What is claustrophobia, what causes fear of confined spaces and which celebrities suffer from it?
AROUND 10 per cent of the UK’s population is affected by claustrophobia at some point during their lifetime, according to the NHS.
The common fear of confined spaces can sometimes lead to panic attacks and nausea.
What is a phobia?
A phobia is described by the as an overwhelming and debilitating fear of an object, place, situation, feeling or animal.
They are more pronounced than fears and tend to develop when a person has an exaggerated or unrealistic sense of danger regarding a situation or object.
If a phobia sufferer doesn't come into contact with the source of their problem very often it may not affect their life - although in some cases even thinking about the thing they fear can give a person "anticipatory anxiety".
If a phobia becomes very severe, the person suffering may organise their life around avoiding the aspect that’s causing distress.
What are the symptoms of phobias?
Typical symptoms associated with phobias can include:
- Dizziness, trembling and increased heart rate
- Breathlessness
- Nausea
- A sense of unreality
- Fear of dying
- Preoccupation with the fear object
What is claustrophobia?
The Oxford English Dictionary defines claustrophobia as an “extreme or irrational fear of confined places”.
Doctors coined the term in the late 19th century, merging the Latin words for lock and phobia.
Even though it’s normal to feel a level of fear when you’re trapped and there’s a genuine threat, claustrophobics feel anxiety when there’s no realistic danger.
This can lead to sufferers avoiding triggering situations, such as travelling by lift or public transport.
What are the symptoms of claustrophobia?
The NHS clams that panic attacks are the most common symptom for claustrophobic people.
Other effects of the condition include:
- sweating
- trembling
- hot flushes or chills
- shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
- a choking sensation
- rapid heartbeat (tachycardia)
- chest pain or a feeling of tightness in the chest
- a sensation of butterflies in the stomach
- nausea
- headaches and dizziness
- feeling faint
- numbness or pins and needles
- dry mouth
- a need to go to the toilet
- ringing in your ears
- feeling confused or disorientated
In severe cases, patients may also experience:
- fear of losing control
- fear of fainting
- feelings of dread
- fear of dying
What causes claustrophobia?
In the majority of cases, claustrophobia is triggered by a traumatic event in a person’s life.
This can include being trapped in a confined space for a prolonged period or being bullied as a child.
Some researchers believe that humans naturally have claustrophobic tendencies because of the fight or flight function that is wired into our brains.
If you are confined to a space or unable to move, removing yourself from the situation can seem impossible, causing anxiety.
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Is there a cure for claustrophobia?
Just like treating other phobias, curing fear often isn’t easy.
Cognitive behaviour therapy can be used to help sufferers change their unproductive thought patterns.
This allows them to distinguish that their intense fear is in their imagination.
Other treatment that is taken on by claustrophobic patients includes behaviour therapy, counselling and hypnosis.
In some cases, anti-anxiety medication can be prescribed to help relieve the stressful symptoms.
What celebrities have claustrophobia?
Last year, I’m A Celebrity winner Scarlett Moffatt exclusively told The Sun she had claustrophobia.
After fans questioned how the star is able to take selfies in lifts, she responded by insisting: “I’m really claustrophobic… I can’t stay in a room without a window”.
Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl is another star that finds it difficult to cope with confined spaces.
He revealed: "I have crazy claustrophobic dreams, weird elevator dreams where the elevator closes in and all of a sudden I am lying down.”
They’re not the only celebrities to be affected by common phobias.
Megan Fox has aviophobia - a fear of flying - which undoubtedly affects her jetsetting lifestyle.
Victoria's Secret model Kendall Jenner has also publicly spoken about her trypophobia, where sufferers find it difficult to look at clusters of holes.