Fear of Small Spaces, also known as Claustrophobia, is a Fear I have no idea how we haven’t talked about up until now. We have Fear of the Dark, Fear of Pokemon Go, and even Fear of Jell-O but we somehow don’t have this one. When you’re in the business of pointless internet content, better late than never is the name of the game.
What Causes Claustrophobia?
Wikipedia describes Fear of Small Spaces (Claustrophobia) as being afraid of enclosed areas where you feel you cannot easily escape from. To determine whether or not you have this Fear try contorting yourself into a unrecognizable ball and sealing yourself inside of a suitcase. Pro Tip: keep a small opening near where your face is to avoid things like dying whilst inside the suitcase. If after 24 hours (read: 10 seconds) you feel like the world is closing in around you, your heart is pounding in your chest and you begin screaming for help but there’s no one around to save you, you might have Claustrophobia.
This Fear is a fairly common troupe in movies and TV shows. Whether it is someone buried alive (could be its own Fear post!), someone crawling through a tunnel or cavern or someone being trapped in a room and forced to escape, it’s an easy thing to relate to for a lot of people. It can also sometimes be more symbolic like feeling you are trapped in a loveless marriage or feeling like your career will never evolve past the point of intern. Either way, scary stuff.
How to Escape from Claustrophobia
If you have a Fear of Small Spaces, you might believe you will never be able to overcome it. That could be true but at least give yourself a chance to laugh at how silly the Fear really is before you commit to that fetal position entirely.
If you avoid things like trying to slither your way through abandoned mines, fitting 10 people in a 1-person tent or locking yourself inside of a coffin as a fun prank, you might find your opportunities to encounter Claustrophobic-type situations to be limited. As long as you are comfortable with leaving the house, you can live your life in open spaces and instead just have to deal with over-population. You can also take the opposite approach and instead try to face your Fear head-on with the suitcase method or by living in a stranger’s crawl space until you are confident you have overcome the Fear. Then you can emerge from their attic/basement or section of the wall you’ve been living in and announce you are cured to the unsuspecting inhabitants of the house. They will revel in your glory before calling the police.
