So I know this already sounds like a case of agoraphobia, but I'm almost certain it's not. I really do have a severe phobia (of some sort) of ginormous, empty spaces. I have two examples for this. The ocean. I don't have a fear of the ocean, it doesn't scare me at all, really. I can go in the ocean and feel fine. This thought, though. This thought... The thought is that I'm in the middle of the ocean with no land in sight and I'm all alone. Swimming to find land and none to be seen. No possibility of being saved. Just pretty much waiting for a shark or something of that nature to come and eat me. But see, we're just getting started. At least in the middle of the ocean I can wait to be killed or put out of my misery. Or if I'm lucky enough, a boat/ship/whatever else can come by and save me. The worst fear of mine, and this is bone chilling to me... Space. I love astronomy, and I find space to be insanely interesting and intriguing. However, this thought is the most terrifying though I have ever thought of. Being alone, deep in the middle of space with no sight of anything around me. This thought literally sends shivers down my spine. The thought of it makes me shudder and want to cry. It's horrifying. It's terrifying. A few moments ago, I just thought of everything around me breaking away until I was in the middle of space with no sight of anything around me and almost had a panic attack... This is such a bad fear. So, enough explaining. Is there anyone who can give my irrational phobia a name? Much would be appreciated, thanks.

Hi BeautifullyBleak and welcome to oFear

Sounds like you're describing 'a feeling of insignificance' - there doesn't seem to be a particular name for it, just this rather direct description - and it's not uncommon.

As we contemplate our relativity to the world, the universe, around us, we have to accept - we're pretty tiny - as a world, as a race and as a person - in comparison to the whole picture.

Basically, you're in complete awe at the universe around you.

The thoughts of isolation within vast areas is essentially your mind coming to terms (or not!) with understanding your place in the world. Of course - it's all relative. None of us are any more significant in the grand scheme of things, but what counts are the things close to us and around us that help define us and give us purpose and reason in our lives.

Wikipedia extract:
"A person who is in awe of a monumental natural wonder, such as a massive mountain peak or waterfall, may feel insignificant. Awe is an emotion comparable to wonder but less joyous, and more fearful or respectful. Awe is defined in Robert Plutchik's Wheel of emotions as a combination of surprise and fear. One dictionary definition is "an overwhelming feeling of reverence, admiration, fear, etc., produced by that which is grand, sublime, extremely powerful, or the like: in awe of God; in awe of great political figures". In general awe is directed at objects considered to be more powerful than the subject, such as the breaking of huge waves on the base of a rocky cliff, the thundering roar of a massive waterfall, the Great Pyramid of Giza, the Grand Canyon, or the vastness of open space in the cosmos."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Insignificance

Hope this helps

Regards

Ian

(08-09-2013 09:31 PM)Mr Ian Wrote:  Hi BeautifullyBleak and welcome to oFear

Sounds like you're describing 'a feeling of insignificance' - there doesn't seem to be a particular name for it, just this rather direct description - and it's not uncommon.

As we contemplate our relativity to the world, the universe, around us, we have to accept - we're pretty tiny - as a world, as a race and as a person - in comparison to the whole picture.

Basically, you're in complete awe at the universe around you.

The thoughts of isolation within vast areas is essentially your mind coming to terms (or not!) with understanding your place in the world. Of course - it's all relative. None of us are any more significant in the grand scheme of things, but what counts are the things close to us and around us that help define us and give us purpose and reason in our lives.

Wikipedia extract:
"A person who is in awe of a monumental natural wonder, such as a massive mountain peak or waterfall, may feel insignificant. Awe is an emotion comparable to wonder but less joyous, and more fearful or respectful. Awe is defined in Robert Plutchik's Wheel of emotions as a combination of surprise and fear. One dictionary definition is "an overwhelming feeling of reverence, admiration, fear, etc., produced by that which is grand, sublime, extremely powerful, or the like: in awe of God; in awe of great political figures". In general awe is directed at objects considered to be more powerful than the subject, such as the breaking of huge waves on the base of a rocky cliff, the thundering roar of a massive waterfall, the Great Pyramid of Giza, the Grand Canyon, or the vastness of open space in the cosmos."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Insignificance

Hope this helps

Regards

Ian

Thank you very much, Ian.

(08-10-2013 02:23 PM)BeautifullyBleak Wrote:  Thank you very much, Ian.

You're most welcome - and I can relate completely to what you're saying - I went thru the same myself.

It still impresses me how irrelevantly tiny my one person is amidst this vast universe - and you shouldn't lose that wonderment at the world - it makes for an interesting life. I see it as a place of adventure to be immersed in, rather than a place of solitude to feel lost in

Tho I'm more philosophical about it all now at the ancient age of 44 & ¾ ...and usually just acknowledge the fact this world, this universe, is incredible, then go get myself a KFC and watch telly

Ian

(08-10-2013 04:08 PM)Mr Ian Wrote:  

(08-10-2013 02:23 PM)BeautifullyBleak Wrote:  Thank you very much, Ian.

You're most welcome - and I can relate completely to what you're saying - I went thru the same myself.

It still impresses me how irrelevantly tiny my one person is amidst this vast universe - and you shouldn't lose that wonderment at the world - it makes for an interesting life. I see it as a place of adventure to be immersed in, rather than a place of solitude to feel lost in

Tho I'm more philosophical about it all now at the ancient age of 44 & ¾ ...and usually just acknowledge the fact this world, this universe, is incredible, then go get myself a KFC and watch telly

Ian

Well hopefully my 14 year old self can become as logical and philosophical as yourself

I know this may sound random but I'm new to the site and not exactly sure how everything works but I know that you can post about your fears and get answers. I am 14 and do not know much about fears so I decided to post about the fact that I cannot be in big rooms without panicking because I always think in my head what could wrong and every time I am in a big room I think the whole ceiling is going to fall on my head. I don't know what it is or why I have it but because of it I can't go to stuff like Imaxs without having a total panic attack or things like that and in my head I know the structure is safe but still my back feels all weird I breathe hard and I totally panic can someone help me?

Hi zudbud and welcome to oFear

There are generally two reasons why we have discomforting thoughts and feelings. Either there is a physical illness or condition that interrupts our normal clear thinking and makes it harder to overcome worrying thoughts or can create 'feelings' that are uncomfortable - or there are psychological reasons - thoughts or feelings - that can arise from difficult experiences or from problems in the way the mind works.

Most often, things like what you have described come from having uncomfortable or negative thoughts and feelings about things in their life - like feeling you're not doing well at school, or your friends are being mean, or problems at home with parents or siblings (the list is as long as to include anything and everything that happens in someone's life). From that small feeling can grow lots of bigger feelings that aren't always about the real issue - so for example - someone may get shouted at by a parent - and they associate big noise with bad feelings - so they end up not able to go to discos or concerts cos the loud noise reminds them of how bad they felt - and they might not realise this is why that happens - but just know they feel 'bad' about it.

When looking for reasons why people have anxieties, there are some common reasons that happen to lots of people in very similar ways - cos we're all human.

The things you describe - the most common thing that people feel anxious about is being in open spaces - because we feel more vulnerable. In a big room it means it's harder to keep an eye on everyone and everything and we become more worried that we can't protect ourselves in our surroundings. What happens is we then feel nervous all of a sudden and don't realise why perhaps. Most people then remember where they were or what they were doing - and then begin to make 'connections' in their mind to try and understand why they feel this way.

What I suspect is happening is you are having anxieties about feeling unsafe in open areas for some reason. The idea of the ceiling falling in is something you've thought *might* be a reason to be anxious and so you start to focus on that as being the reason because you can't think why else you'd be worried. This is a process of 'association'; big room + feeling nervous = ?? Maybe the roof's gonna fall in?? Unfortunately that's the mind doing 2+ 2 = 99!

The feelings you're getting are panic and anxiety. Anxiety is when your heart starts to race, your hands sweat, you feel uncomfortable. It varies how much anxiety we feel - but one thing we know is feeling anxious - can make people more anxious! And that's not very helpful.
If we can't deal with the anxiety and it gets worse, then we get into a 'panic' - or have a panic attack. This is much worse and feels like having anxiety 100 times stronger. When we panic we have very little control or focus on what's going on.

It's possible to learn to control the anxiety without working out why you're bothered about big open rooms and lots of people do this - deal with the symptoms - not the problem. Sometimes tho, if the problem is quite difficult then its necessary to work on the underlying issues aswell - if you can work out what they are! Sometimes it's difficult to know why people have fears or anxieties.

So, really the answer to your question is -
1. Learning to cope with the anxious feelings you get can help you be less bothered by the problem - and useful in life for anything that causes stress or anxiety.

2. Learning what the underlying problem is can help prevent you getting bothered by other things that you may 'associate' with.

There's plenty of stuff about coping with anxiety on this forum and throughout the internet. Depending how badly or how frequently you get it, many people cope by themselves or with support from close famly or friends - some have it worse and need professional support to cope.

You sound like you could perhaps do with talking some things out with family or friends you trust and sorting out whatever underlying worries you might have.

Hope this makes sense and helps

Ian


PS Just wanted to add - there's nothing weird or odd about having anxiety - everyone has it to one degree or another as it helps us 'stay safe'. If it starts to make you feel bad or change the way you live, then it's becoming a problem - but many many people will have felt anxiety the same kind of way you have for odd reasons - and either learnt to live with it, dealt with the anxiety, or dealt with the problems. Sometimes we just 'grow out of it' as life changes for the better.