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Originally Posted by Marvelous Marv
Well, since you asked ...
A person I (ahem) know very well has always been a little claustrophobic. Examples of situations that would make him very uncomfortable would be getting locked in a room, sitting in the back seat of a two-door car, and (god forbid) handcuffs. Although he has no other phobias (like heights, spiders, whatever), when the irrational feeling of fear arises, it requires a great deal of self-control to resist it.
The problem seems to be gradually worsening as the years go by. Thoughts? Remedies? Asylums?
Thanks.
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Might I floor this one?
Can you describe in greater detail the feelings you get when you are in a closed space? Are they aprehensive? Are they fight/flight? Do you have trouble breathing? Also, do you remember the very first time you felt this?
I also used to be claustrophobic. I had an irrational view of closed spaces from when I was young and trapped in something (still can't remember what). In order to overcome my problem, I allowed myself to be put in a situation where I was made to be EXTREMLY uncomfortable in an inclosed space. I first tried this by going into caves with a friend of mine who is experienced in cave walks and such. It didn't work. So my anual cardiologist check up came around and it was suggested that I get a CAT scan. I did. I got into a machine that requires perfect stillness for extended periods of time that is a very tight loction (I could barely move my arms if I wanted to). The person working the machine was either exhausted or new, because it took over 7 hours to finish. At first I was absolutely freaking out. I had to force myself to control my breathing. After my heart rate went down and my breathing became normal, I started to meditate (concentrated on a small red dot at the front of my mind and manipulated the dot very slowly). After about 20 minutes I was back to normal calm. Then I opened my eyes. After 20 minutes I was calm again. This went on for the first 2-3 hours. After a while, I realized that I was not trapped, and I was able to relax so much I almost fell asleep.