BS: How do i

Subject: BS: How do i
From: Davetnova
Date: 19 Feb 05 - 05:18 AM

I have a friend who is claustrophobic but he insists on keeping it secret.
How do I persuade him to come out of the closet?

Subject: RE: BS: How do i
From: George Papavgeris
Date: 19 Feb 05 - 05:32 AM

I had to smile at your metaphor Davetnova (claustrophobic - closet...). But I assume you are serious with your query.

Being claustrophobic is a lot more common than people think, and it has degrees. Someone may be all right in a small room, but panic in a lift/elevator; or they may be OK as long as there is light, or as long as there are sounds they can hear, because they latch on to those senses as part of their coping strategy.

So I suggest you
a) tell your friend that claustrophobia is very common (and to a point even understandable/"normal" as a reaction to isolation, confinement etc).
b) explain that all they need is to develop a coping strategy that suits them, and ask them to visit a specialist/counsellor that can help them identify such strategies.

Subject: RE: BS: How do i
From: gnu
Date: 19 Feb 05 - 06:03 AM

"...and it has degrees." I'm scared of coffins.

Subject: RE: BS: How do i
From: Davetnova
Date: 19 Feb 05 - 11:33 AM

Sorry ElGreko, it was supposed to be a joke. Poor taste I know.

Subject: RE: BS: How do i
From: George Papavgeris
Date: 19 Feb 05 - 12:58 PM

I was kinda wonderin'...but I didn't want to offend you if it wasn't!
Oh well, it's the weekend...

Subject: RE: BS: How do i
From: John MacKenzie
Date: 19 Feb 05 - 01:05 PM

I hate being penned in and like to be on the edge of the crowd, or near a door. Sorry I'm being serious
Giok

Subject: RE: BS: How do i
From: kendall
Date: 19 Feb 05 - 03:04 PM

Same here Giok.

Subject: RE: BS: How do i
From: skipy
Date: 19 Feb 05 - 05:03 PM

If in a theatre, cimema, folk concert etc. I need to have an end of row seat. I can cope with "other" seats but it will make me feel uncomfortably & I will not enjoy the performance as much. At singarounds you will only ever find me on the outer edge & probaly in a doorway or even "just outside", such is life.
Skipy

Subject: RE: BS: How do i
From: Bee-dubya-ell
Date: 19 Feb 05 - 05:54 PM

Wouldn't the real question be how to get him into the closet?

Subject: RE: BS: How do i
From: Peace
Date: 19 Feb 05 - 06:14 PM

I hate caves. Hate 'em. I don't know why. I have no trouble in small culverts, under bridges, in confined space or even doing a search in a smoke-filled house, where essentially a guy's working blind. But caves really get to me. I can FORCE myself, but I shake for a few minutes after I get out. Just do NOT like it at all.

Subject: RE: BS: How do i
From: John MacKenzie
Date: 19 Feb 05 - 06:17 PM

Caves; yes pure panic.
Giok

Subject: RE: BS: How do i
From: Ebbie
Date: 19 Feb 05 - 09:35 PM

I'm better at being in crowds than I used to be. Still don't like 'em though. Even in a music group I'm much more at ease when the crowds thins.

What helped me was when I mentioned that I much preferred outdoor venues for rallies and school functions and speeches; indoors activities made me feel that the air was used up- and my son in law said, Sounds like claustrophobia to me.

And I realized, Yes!

Subject: RE: BS: How do i
From: mack/misophist
Date: 19 Feb 05 - 11:04 PM

When I was young and broke I had a large crate that I slept inside of at night. By day it was a table. Seemed cosy to me.

Subject: RE: BS: How do i
From: open mike
Date: 20 Feb 05 - 01:39 AM

If you ever get an MRI, the test is done in this tubular contraption
which is much like a cave or culvert. You are strapped in to a table top like slab and it slides in to the enclosure. They have newer
machines which do not surround you entirely, allowing light and air to enter, which makes many patients much more comfortable with the procedure..that and they also offer tranquilizers. It is quite common to find people who have problems with being in enclosed spaces. At least one in ten as i recall. (magnetic Resonance imaging is also a procedure that has noises and vibrations which may be unsettling to some patients.)

Subject: RE: BS: How do i
From: Bee-dubya-ell
Date: 20 Feb 05 - 03:02 AM

I get nauseated if I try to work under a car using a creeper. I can handle it just about long enough to do an oil change. Any job that requires staying under the thing for more than a minute or two is going to be done by someone else.

Subject: RE: BS: How do i
From: JohnInKansas
Date: 20 Feb 05 - 03:59 AM

Bee-dubya-ell

Hopefully for the under-the-car stuff you are using proper ramps or jackstands. I've heard the same complaint from a number of people, a couple of whom were trying to be professional auto bangers. For many it's largely a matter of an extra couple of inches, so that you have a little more room to roll around - and justifiable real confidence in the stands you use.

I've also known quite a few who had no fear of sliding under a car that was on just "bumper jacks." At least three of them (that I knew fairly well) died at very young ages.

I've also heard a lot of complaints about shop owners/managers who expect their mechanics to get under stuff, but refuse to invest in suitable stands/lifts. (Motorcycle shops are notorious.) A little nervousness is a good thing sometimes.

John

Subject: RE: BS: How do i
From: Sooz
Date: 20 Feb 05 - 04:13 AM

I have problems in crowds of people, particularly if they are moving around and I can't see the door. Its not so bad if they keep still in the theatre. Paradoxically, I love caves.
My Dad suffered very badly from claustrophobia and he found out the hard way when he went down the pit for the first time the day after he left school.

Subject: RE: BS: How do i
From: Mr Red
Date: 20 Feb 05 - 05:40 AM

I hate closed minds. The word NO kills creativity dead. AND crowds usually have this effect. Herd mentality.

But then with schizophrenia it can get crowded even in an open mind.

Subject: RE: BS: How do i
From: GUEST
Date: 20 Feb 05 - 09:12 AM

I don't think the word 'no' kills creativity necessarily. But words like 'should' or (my pet peeve) 'conform' certainly kills it.

As in "I paid good money to see this band, and they should have played (fill in blank)."

or

"The academy can't teach creativity, but we can teach technique..."

followed by

"A (BFA/MFA/PhD) and a masters in education is required to teach art. To kindergartners."

Subject: RE: BS: How do i
From: GUEST
Date: 20 Feb 05 - 09:15 AM

BTW, sorry for the thread drift, I just had the "closed minds" about the arts conversation with someone yesterday.

As to the claustrophobia thing with MRI--my mother had that problem, and it got worse as she aged and got sicker, therefore needing more MRIs. But even with the open sided MRI machine and tranquilizers, she still had a tremendous amount of anxiety about them, because she had to "hold perfectly still" and be strapped down.

I don't envy anyone who has claustrophobia and has to have an MRI.

Subject: RE: BS: How do i
From: GUEST,lana
Date: 22 Feb 05 - 12:11 AM

i have to have an mri and i am extremely claustrophobic. I tried and i couldn't do it. What can i do

Subject: RE: BS: How do i
From: jeffp
Date: 22 Feb 05 - 09:05 AM

They offer tranquilizers now that are very helpful. Talk to your doctor about it. It worked for my wife. Open MRI is another option, but it doesn't give as clear a picture.

jeffp

Subject: RE: BS: How do i
From: GUEST,SKIPY
Date: 22 Feb 05 - 06:40 PM

Lana, if you HAVE to have one, my wife suffers from it, but she had to have, so she did, she was so proud that she managed it but shaking whilst she told me about it. Just remember the staff at the facility have seen all the fear before & understand it. No one is going to laugh or bother to talk about it because they see it every working day.
Go on girl do it!
Skipy

Subject: RE: BS: How do i
From: Rapparee
Date: 22 Feb 05 - 07:10 PM

I have a problem with foxholes. And trenches. Especially if someone is shooting at me. I find that in this case the hole just isn't deep enough.

Subject: RE: BS: How do i
From: GUEST,Mingulay at work
Date: 23 Feb 05 - 09:08 AM

My first MRI scan was a nightmare, 25 minutes stuck in a confined tube surrounded by whooshes and bangs staring at a small air vent, strapped down flat on my back.

The second was slightly better, being shorter, as well as being provided with a pair of glasses with prismatic lenses so that I could see down my body and through the end of the tube.

In both cases I was allowed to take in a CD of my choice to listen to. Thank you Johnny Collins.