For the many people that have a fear of small spaces there is claustrophobia treatment available. This is a type of anxiety issue and a good percentage of individuals suffer from claustrophobia. However what is disappointing is that only a very few actually receive treatment for this. There is treatment available as you do not have to live in fear of claustrophobia.

Two key symptoms have been discovered for those that suffer from claustrophobia and they include the fear of being restricted or in a restrictive place and the fear of suffocation. Some such circumstances that can evoke this fear include being in a cellar, caves, tunnels, cars, locked rooms, elevators, crowded areas, small rooms and subway trains to name just a few situations. However some individuals may have a response when they are told to stay in one spot such as waiting online or getting their hair cut.

One of the most widely used treatments for claustrophobia is cognitive therapy and this method is actually used for the majority of all anxiety disorders. This is very effective particularly if the patient not only fears the situation but the result of being in that situation. The main step of cognitive therapy is to change the misconceptions associated with at fear. So instead of feeling anxious in small spaces you begin to feel calmer.

Cognitive therapy is one of the most touted treatments as it is very effective. This is a type of behavioral therapy that is used for all types of anxiety. This works not only on the fear of a situation but on the results that that individual may fear from being in that situation. Basically you are training yourself to have a different reaction to your stressful situations. So instead of becoming anxious then you become calmer.

Another treatment that does not have as high success rates as the previous two mentioned methods is interceptive exposure. So the patient is actually in a controlled environment and you try to evoke their symptoms to help them get over them.

This is similar to in vivo treatment but much less intense. You also can trace the claustrophobia back to its cause, normally a certain event, and use behavioral therapy to change your response.

To determine the severity of your claustrophobia a scale was developed in 1979 as 20 questions are currently used to diagnosis claustrophobia. These questions can also uncover your main symptoms so you can get the right treatment from the beginning.