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The Benefits of Weighted Blankets for Anxiety and Fear

In recent years, weighted blankets have gained popularity as a tool to help alleviate anxiety and fear. These blankets, filled with materials such as glass beads or plastic pellets, are designed to be heavier than your regular blanket. Typically, they weigh between 5 and 30 pounds, depending on your preference and body weight. But how exactly do they work, and what makes them beneficial for individuals struggling with anxiety and fear? Let’s explore the science behind weighted blankets and their potential benefits.

What Are Weighted Blankets?

Weighted blankets are therapeutic blankets that apply a gentle, even pressure across the body. This concept is known as deep touch pressure (DTP). Deep touch pressure is a form of tactile sensory input that has been found to provide a calming effect on the body. Think of it like a gentle, full-body hug.

The Science Behind Deep Touch Pressure

Deep touch pressure stimulates the release of serotonin and dopamine. These are neurotransmitters in the brain that help regulate mood. Increased levels of serotonin and dopamine can lead to feelings of happiness and calmness, which are particularly beneficial for those experiencing anxiety and fear. Additionally, the pressure from the blanket can reduce levels of cortisol, the hormone associated with stress. Lower cortisol levels can contribute to a more relaxed state of mind.

Deep touch pressure does have a conceptual link to being in the womb. This type of pressure is associated with feelings of safety and security, similar to the enveloped, snug environment experienced before birth. In the womb, a baby is surrounded by amniotic fluid and the mother’s body, providing constant gentle pressure. This environment is calming and soothing.

When someone uses a weighted blanket, the distributed pressure across the body can mimic this sensation, leading to feelings of relaxation and comfort. This similarity is why many people find weighted blankets to be calming and reassuring, much like the sense of safety often associated with the womb. While this is more of an analogy rather than a direct scientific correlation, it helps explain why deep touch pressure can be so comforting.

How Weighted Blankets Help with Anxiety

  1. Promotes Relaxation: The gentle pressure of a weighted blanket can create a feeling of being held, similar to how swaddling soothes a baby. This sensation helps calm the nervous system, making it easier to relax and fall asleep.
  2. Improves Sleep Quality: Many individuals with anxiety experience sleep disturbances. Weighted blankets can help improve the quality of sleep by promoting relaxation. A more restful night can contribute to decreased anxiety levels during the day.
  3. Reduces Symptoms of Anxiety: By helping to lower cortisol levels and increase serotonin and dopamine, weighted blankets can reduce the physiological symptoms of anxiety, such as a racing heart or rapid breathing.
  4. Provides a Sense of Security: The physical sensation of the weighted blanket can provide a sense of security and comfort, similar to a hug. This can be particularly soothing during moments of heightened fear or anxiety.

 How Weighted Blankets May Help with Fear

  1. Coping with Stressful Situations: Weighted blankets can be a helpful tool during stressful situations or when an individual is experiencing fear. The calming effect of the blanket can provide immediate comfort and help regulate emotional responses.
  2. Encourages Mindfulness: The use of a weighted blanket can encourage individuals to focus on their physical sensations rather than their fearful thoughts. This mindful practice can help divert attention away from what is causing fear.
  3. Grounding Effect: The pressure from the blanket can have a grounding effect, helping individuals feel more connected to their physical surroundings. This can be particularly helpful during episodes of intense fear or panic.

What to Consider When Using Weighted Blankets

While weighted blankets can be beneficial for many people, there are some considerations to keep in mind:

-Choosing the Right Weight: It’s important to select a blanket that is approximately 10% of your body weight. This ensures that the pressure is therapeutic, not overwhelming.

– Individual Preferences: Not everyone may find comfort in the sensation of a weighted blanket. It’s crucial to consider personal preferences and try out different weights and materials.

– Health Considerations: People with certain health conditions, such as respiratory issues or circulatory problems, should consult with a healthcare provider before using a weighted blanket.

– Supervision for Young Children: Weighted blankets should be used with caution for children under the age of five, and they should always be supervised to ensure safety.

Testimonials and Anecdotal Evidence

Many individuals who have used weighted blankets report positive experiences. Testimonials often highlight increased feelings of calmness, improved sleep, and reduced anxiety and fear. While anecdotal evidence is not a substitute for scientific research, these personal accounts provide valuable insights into the potential benefits of weighted blankets.

Let’s Conclude

Weighted blankets are a non-invasive, simple therapeutic tool that can play a significant role in managing anxiety and fear. By harnessing the power of deep touch pressure, these blankets can promote relaxation, improve sleep quality, reduce anxiety symptoms, and provide a comforting sense of security. As with any therapeutic tool, it’s important to assess individual needs and preferences, and consult with a healthcare professional if there are any concerns. For many, weighted blankets offer a simple and effective way to enhance well-being and manage the challenges of anxiety and fear.

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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