10 Most Common Phobias

Claustrophobia can be defined as a social anxiety disorder that is rooted in a fear of enclosed spaces or tight situations. People who suffer from claustrophobia often seek treatment for claustrophobia when the most common symptom, panic attacks, become too much for them to handle. Claustrophobia can cause immense amounts of fear in these enclosed situations and the effects of the anxiety for those suffering from claustrophobia and not currently under treatment for claustrophobia, can be both physical and mental in nature.

At the heart of claustrophobia, is the fear of tight spaces. This fear, when the patient is not receiving treatment for claustrophobia, can trigger a panic attack when the mind believes it will not be able to escape the current situation. When treatment for claustrophobia is most needed is when the fear overtakes the person and compounds in nature. This fear can leave the person not only suffering from real panic attacks, but constantly fearing that a panic attack will occur.

The definition of tight space will be unique to each patient. The treatment for claustrophobia will center on that definition and be customized to the specific needs of the patient. The most common treatment for claustrophobia is anti-anxiety medication paired with psychotherapy and relaxation therapy.

The anti-anxiety medications are the treatment for claustrophobia that is most commonly prescribed as the first stage of treatment for claustrophobia. The anxiety is the part of the condition that can cause physical harm to the patient. When the mind suffers a panic attack, the body prepares for battle. The heart races, the pupils narrow, the blood drains from the extremities and the entire physical body gets ready for attack. This fight, of the fight or flight reaction, is a natural reaction in certain situations, but when those situations become every day situations, the body can begin to react more and more harshly to the enclosed space, leaving open the possibility for further heart troubles in absence of the proper treatment for claustrophobia.

Psychotherapy is the second step in treatment for claustrophobia. Once the patient is able to face normal every day life with less reaction, the psychotherapist will begin to break down the walls surrounding the fears. This treatment for claustrophobia is what will inevitably bring the patient back to a more normal stage of life.

Without treatment for claustrophobia, the claustrophobic person may soon become an agoraphobic patient. If the definition of tight spaces becomes more and more broad and treatment for claustrophobia is not sought, the patient may be trapped in the only space they feel comfortable, their own home.

Many years ago, treatment for claustrophobia was delivered only from the mental ward of the hospital. Today, however, the treatment for claustrophobia is a more open medical treatment. Claustrophobia does not carry the stigma it once did and patients are finding treatment for claustrophobia is more effective than ever, giving back the hope and dream of a real, “normal” life.