Claustrophobia is one of the types of mental disorders in which a person is afraid of being in confined spaces or in areas where there is a large number of people. In particular, suffering from claustrophobic people are afraid to be in these areas, such as elevators, small rooms, various booths, as well as supermarkets, cinemas, exhibition halls with a large number of visitors.
In cases where these people all end up in unwanted places, they begin to fear that they will be bad, they won’t be able to leave the room, gradually a person’s panic in addition, for the complacency he tries to get close to the exit from the premises. One of the most striking examples of claustrophobia may be the fear of traveling in elevators.
Symptoms and signs of claustrophobia:
- Rapid breathing
- Sweating
- Increased heart rate
- Dizziness
- Nausea
- Fear
Causes of Claustrophobia
At the moment there is no consensus about the causes of claustrophobia, but it is certain that it is the result of his boyhood experiences feelings of danger and insecurity. The most common cause of claustrophobia can serve as a kind of terrible event experienced by a person in a confined space. In addition, claustrophobia can manifest as a symptom of other mental disorders, but not always.
Medical History of Claustrophobia
Claustrophobia can occur almost asymptomatic, with people experiencing only a minor concern while staying in closed spaces. In cases where claustrophobia is manifested in a more severe form, a person may experience almost all the symptoms, including shortness of breath, palpitations, panic attacks and fainting.
It should be noted that this phobia can within a certain period of time does not show, however, except in rare cases, after this lull, the disease returns. That is why, even despite the reduction in the frequency of symptoms should continue treatment.
Treatment of Claustrophobia
The key to effective treatment of claustrophobia like any other disease, is the timely treatment of the patient for help. Treatment for claustrophobia is complicated by the fact that even when the patient realizes that his fear is unfounded, it has nothing to do with him. Who deals with the treatment of claustrophobia? As a rule, are engaged psychologists or psychotherapists.
In cases where the attacks are unjustified fear in closed spaces become more frequent, it is recommended as soon as possible to seek professional help. Any drug intended solely for the treatment of claustrophobia, at the moment does not exist. Therefore, each doctor decides how to treat claustrophobia, depending on the severity of the disease. Most often, treatment for this phobia is assigned to psychotherapy and taking different medications, e.g., psychotropic drugs and antipsychotics.
Another method of treatment of claustrophobia hypnotherapy is when the patient is help to get rid of his fear by using hypnosis sessions. Note that this method in some cases turns out to be extremely effective, but like any other method, it does not provide an absolute guarantee of cure.
How to live with Claustrophobia?
In those cases, when the patient is claustrophobic people, promptly seek medical help, his phobia goes into the category of chronic. In chronic claustrophobic people by all available means trying to avoid finding in cramped or crowded spaces. Some time later, the range of interests, and, as a consequence, the circle of such people is shrinking, they become withdrawn and passive.
In order to avoid attack of fear or panic in certain situations, doctors recommend certain techniques of auto-suggestion, in some cases it can really help. However, in cases of severe claustrophobia without the use of drugs to cope with it will be extremely difficult.
To predict how effective the treatment of claustrophobia, quite difficult. So, in some cases, a course of psychotherapy does not help completely to overcome the disease, but helps reduce the amount and strength of panic attacks. In other cases claustrophobia can disappear by itself without external intervention. Also, it is known that adults are much easier to recover from their fears, than children. In addition, the older a person is, the less often and with less force are the symptoms of the disease.
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