Claustrophobia can come from an early childhood experience of being trapped in an enclosed space or another similar experience, which then creates an ongoing anxiety of enclosed spaces. The original trigger for this anxiety is not what is most important, but rather to change the current way of thinking that creates the unhelpful anxiety. Of course, what is described as “an enclosed space” can vary greatly from one person to another, so it’s important to gather as much information as possible before the start of each session.
Claustrophobia is a direct result of a particular way of thinking. During each session, we explore how to change these unhelpful thinking patterns to discover a more appropriate sense of ease in the situations that used to create the anxiety.
Typical problem areas for those who are claustrophobic
Being stuck in a room with no visible means of escape
Elevators (lifts) – this means climbing a lot of stairs!
Trains and Planes – they can’t get on one because they worry about having an anxiety attack.
Cars (the feeling of being stuck in a car)
Hospital procedures, including MRI scans
This fear can have a really detrimental effect on a person’s lifestyle. This often results in endless checking to see if there is a means of escape from “the enclosed space” Often, the anticipation of being in an enclosed space is the biggest problem with this condition, as a person can endlessly imagine what “could” or “might happen”
Treatment Options
I see clients via Zoom for this issue
The Provocative Change Works approach contains a number of excellent tools that help with this issue. I used many of these skills during the numerous BBC sessions I conducted in 2006. I also released a DVD in the same year entitled “Provocative Change Works for Phobias” which included me working with Karen a long standing claustrophobic.