Are You Claustrophobic? One Woman Opens Up About Her Experience
By Sarah Jio, Glamour magazine
Perhaps you've wondered if you are claustrophobic at one point or another in your life. I have--I'm not cool with tight spaces--but I've never really worried about having a full-fledged disorder. One blogger opened up about what she worries may be sudden-onset claustrophobia. Could it happen to you?
BlissTree's Christine Egan shared her concerns about claustrophobia recently. "Lately, during acupuncture (which I've had done for years), I become completely panicked when Anne, my trusted acupuncturist, closes the door and leaves the room for 20-30 minutes," she writes, also noting trouble with elevators and facials.
I completely identified with her concerns. After a life of zero claustrophobia, lately I've noticed little moments of anxiety crop up about space issues. While I can handle elevators just fine (and facials? Bring 'em on!), oddly, at the hair salon, I feel trapped and antsy when my stylist buttons the smock too tight. It's like a fight-or-flight reaction. What gives?
While experts say that claustrophobia typically presents itself during childhood or the teenage years, it can also appear in adulthood, reports Egan. Or it could just be a minor "phobia"--the National Institute of Mental Health estimates that as many as 12 percent of Americans suffer from some type of phobia (be it crowded spaces or rats!).
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Photo Credit: WWD
