The fear of escalators, also known as escalaphobia, affects many people around the world. If you have escalaphobia, you may feel trapped at the end of an escalator and feel like you're about to fall off the escalator. Your heart rate may be racing, your body may feel hot, your breath will be shallow, and you may suddenly tremble as you go up the escalator. To overcome fear, you can avoid escalators in malls, office buildings, and other public spaces. Keep in mind that adjusting your escalator habit is useful if you're simply afraid of escalators. If you have escalaphobia, you should seek the help of a professional therapist.
Step
Method 1 of 3: Adjusting Habits
Step 1. Look up, instead of down, when climbing an escalator
Avoid looking up at the stairs and keep your eyes up as you climb the escalator. This will help keep you from moving as you climb the escalator, so you can reach your destination.
It will also reduce any dizziness you may feel when climbing the escalator
Step 2. Hold the railing or someone else's hand
Use the railing to balance yourself on the escalator and avoid feeling dizzy.
- You can also travel with someone who can hold your hand while you ride the escalator. It can help you regulate your balance and perception while climbing the escalator.
- Some people who are afraid of escalators find that wearing practical and steaming shoes while riding the escalator can make them feel safe and comfortable.
Step 3. Take the escalator when it's quiet
Some people with escalaphobia don't like feeling trapped or confined, surrounded by other people on escalators during busy or peak hours. Instead of trying to take a crowded escalator, wait for the crowd to subside. That might help you feel less cramped and trapped as you ride the escalator.
Method 2 of 3: Using Therapy
Step 1. Try hypnosis
Hypnotherapists believe that your subconscious sometimes reacts inappropriately to certain situations, for example, when climbing an escalator. The hypnotherapist will try to change your subconscious responses to find new ways for you to respond to certain situations so that you stop feeling afraid or get rid of your phobia.
- Hypnosis for escalaphobia can be done in one session by exposing your fear through the use of flooding techniques. The therapist will guide you through the imaginary experience of riding the escalator while you are very relaxed. There is usually a follow-up session to see if your fear can come back.
- Ask your doctor for advice from a certified hypnotherapist and check online before you make your appointment. You can also ask friends and family if they have gone to a good hypnotherapist to deal with their fear or phobia.
Step 2. Consider cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT)
This type of psychotherapy focuses on adjusting inappropriate or negative thoughts so that you can see your fear or phobia with a clear mind and respond to it in an effective way. You will visit a psychotherapist for several sessions to deal with escalaphobia and find solutions to problems that can overcome your fear.
- To try CBT, seek advice from a psychotherapist from your doctor, health insurance, or family fiber friend who has had good CBT treatment. If you have health insurance, find out what psychotherapy treatments are covered by your insurance. Before you make an appointment with a therapist, check the fiber costs of the pay-per-session options.
- You should also verify the qualifications of a psychotherapist before attending a therapy session. Check education, certificates and licenses. Most certified psychotherapists have a master's or doctoral degree with training in psychological counseling.
Step 3. Look for exposure-based treatments
This type of therapy puts you in a controlled situation where you have to confront your phobia. The therapist will also prevent you from avoiding fear and may use interoceptive cues such as internal physical sensations. Most exposure-based treatments are assisted by a therapist to help you tolerate the fear and anxiety you associate with certain experiences or objects.
For example, your therapist may gradually expose you to an escalator. Once you are comfortable standing in front of the escalator, for example, your therapist will let you put one foot on the escalator and slowly make you comfortable placing both feet on the escalator. Positioning yourself next to the escalator, then on the escalator, in the company of a therapist, will help you learn that your fear of the consequences of climbing the escalator you imagined will not happen
Step 4. Try Eye Movement Reprocessing and Desensitization (EMDR)
This type of therapy was originally used to treat PTSD and has been adapted to treat certain phobias. During EMDR, you will be presented with pictures of objects or situations that you fear briefly and guided by a therapist to practice eye movements, listen to clapping, rhythmic tones. The goal is to decondition your phobia through rapid eye movement and image processing of the situation or object you fear.
Some experts argue that EMDR is more useful for dealing with fears that develop due to traumatic experiences or for fears that are more irrational or impractical. Many people with phobias try hypnosis or exposure-based therapy before trying EMDR
Method 3 of 3: See a Doctor
Step 1. Check your ears and eyes
Sometimes, people who have trouble staying balanced when climbing an escalator or have vertigo when getting off an escalator have eye or ear problems. Check your eyes to make sure you don't have any visual disturbances that might make it difficult for you to balance or stabilize and check your ears to make sure that your ears are not causing you vertigo.
Step 2. Ask for an official diagnosis
Your doctor can diagnose your phobia based on your symptoms and your medical, psychiatric, and social history. Be prepared to answer questions at the clinical interview regarding your fear of escalators and the severity of your fear.
- The clinical definition of a phobia is a fear of an object or experience that is consistent for six months or more. You may experience panic attacks, along with stress and anxiety, when exposed to objects or experiencing these experiences. You will realize that your fear is unreasonable and irrational, and it will bother you that you can't shake it off. Finally, your fear may be so strong that you will have to adjust your daily activities, social life, or work routine to avoid facing the phobia.
- After your doctor has provided an official diagnosis of your escalaphobia, you can use it so that insurance can cover the cost of therapy and treatment for your disorder.
Step 3. Seek advice from a therapist
Your doctor can recommend you to a certified psychologist, cognitive behavioral specialist, or hypnotherapist. Discuss these options as well as the pros and cons of each before you decide.
