Causes Claustrophobia

1 causes

1.1 amygdala
1.2 classical conditioning
1.3 conditioning experiences
1.4 prepared phobia

causes

the fears of enclosed spaces irrational fear. claustrophobic people find in room without windows consciously know aren t in danger, yet these same people afraid, possibly terrified point of incapacitation, , many not know why.

amygdala


the red structure amygdala.

the amygdala 1 of smallest structures in brain, 1 of powerful. amygdala needed conditioning of fear, or creation of fight-or-flight response. fight-or-flight response created when stimulus associated grievous situation. cheng believes phobia s roots in fight-or-flight response.

in generating fight-or-flight response, amygdala acts in following way: amygdala s anterior nuclei associated fear each other. nuclei send out impulses other nuclei, influence respiratory rate, physical arousal, release of adrenaline, blood pressure, heart rate, behavioral fear response, , defensive responses, may include freezing up. these reactions constitute autonomic failure in panic attack.

brain synapse

a study done fumi hayano found right amygdala smaller in patients suffered panic disorders. reduction of size occurred in structure known corticomedial nuclear group ce nucleus belongs to. causes interference, in turn causes abnormal reactions aversive stimuli in panic disorders. in claustrophobic people, translates panicking or overreacting situation in person finds physically confined.

classical conditioning

claustrophobia results mind comes connect confinement danger. comes consequence of traumatic childhood experience, although onset can come @ point in individual s life. such experience can occur multiple times, or once, make permanent impression on mind. majority of claustrophobic participants in experiment done lars-göran Öst reported phobia had been acquired result of conditioning experience. in cases, claustrophobia seems result of past experiences.

conditioning experiences

a few examples of common experiences result in onset of claustrophobia in children (or adults) follows:

a child (or, less commonly, adult) shut pitch-black room , cannot find door or light-switch.
a child gets shut box.
a child locked in closet.
a child falls deep pool , cannot swim.
a child gets separated parents in large crowd , gets lost.
a child sticks head between bars of fence , cannot out.
a child crawls hole , gets stuck, or cannot find way back.
a child left in parent s car, truck, or van.
a child in crowded area no windows (a classroom, basement, etc.) , has run-ins other people, or put there means of punishment.

the term past experiences , according 1 author, can extend moment of birth. in john a. speyrer s claustrophobia , fear of death , dying , reader brought conclusion claustrophobia s high frequency due birth trauma, says 1 of horrendous experiences can have during our lifetime, , in helpless moment infant develops claustrophobia.

in mri, patient inserted tube.

magnetic resonance imaging (mri) can trigger claustrophobia. mri scan entails lying still time in narrow tube. in study involving claustrophobia , mri, reported 13% of patients experienced panic attack during procedure. procedure has been linked not triggering of preexisting claustrophobia, onset of condition in people. panic attacks experienced during procedure can stop person adjusting situation, thereby perpetuating fear.

the conditions inside mine

s.j. rachman tells of extreme example, citing experience of 21 miners. these miners trapped underground 14 days, during 6 of miners died of suffocation. after rescue, ten of miners studied ten years. 1 affected experience, , 6 developed phobias confining or limiting situations. miner did not develop noticeable symptoms 1 acted leader.

another factor cause onset of claustrophobia information received. aureau walding states in causes of claustrophobia , many people, children, learn , fear watching parents or peers. method not apply observing teacher, observing victims. vicarious classical conditioning includes when person sees person exposed directly unpleasant situation. analogous observing getting stuck in tight space, suffocated, or of other examples listed above.

prepared phobia

there research suggests claustrophobia isn t entirely classically conditioned or learned phobia. not inborn fear, called prepared phobia. erin gersley says in phobias: causes , treatments, humans genetically predisposed become afraid of things dangerous them. claustrophobia may fall under category because of wide distribution… onset , seeming easy acquisition, , non-cognitive features. acquisition of claustrophobia may part of vestigial evolutionary survival mechanism, dormant fear of entrapment and/or suffocation once important survival of humanity , awakened @ time. hostile environments in past have made kind of pre-programmed fear necessary, , human mind developed capacity efficient fear conditioning classes of dangerous stimuli .

rachman provides argument theory in article: phobias . agrees statement phobias concern objects constitute direct threat human survival, , many of these phobias acquired because of inherited biological preparedness . brings prepared phobia, not quite innate, , learned. rachman explains in article: main features of prepared phobias acquired, selective, stable, biologically significant, , [non-cognitive]. selective , biologically significant mean relate things directly threaten health, safety, or survival of individual. non-cognitive suggests these fears acquired unconsciously. both factors point theory claustrophobia prepared phobia pre-programmed mind of human being.