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Other The relationship between claustrophobia and ptsd

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Ryunkin

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I think my claustrophobia began when I was trapped in a drainage sewer a few months after we moved into a new housing development when I was very young. My fear of being trapped consequently increased, as well as the beginning of my PSTD, due to the continuous bullying of older and bigger children for about the next four years.

Growing up in an all White town in the early 50's, fighting usually consisted of the bigger kid throwing the little kid to the ground, then pinning his shoulders with his knees. This went on for about four years, until I grew too big for these creeps to lord it over me anymore. The truth is, I almost killed two of my worst tormentors by curbing their heads against cement blocks, which caused a whole new set of problems.

It was during this period that I noticed I couldn't concentrate enough to retain anything that I read, and consequently, even with a 150 IQ, I did poorly in school. It wasn't until years later that I realized I had also developed an odd ( presumably ) type of claustrophobia. Unlike most people with this problem, I am fine in elevators and small rooms, but I become hysterical if something or someone is hovering over me. MRI's are impossible and sexual positions have been somewhat awkward for any woman who attempts to be sexually dominant. I wonder if anyone else has experienced this set of circumstances, or has noticed that PTSD claustrophobia may be related?
 
I have GAD, I have had depression, and I have PTSD. I’m also claustrophobic. The older I get, the worse it gets. I make myself go on the elevator at work, but it is super fast. The slow ones freak me out. Tunnels, basements, amusement park rides, and going below deck on ships freaks me out. I’m sad as I used to sail a lot when I was younger. I can’t pinpoint a reason why I have it.

Has yours gotten worse with age?
 
I have GAD, I have had depression, and I have PTSD. I’m also claustrophobic. The older I get, the worse...
I really don't know. I was in my 50's when I realized that I had a problem with claustrophobia because it only hits me when I am in extremely close situations. I discovered the problem when an orthopedic specialist prescribed an MRI and I completely panicked when it completely covered me. The techs tried everything to calm me down, but nothing they did worked. I really needed to be sedated. I had never experienced such intense panic before.

Unlike you, elevators have never bothered me, nor have small rooms, with the exception of a very small, dark tool shed that a childhood friend locked me in as a prank. It was during the few minutes that I was trapped in that damn MRI it dawned on me that the idea of having something close, hovering over me, was making me feel as if I couldn't breath. Then, I related it to getting trapped in that sewer when I was six, and the consequent bullying by the older kids and it dawned on me that those two experiences had made me claustrophobic as well as having created the PSTD and the inability to concentrate and remember what the hell I had read five minutes before. I think that disability has been the bane of my life. I have a 150 IQ and in many ways I'm an idiot. It has been like going through life owning a Ferrari and the only car you're allowed to drive is a friggin' Fiat.
 
I have a 150 IQ and in many ways I'm an idiot. It has been like going through life owning a Ferrari and the only car you're allowed to drive is a friggin' Fiat.

This is what many people call the "engineer syndrome." It is common for very "book smart" people to have difficulty in other areas in their lives, the most common being the social arena. Many have social anxiety or social awkwardness. So I don't think your cruise in the Fiat is too unusual.

Your experience with the MRI is what happens to me. Something that I've had no issues with in the past, that maybe I haven't done in a while, will suddenly bother me out of the blue. I can't seem to predict anymore what I'm going to react to. I used to have no problem with basements when I was growing up...then a friend bought a new house with a basement, and suddenly I couldn't go in it.
 
I don't know how book smart I am, but I do know that I have little trouble navigating the social arena. I do, however, prefer picking my spots in dealing people. After spending my entire working life in retail, and seeing the dark side of humanity every day of that period of my life---I owned my own business and was forced by law to watch people walk out of my store with my merchandise, unpaid for and untouched---you might say that I do not have a high regard for the average human being.
 
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