoughts are replaced by rational, positive ones.

Exposure Therapy

Exposure therapy is becoming one of the most widely used therapies for treating phobias. It involves gradually exposing the patient to the object of their fear in a controlled environment in the presence of a professional therapist.

In the case of liticaphobia, the patient may first be asked to visualize or imagine being in a courtroom or dealing with lawsuits. Eventually, as the patient gradually overcomes their anxiety and other symptoms, they may be exposed to real-life situations.

 

Learning to Cope with Liticaphobia

Liticaphobia can hinder various aspects of one’s life. It can cause the person to overthink and obsessively assess all their actions so that they do not face a lawsuit. This can result in the person limiting themselves to their homes and avoiding socializing.

However, with self-help and consistent treatments, the patient can overcome their fear of lawsuits or the courtroom and live a healthy life.

 

In Conclusion

Living with any phobia is not easy. And with liticaphobia, or fear of courtrooms, the person suffering from it can find their day-to-day life being limited. It can cause them to worry about irrational things.

Thankfully, with loving support and proper treatment, you can overcome your fear of lawsuits and live a fulfilling life. Who knows? Soon enough, you might find yourself enjoying courtroom dramas!

 

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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