CLAUSTROPHOBIA.....WHAT HELPS ME

Hello Friends. 
I hope you had a wonderful holiday weekend!

Many of us have problems and issues. For the most part, my life is very positive and happy, but I do have a few issues that I deal with. They include claustrophobia and anxiety. I think a lot of the anxiety actually stems from the claustrophobia. I do not want to bring negativity to the blog as part of the reason why I'm here is to help others and lift them up and find good times in their everyday life. However, I will say I do know what triggered the claustrophobia. It was a couple incidents many many years ago and I won't go into that but what I'm going to do is tell you the things I do to help me deal with claustrophobia and make me feel as good as I possibly can in the anxiety ridden situation. 

I feel claustrophobic in following situations if not more than I have listed here:

Automatic car washes.
The dentist chair.
Standing or sitting in one spot and talking with one person for a long amount of time.
Sitting in restaurants, especially when it's just with one other person.
Having a test done like a CT (I'd be in a panic if I ever needed an MRI).
Elevators. (I like the stairs for exercise anyway)
Waiting in line.
If wearing anything restrictive like a scarf around my neck while running. (one time on a cold day, I was out for a run and my scarf to cover my mouth was too tight and I had to call my husband to come get me because of the attack, luckily I walked it off and was ok)
Airplanes. (oddly enough, the fear only happened once on a plane)
Getting a Haircut (This is why I cut and color my own hair)
Riding in the backseat of a car.
Haunted Houses, House of Mirrors



 What happens to me when the claustrophobic feeling creeps in?

 
I get hot.
My chest gets splotchy.
My face flushes.

I get sweaty.
My heart beats faster.
I have an overwhelming feeling to escape.
I may feel faint
It can be hard to breathe.

What do I do to make the situation more bearable? 

Relaxation techniques such as deep breathing.

Picturing myself in a happier situation, usually a field full of sunshine or a happy memory.

Sing a song in your head.

Distraction. For example, in the car wash, I look a my phone & browse photos, messages, etc.
Drinking Ice cold water filled with tons of ice cubes. It works!
Leaving the situation if possible.  
Telling myself in my mind that it's going to be ok.

 I just want others who deal with these same issues to know that there is an ebb and flow and you're not alone. While this isn't life threatening, it is scarey and it is real.

Life isn’t an easy journey, and the measure of a true champion is not how far you go, it’s how far you bounce back after facing defeat. Claustrophobia can feel like defeat at the time but it's only a temporary riff in life and you are more then your fear.

xoxo

 

"I'm claustrophobic. I can't go into haunted houses. They have these tight, dark, enclosed space. I freak out. That's my phobia. It gets me out of stuff. Someone asks me to do something and I tell them I can't because I'm claustrophobic."

~Mark Consuelos

Smart man, married Kelly Ripa and uses his phobia to his advantage. LOL