Good question “I can’t get into the subway”: How do people with transport phobias live?

Causes

Millions of people travel by metro every day, without thinking that they may be in danger. They are not afraid to board a train or ride an escalator. All these ordinary things are impossible for someone suffering from subway anxiety. The fear of the subway is called metrophobia. Where does this fear of this type of public transport come from?

• According to psychologists, fear of riding the subway can occur in people prone to nervous disorders. This can be either unfavorable heredity or individual characteristics.
• People who are vulnerable, prone to suspiciousness and anxiety are especially susceptible to developing this phobia.
• Very often, the cause of fear of the subway is an unpleasant experience. This could be a situation where a subway car has stopped or an accident has occurred. Having witnessed an accident in underground transport, a person is afraid to enter the subway again.
• MASS MEDIA. Regular reports of terrorist attacks and explosions cause genuine horror before visiting the metro.

Why does metrophobia occur?

Metrophobia, or fear of the subway, occurs in a person as a result of traumatic situations associated with the limitation of space in which he was destined to find himself. In this regard, the very fact of the existence of this type of transport is a provocateur of the shock experienced and a powerful activator of those emotions that arose at the time of the traumatic situation. It is logical to ask the question: “Why exactly does the subway cause such strong fear?” As mentioned above, there are quite a lot of factors in the metro that, in case of emotional instability, contribute to the aggravation of feelings and emotions. Thus, the cause of metrophobia does not lie on the surface.

Fears of a metrophobe

There are several things that a metrophobe is afraid of. What a person with a phobia fears: they are afraid of the ceiling collapsing and are afraid of being buried underground. Metrophobes also fear:

• terrorist attacks and the possibility of becoming a hostage;
• explosions, which are often reported in the press and on TV;
• accidents occurring due to a vehicle malfunction;
• the likelihood of being stuck in a subway car for a long time;
• darkness if the light suddenly turns off;
• robberies.

Related Fears

An anxious state arises due to pre-existing psychological abnormalities in which the patient fears something.

Claustrophobia

The fear of enclosed spaces often overlaps with the fear of riding the subway. Psychologists connect this very simply: a person is afraid to move in the subway because he is afraid of getting stuck in a carriage without the ability to leave it.

A feeling of confinement, a feeling that “the walls are pressing in” can occur in a person suffering from claustrophobia when entering the carriage.

Achluophobia

The fear of the dark, known to many, forces the sufferer to abandon the thought of the subway. The patient is not only afraid of being in a dark subway tunnel, but also of the fact that at some point the electricity may turn off.

Social phobia

People suffering from social phobia feel uncomfortable, so they try to avoid crowds. This is almost impossible in the metro, since this type of transport is one of the most popular.

Good question “I can’t get into the subway”: How do people with transport phobias live?

In this case, we are talking about simple phobias - when a person is afraid of a specific object and the damage that this object can cause. The most common simple phobias are, for example, fear of heights, water, insects, the sight of blood, and dogs. Depending on the severity and reasons for its occurrence, such a phobia may be a symptom of some disorder, or may represent a separate diagnosis.

Some people “diagnose” simple phobias on their own - for example, a person may not like dogs and tell others that he has a phobia. This is not entirely correct. Today, the psychological lexicon penetrates into everyday vocabulary and we often say “I’m depressed” when we are in a bad mood, or “I’m in a period of mania” if we are cheerful and active. The same thing happens with phobias. In fact, like any other disorder, only a specialist can diagnose a simple phobia or other anxiety disorder. But there are signs that indicate you may have a phobia and should see a doctor. This is a strong expressed fear and persistent avoidance - such that it begins to affect a person's life.

For example, if a person does not like to fly on an airplane and is a little worried, one can hardly talk about aerophobia. But if he has to refuse business trips and on vacation he agrees to travel only by train, then here, most likely, we are really talking about her. It also happens that a person has a phobia, but it does not interfere with his daily life - for example, he is terrified of spiders, but he does not have to deal with them. Then, perhaps, contacting a specialist and working with the problem is not even necessary. In order to cope with a phobia, you need to make an effort and face unpleasant emotions, and if your fear does not affect your quality of life, then the efforts are not always justified.

There are two groups of factors that influence the emergence and consolidation of phobias. The first group is provoking factors, that is, those that cause fear to appear.

Firstly, it may be an innate tendency. Humanity has developed a fear of predators, open spaces or poisonous insects over thousands of years. This is an adaptation mechanism that has helped people survive on earth. It is because of this mechanism that some people have an innate tendency towards certain phobias. Research shows that if you artificially try to create a fear of a certain object in a person, the fear of spiders will form faster and easier than, say, a fear of flowers.

The second provoking factor is learning. For example, if a person has been observing a significant adult who has a phobia since childhood, it is likely that he will develop the same phobia. If a mother is afraid of heights and does not allow her child to approach the edge of the bridge, he learns from childhood: “Heights are dangerous.”

The third factor is your own experience. Here everything works very simply: “I was bitten by a dog, and now I’m afraid of dogs.” But it is important to understand: not everyone who has been bitten by a dog will be afraid of them, and not everyone whose mother suffers from aerophobia will also suffer from it. Several factors from different groups must come together.

The second group is supporting factors. If they don’t exist, there won’t be a phobia. Provoking factors are like a push. If you push the wheel, it will roll and at some point stop. supporting factors are the “engine” of a phobia. They, in turn, are divided into two groups: those associated with thinking and those associated with behavior.

If they are related to thinking, then a person who has a phobia distorts information “in its favor.” For example, he tries to rationalize his fear: “Dogs scare me, they are probably really dangerous. We need to study more information." A person begins to look for confirmation of his theory, reads about cases of dog attacks on people or about plane crashes. As a result, a catastrophic outcome begins to seem more likely than it actually is: our brain distorts information to reinforce our own beliefs.

Behavioral factors - avoidance and protective behavior. Without avoidance, a phobia most likely will not develop at all. The person avoids situations in which he might encounter the subject of his phobia. It turns out that he cannot get another, positive experience: for example, petting a dog and remaining safe and sound. But gaining such experience is necessary to cope with a phobia.

Not all scary situations can be avoided. There are people who fly regularly, but continue to suffer from aerophobia because they use protective behavior. Safety behavior is what you do or don't do to reduce anxiety and avoid perceived danger. For example, someone on an airplane constantly listens to the engines - so that a feeling of control is created. Some fly only in certain companies or hold onto their armrests tightly the entire trip. What kind of behavior this is is not so important, the main thing is its purpose. You can sit by the window in order to “control everything”, you can only sit in the aisle in order to “escape quickly, if anything happens” - both of these will be protective behavior.

If you have an irrational fear that is seriously interfering with your life, it is best to consult a specialist. Depending on the cause of fear, methods of work may be different. For example, if a phobia is an independent disorder, you need to work with avoidance and attitude towards the object of fear. The main method in this case will be exposure therapy - regular exposure to a frightening object. But if the phobia is a symptom of post-traumatic stress disorder or panic disorder, then the focus of the work will be different.

It is quite possible to get rid of a phobia on your own if you have enough motivation and the fear is not too pronounced, but with a specialist it can be easier and faster.

If you want to try it yourself, there is a self-help algorithm that can make things easier.

First, try to determine what exactly you are afraid of. It’s not just “I’m afraid of dogs” - we need to understand what underlies the fear. For example, “I am afraid of the dog because it might bite me, then I will get tetanus and die.”

Second, you need to figure out what types of avoidance and protective behavior you use. They need to be written out.

Next you need to decide - what is your motivation? Why do you need to cope with a phobia? To do this, you will need to face the object of your fear, this is difficult and unpleasant. But simple phobias can be treated well if a person has good reasons to get rid of them, in such cases he is ready to endure temporary inconvenience.

The next step is to create a hierarchy of your fear. Rate from 1 to 10 how scared you are to perform various actions related to the object of your phobia. For example, thinking about flying - 2, being at the airport - 5, sitting on a plane before take-off - 9, and so on.

Next, you have to rationally assess your fear - turn to statistics and find out how many people actually die in plane crashes? How likely is it to die from a dog bite? There are no situations that are one hundred percent safe, and you have to accept this. But there are fears that, according to statistics, are unlikely to come true.

During this stage, you learn to formulate alternatives to your fearful thoughts. Here you are flying on a plane, and a flight attendant passes by with a worried face. Your first thought: “something is going wrong!” But you can “rewire” your thinking if you learn to ask yourself: “What are the alternatives? Why would she be upset? and find less catastrophic options. For example, “tired”, “quarreled with a friend”, “got a difficult passenger”.

Now that you have understood everything and sorted it out, you can begin to experience situations associated with a phobia in your imagination. Your anxiety will increase, and you should try not to avoid it, but to live through it. Phobias develop precisely when we try to rid ourselves of feelings of anxiety. But if you encounter it again and again and see that your fears do not come true, it will begin to decline. Then you can try to face your fear in real life - for example, go to the airport and look at the planes, take a short flight with a friend, then a longer one, then fly alone - ideas come from your list of the hierarchy of frightening situations.

Exposure therapy works very well, but its main problem is that not all clients agree to it. Now this problem can be solved by the introduction of modern technologies in psychotherapy. Flight simulators, augmented reality, virtual reality - all this makes the exhibition more accessible and reduces the failure rate.

Lastly, be prepared that the phobia may return periodically, especially if there is an innate tendency. The turn from avoiding fear to confronting it must become a lifestyle, only then the result will be long-term.

All these steps are easier to take with the help and support of a specialist, because to do this you need to be able to change your way of thinking and your views on disturbing situations. But if you still want to learn more about how to help yourself, I recommend the book “Freedom from Anxiety” by Robert Leahy.

Difficulties

This phobia is not life-threatening, but it causes a lot of inconvenience to the patient. Life is complicated by the fact that you have to give up fast and convenient transport due to obsessive thoughts about danger: a metrophobe is late for important meetings, events and meetings, taking too long to get to the right place. If there is no alternative to the metro, the patient is forced to abandon a planned event or communication with friends simply because he cannot get to the specified place in any other way.

He is forced to look for alternatives, making life more difficult for himself and his loved ones.

Psychologist's advice

The methods mentioned above help only at an early stage. At other stages, they can weaken the manifestations of the phobia, but do not help get rid of it. In this case, you need the help of a psychotherapist. The treatment uses psychological methods such as Gestalt therapy, cognitive behavioral psychotherapy, and psychoanalysis.

The specialist finds out the subconscious causes of fear, and then helps the client develop new beliefs and behavioral strategies, and suggests how to get rid of fear. Practical methods involve gradual rapprochement with the object of fear.

Approximate stages of rapprochement:

• viewing images of subways, escalators, or other frightening elements;
• watching videos with the same content;
• listening to an audio recording with sounds characteristic of the metro;
• first trips accompanied by a psychologist;
• traveling accompanied by loved ones;
• independent trips during free hours;
• traveling during rush hour accompanied by a psychologist or loved ones;
• independent travel during peak traffic hours.

For severe exhaustion, psychological blocks and uncontrollable anxiety attacks, medication is indicated. Among the psychological methods used are hypnosis and hypnotherapy. The hypnologist puts the client into a trance, finds a destructive stop, and instills a new attitude towards the subway. The specialist suggests that this is exactly the same type of transport as a bus or tram.

Signs

Often a metrophobe carries fear within himself. On the one hand, this is constant avoidance of the object of the phobia, and on the other, it is a panic attack at the mere thought of having to go into the subway.

Panic becomes acute if the patient has to use the subway.

In this case, the following symptoms occur:

• excitement and anxiety;
• heaviness in the legs;
• hand tremors;
• sweating;
• tinnitus and pressure surges;
• lack of air;
• irregular heart beats.

These symptoms can cause a nervous breakdown, and the presence of chronic stress leads to serious illnesses (strokes, heart attacks).

Treatment methods

To overcome the fear of the metro, beliefs and understanding of one’s problem alone may not be enough, so a metrophobe will need high-quality medical care. One of the first steps will be to contact a psychotherapist, who will prescribe homeopathic medicines that will provide the patient with calm. Medicinal herbs (valerian, motherwort, lemon balm) have a mild calming effect. In advanced cases, tranquilizers from the benzodiazepine group may be required. They relieve fears, which helps you temporarily forget about the fear of the metro and use this transport when you need to.

If you are afraid of riding the subway, then to eliminate your fear of the subway you will need hypnosis, which will help you find and eliminate the root of the problem at the subconscious level. Hypnotic sessions will give control over emotions and give the patient the desired calm. Painless treatment with hypnosis, as well as methods of suggestion, is a chance for complete healing of metrophobia and restoration of a harmonious life. Exposure to the very nature of fear helps to cope with a phobia.

We must not forget about a healthy lifestyle. Walking in the fresh air, regular exercise, and the ability to organize your work day can strengthen the nervous system and make it less susceptible to any phobias.

Fear is a difficult phenomenon; with the right approach, you can forget about it forever, leaving unpleasant sensations in the past.

Symptoms of agoraphobia

The main symptoms of agoraphobia are anxious and phobic manifestations, as well as panic reactions. The most typical ones are:

• “anticipation anxiety” of frightening events;
• obsessive avoidance behavior to avoid situations that cause fear;
• sudden panic attacks while traveling alone;
• panic attacks when traveling to places that previously caused attacks of fear;
• feelings of anxiety and fear are obsessive; rituals may arise to “magically” overcome unwanted situations;
• voluntary isolation within one's own home.

Panic attacks are characterized by suddenness and a large surge of adrenaline. Their duration does not exceed 1 hour, usually about 15 minutes. At this time, the following somatic reactions are present:

• strong heartbeat;
• increased sweating;
• dizziness;
• unsteady or unsteady gait;
• tremor of the limbs, tremors in the voice;
• rapid and loud breathing.

Among the emotional sensations, many people note a lack of control over behavior and feelings, and a strong fear of death.