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I have never felt like I have ever had a phobia of any
kind. I mean, spiders (arachnophobia) and
mice (musophobia) creep me out, but I don’t curl up in a ball and have an
anxiety attack when I see one. I just go
get a big shoe and try to take care of it.
I don’t necessarily enjoy tight spaces (claustrophobia), but I don’t
have panic attack when my daughter closes the door while I’m in my closet. The movie IT made me sure that I will never
hire a clown (coulrophobia) for ANYTHING, but I’m not going to scream and run
away from a clown trying to give me a balloon at someone else’s party.
I’ve often wondered how people could be so afraid of something
that they become completely incapacitated.
According to the Mayo Clinic:
“Several types of phobias exist. Some people fear large, open spaces. Others are unable to tolerate certain social situations. And still others have a specific phobia, such as a fear of snakes, elevators or flying…
“No matter what type of phobia you
have, it's likely to produce the following reactions:
- A feeling of uncontrollable panic, terror or dread when you're exposed to the source of your fear
- The feeling that you must do everything possible to avoid what you fear
- The inability to function normally because of your anxiety
- Physical as well as psychological reactions, including sweating, rapid heartbeat, difficulty breathing, a feeling of panic and intense anxiety
- Often, the knowledge that your fears are unreasonable or exaggerated but feeling powerless to control them
- In some cases, anxiety just thinking about what you fear
- In children, possibly tantrums, clinging or crying
“These factors may increase your risk
of phobias:
- Your age. Social phobia typically develops early in life, usually by age 13. Specific phobias first appear in childhood, usually by age 10. Agoraphobia occurs most frequently in the late teens and early adulthood, usually before the age of 35.
- Your relatives. If someone in your family has a specific phobia, such as a fear of spiders or snakes, you're more likely to develop it, too. This could be an inherited tendency, or children may learn phobias by observing a family member's phobic reaction to an object or a situation.
- Your temperament. Your risk may increase if you're more sensitive, more inhibited or more negative than the norm.
- A traumatic event. Experiencing a traumatic event, such as being trapped in an elevator or attacked by an animal, may trigger the development of a phobia.”
Yep, a traumatic event. That’s me.
Because of Rheumatoid Arthritis, I have developed barophobia, or the
fear of falling. I will say, my case is
not entirely debilitating. In serious
cases, people will do whatever it takes to prevent a fall, including refusing
to stand. At all. Ever.
I’m happy to stand, walk (shuffle is more like it), but I try to be
extremely cautious.
I have fallen maybe 4 times in the past
13 years, and all of them have been pretty traumatic to me. Not only do I get bruises on the part of my
body that lands on the ground, the jolt my body gets from landing makes all of
my joints more tender and sore, regardless if they actually hit the ground or
not.
My latest fall was just last week.
A short back-story: I had a foot fusion in April of this year
which I am still doing physical therapy for.
One of the exercises of physical therapy that I can do at home is
standing on one foot to gain balance and work the tiny muscles in my foot that
weren’t used for 6 weeks.
I was in the bathroom, standing on my
one foot with my other barely off the ground.
I can usually put my other foot down if I start leaning to recover, and then I will lift my foot up and
try balancing again. This time, I
started leaning the wrong way and I was a little too close to my bathtub and I couldn’t step over far enough to catch
myself. I tipped over and landed on the
side of the tub with my ribs. I had the
wind knocked out of me, my ribs got bruised, I knocked the shower curtain down,
and I scared the #$%& out of me.
I have seen many people fall for
various reasons, and they usually hop right back up and continue what they were
doing. Not me. It’s a pretty big ordeal. When I fall, I’m down for several
minutes. It takes me that long to catch
my breath, stretch my muscles, move my stiff joints, and evaluate what exactly
happened and where I hurt. Needless to
say, it is not fun at all.
Hence, my fear of falling. And I’m not alone.
According to an article I found on
Medscape, 1 in 3 people with RA will fall in a given year. The article looked at a study that was
published in February 2013 where many RA patients were evaluated regarding
falls they have had. It said:
“People with rheumatoid
arthritis (RA) are at high risk for repeated falls and for fall-related
injuries, including fractures and head injuries…
“The authors found that a history of falls was the most
important predictive factor for future falls. Therefore, they argue, clinicians
should ask their patients with RA about falls at every office visit. Risk of
falling tripled after the first fall for people with RA. Other risk factors
included swollen and tender limb joints, fatigue, and the use of psychotropic
medication for anxiety, depression, or sleeping problems.”
I feel like I’m in Groundhog Day with Bill Murray, saying
me, me, me, me, me also with all of those risk factors. No wonder I’m afraid of falling. Just being me seems to be a risk factor.
There are cautions and preventative measures that I can
take, and these can be applicable for anyone with RA, foot problems, those who
are elderly, or anyone who may have balance problems. The first one that I would suggest is
practicing caution. Duh, right? Keep your home clean and your floors picked
up and dry. Next, I would exercise and
practice balance building skills, such as standing on one foot. Just make sure you have a spotter or
something soft to land on. You may want
to consult with a physical therapist to help give you an exercise regimen to do
at home that will be better suited to you and your capabilities. Lastly, just keep moving! If you refuse to stand or move at all because
you are afraid of falling, when you do have to get up, you will have a much
greater risk of falling because you are weak.
Ok, so maybe I don’t have a full-blown phobia, but it’s
enough to be on my mind every time I stand up and walk. While I haven’t fallen very many times, they
have all been pretty hard on me and my psyche.
And a little word to you who may witness a fall from someone like me,
please come see if the person is alright, but don’t immediately try to help
them get up. But don’t leave yet either!
Sometimes we need a little recovery time
before we’re actually ready to stand up again.
Thanks for visiting and keep smiling!
Riley
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