Claustrophobia can be a debilitating disease. Sufferers experience a fear of enclosed spaces that can keep them from fully living their lives. However, several treatments exist to help alleviate this anxiety. Many of these therapies revolve around exercises that accustom patients to closed spaces, resolving their fear and panic. Learning about the various exercises for claustrophobia can help you decide if they are right for you or a loved one.
What is Claustrophobia?
Claustrophobia is an anxiety disorder in which patients feel an overwhelming fear of enclosed spaces. This fear persists even in situations that involve little or no danger. Sufferers describe feeling trapped without a way out. Claustrophobia can involve physical reactions such as breathlessness, choking sensations, palpitations and increased muscle tension.
Behavior Therapy
Behavior therapy is a treatment commonly used for many phobias. MayoClinic.com describes it as a "gradual, repeated exposure to the cause of your phobia." This exposure desensitizes the patient to enclosed spaces. Exercises may progress from merely thinking about an enclosed space to sitting in a space with the door open to actually being in an enclosed space.
Cognitive Therapy
Cognitive behavioral therapy is more comprehensive than behavior therapy. Patients work with a trained therapist to cope with their fears. Together, patient and therapist confront the thoughts and attitudes that lead to fear and anxiety. Exercises focus on mastering the thoughts and feelings that trigger phobia.
Virtual Reality Therapy
Virtual reality therapy uses computer technology to allow the patient to encounter his fear in a simulated environment. According to Duke Health, this can be very effective, since it saves the patient and therapist from making costly trips in order to make reenactments. Patients put on a head-mount display and the therapist uses a computer keyboard to control what the patient sees and hears.
Other Treatments
While exercises are very helpful, some patients require additional treatment. The NYU Langone Medical Center cites antidepressants and anti-anxiety agents as helping many claustrophobia patients. While medication will not cure a phobia, it can make therapy more effective.
