This is going to seem a bit strange and I hope I am not the only person that suffers from this.
I have been diagnosed with Claustrophobia since the age of 5. For a long time, it was a running joke in my family because they couldn't understand why I would flip out when I was "restrained" or "enclosed" in certain places. My brother locked me in a closet and I was screaming and hollering and passed out from the ordeal. The first instance happening in Kindergarten when we would be crawling through these plastic tunnels and these boys blocked me from getting out...I punched my way through the top of the plastic tunnel.( it was made of "trash bag" plastic)
Anyways, just recently it has gotten worse..it now affects me when I ride some roller coasters. I am fine riding inverted and wooden but if I am riding a looper like an Arrow or Vekoma, stand up,suspended or anything with a horsecollar restraint, I get claustrophobic and start to panic. I have had to be taken off rides because of this, lately CP's Corkscrew, Pki's Vortex, Chaos, Iron Dragon, Top Gun, Big Bad Wolf,and the old Flight Of Fear.
I am truely upset because I love riding roller coasters and now I can't ride them because of my condition. I go on with my daughter or husband and they try to talk to me and relax me, but it doesn't help..I also have the fear of getting stuck on them which contributes to me panicking.
Do you have any other advice besides not riding them? Or should I maybe see a doctor and get medication or a sedative but personally I don't believe they'll let me ride if I'm drugged up...:)
-----------------
http://www.thegrooveplace.com
Now with Theme Park Chat!
-----------------
Off with the trims!
My fellow Americans; Let's Roll!
Woodencoaster.com
Well first off, if you see a Chance Toboggan - run the other way!
Now seriously, I would ride in the very front. Maybe the view will make you feel less confined...
I have the same problems you do. I have even had to leave lines before because I was so closed in.
Here is a trick I do. Before I get on a coaster I just breathe deep, close my eyes, relax and just get myself in a good relaxed state of mind. Then while on the coaster I just do anything but think about being stuck in the stupid restraint. I don't know what else to tell you. If you are able to just relax and not tense up you are fine.
-----------------
The Beast and Night, They go together like Peanut Butter and Jelly
Actually I thought I would panic on the inverts as well but I seem to be ok..it's only the coasters that sit low and have the restraints..for instance Lochness Monster...you climb into the coaster and you are sitting low in the seat and the collar pulls down on top of you.
What I have done is try to make it so the restraint isn't touching me that well but the ops come by and pull it down further so then I tell them to let me off. I'm sure if the restraint is on but not touching my upper body to the point of crushing me, Id be ok..but they pull it down so I'm basically confined..
Another instance was Flight Of Fear because you are in low in the seats as well but i haven't been on it since they took out the horsecollars.
-----------------
This season:
2 parks
28 rides
That must be horrible if you ride coasters a lot. Have you ever ridden ones with OTSR's or the coasters you mentioned? What is the difference with horsecollar and the inverted restraint. They look mostly the same and with the seatbelt on the inverted those would seem more closed off to you I would think.
-----------------
-Sean Newman
88 coasters in Track Record!! Hypersonic XLC Coaster # 100 in July.
Nitro Laps:105
B+R Launches:28
*** This post was edited by SFgadvMAN on 7/14/2002. ***
I am a lurker here, and I too suffer from the same problem. I have discussed my conditioner with my doctor. He stated that I suffer from panic attacks and my condition has struck things I love to do know.
Before it was only elavators, backseats of two door cars, and confine space (ie. MRI), but currently I have them in theaters and on rollercoasters. My personal condition change due to my reaction to 9/11. New York was a second home to me, and since the attack I do not feel safe in things like I use to. 9/11 may have nothing to do with your condition, it may be a childhood situation as you described, but it seems to me something else triggered your reaction to the horse collars.
I would discuss you condition with your doctor. She or he may suggest drug treatment (ie. paxcell, welbourtrine, or Zoloft) or you could go in to therapy. In some strong cases, you may need a mixture of both. I would not worry about being placed on medication for your condition millions of people suffer from panic attacks, and yes parks will let you ride on medication. Most people do not even realize you are on something. Remember for those who need the medication, the medication resolves great issues for them. For those who abuse the medication, their body reacts different to the drugs, and then parks may not let them ride.
My personal triumph came a little over a month ago. I rode one of my favorite rides Aplie -- twice! :) I even bought the mug to remind me of the feeling. I still have problems, but I work through them, and not against them.
Best Wishes,
Chris
Canadas Coaster Drew said:
Well first off, if you see a Chance Toboggan - run the other way!
I think I mentioned this in another post, but there's nothing I hate worse than being "confined" in a cage-like device on an amusement ride. I can handle shoulder harnesses, lap bars, and even a Huss Top Spin or X-Flight's confining restraint system. But lock me in a cage, like on a Chance Zipper and I start to freak out a bit. Chance seemed to like the cage system as their Skydiver, Toboggan and Turbo rides also looked to be very confining. Eyerly's "O-Plane" series of rides (Rock, Roll, Loop, and Fly-O-Planes) all had rather scary vehicles that were caged as well. I guess the thought of being stuck in the cage is what freaks me out most. Why, I do not know. However, once Conneaut's Toboggan opens, I'll be riding it... even if I am freaking out the whole time. It's a cheap one to add to the Coaster Count!
I'm also not a fan of rides like the Gravitron and Rotor as once the door closes, there's no way out. I think way too much about stuff like that!
Ray P. (who also avoids revolving doors in office buildings whenever possible)
-----------------
Good Times!! Good Times!!
-Patrick
-----------------
No love for the whiners
Canadas Coaster Drew said:
Well first off, if you see a Chance Toboggan - run the other way!
Even if you are not Claustrophobic and you see a Chance Toboggan... run the other way!
-----------------
Face it, call ourselves what we want, but to the parks we are all "GP".
Personally, I don't have this condition, but what I would say is ride the front seat of Millinium Force a whole bunch of times. I was there on opening day this year with my friend, and we sat in the front row, and it is as open as possible. The other thing is that on Millenium Force, you just go into another state of mind, and it doesn't ware off.
Good luck!
-----------------
I love roller coasters, and I need psychiatric help. Or a roller coaster.
My wife also has a severe fear of being "stuck" on a roller coaster with OTSR's. She never had a problem until I took her to PKD. First we went on Volcano, where the ride op stapled her to the point where she couldn't breathe. Then we got stacked in the station for about 5 minutes and she freaked out.
Then we went to FOF w/ OTSR's and it made her cry because of the pain. The whole time she just wanted off of the ride. The rest of the day was spent on flat rides and woodies.
After this, I've gotten her on B&M's with no problems, but she will only ride a new ride one time just for the experience. She doesn't want to "risk" anything by reriding. Her greatest accomplishment was riding Ninja at SFMM since it was an Arrow and she had seen it broken on the lift earlier in the day. She actually had a good time, so maybe her fear is subsiding.
She prefers to ride woodies with buzzbars and separate belts. This way she can put the belt really tight, but leave the bar off her lap. She doesn't like woodies without the seatbelts because the airtime scares her (she had about 3 inches of room on Cheetah at Wild Adventures and it scared the hell out of her).
I think if I don't make a big deal out of her riding something, than she can go on it without any problems. It's either when she gets stapled or it scared to begin with that she won't ride.
On another note, my firends brother freaked out while on the Hulk at IOA and just wanted off. The ride broke while he was on the breaks. The ride ops would not let him off, even though he was crying! I thought this was pretty poor of the operations at IOA. There is a catwalk there, and I'm sure they could have let him off.
-Matt
You must be logged in to post