Im terrified of elevators and im trying to be a nurse...

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Yep you heard it right.. I am terrified of elevators. This sudden fear came up just about a year ago (worst timing ever) Im not exactly sure how to kick this fear, and I was always worried that this fear would keep me from becoming a nurse. Any other nurses out there with this fear?? One thing is for sure.. I'll be taking the stairs.

Specializes in SICU, trauma, neuro.
I used to have nightmares about being in an elevator and the cables snapped, plummeting me down,down, down, faster and faster, bumping against the elevator shaft walls as it went. (sorry, I realize this description is not helpful to you guys!) In my nightmare, I would try to jump up off the floor so that when the elevator finally hit bottom, my legs would not be broken. HA! As if the laws of physics would change and I would be 'saved' by that action!

Anyway, these dreams happened while I was working on the ninth floor of a hospital.....and their elevators had a bad habit of stopping at the floors either a foot above or a foot below where it was supposed to be stopping. I can tell you, many was the morning I eyed that 1 ft. discrepancy and walked up NINE flights of stairs!

I have this same dream. :no:

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Specializes in Med/surg.

Hi there! I just doing my reading for my (general) psychology class and came across this little tidbit--

Extinction is the gradual disappearance of a conditioned response (CR). It occurs when the unconditioned stimulus (US) is repeatedly withheld whenever the conditioned stimulus (CS) is presented, which gradually weakens the previous association. [...] Similarly, if you have a classically conditioned fear of cats and later start to work as a veterinary assistant, your fear will gradually diminish.

I just thought it was interestingly relevant. :cheeky:

On an anecdotal note, I have always been afraid of semi-tall human puppets/dolls, with my absolute greatest fear being Chucky from the Child's Play series. This little freaker has sent me running out of a Spencer's gifts at the mere sight of his boxed self. I find it embarrassing, and over time I've worked on slowly getting over this fear. Now I can tolerate a toy of him, and I've even made it through one of his movies (granted with the lights on, my sister next to me, and the movie on mute 70% of the time)! :D

I think the suggestion from music in my heart is the best. Learn about the thing you fear (i.e. learning the workings of the elevator) and seek out a professional who can identify the best techniques to help you conquer it! Otherwise, if you ever end up in a wheelchair or a walker, you'll be SOL. :confused:

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Specializes in CCU, SICU, CVSICU, Precepting & Teaching.
haha GAH that is horrible! I can ride elevators but the whole time im on it i just have to look down and count backwards starting at 100. I am also very scared of tight places as well. It makes me so sick! Hopefully I will never get stuck on one.

If you're on an elevator with a patient, hopefully you'll be too concerned about how the patient is doing to worry about your own fear. (Well, it worked for me!) When there's no patient, you can take the stairs. It's good exercise.

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This is what I was thinking too! I know if I have a patient with me I'll turn into "Super Nurse" and get over this fear. I'll be so concerned with my patient that I will probably forget all about it. Its not the fare of it falling that gets me.. its the idea of being trapped. I dont do well with small tight spaces. :scrying:

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Specializes in Med nurse in med-surg., float, HH, and PDN.

Yes, the idea of being trapped is a nightmare in many ways. I have personal knowledge that adrenaline-induced diarrhea produces an odor quite distinctly different from 'normal' BM's; it is horrifyingly embarrassing!

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Specializes in CCU, SICU, CVSICU, Precepting & Teaching.
This is what I was thinking too! I know if I have a patient with me I'll turn into "Super Nurse" and get over this fear. I'll be so concerned with my patient that I will probably forget all about it. Its not the fare of it falling that gets me.. its the idea of being trapped. I dont do well with small tight spaces. :scrying:

I've been trapped on an elevator a couple of times. Claustraphobia or no, the worst part of it is not having access to a bathroom. If your bladder is empty, it's just frustrating. (OK, and terrifying if it's one of those jumpy elevators that drops a few feet and holds . . . ) But it really was not as bad as all my fears would have had it.

Then there was the time I was with a Clin Tech, trying to take a body to the morgue in the sub-sub-basement and the elevator (seemingly of its own free will) took us back and forth between the Helipad and the ER in the basement. The doors would open, wait a few minutes, close, and then the elevator would speed from the ER to the helipad. There, the doors would open for a LONG time, and we wouldn't be able to close them. Finally, after 3.5 minutes or so (we timed it on the third or fourth go-round), the doors would close and we'd go straight back to the ER. All this, accompanied by our deceased patient. It was really spooky. Finally, we got off at the ER and the Tech called a friend of hers in Security, sobbing. He came and got us and escorted us to the morgue without further incident.

Spooky!

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Specializes in Er,Icu,Ccu..

Been a nurse for 20 years. I have horrible phobia of them and have tried shrinks. Nothing has helped, it's truly a debilitating fear that has plagued me my whole career. I rode one one time, for my first job interview and almost passed out. Believe it or not everywhere I have worked has been receptive of my disability. I worked 10 years ICU and now am Er. I tried to find places where when I worked ICU the radiology dept was on same floor, with Er I tried to find ICUs located on ground floor..otherwise I worked at places with float nurses who knew my issue or the Techs would help me with a non critical and would ride the elevator as I ran the stairs. If I would have known that Doctors never have to get on elevators 20 years ago, I would have went to med school just for that fact looking back. Trust me I feel your pain. Iv lived with it since childhood.

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I developed a fear of elevators after becoming a RN. It never fails...my relatively stable ES1 that I'm transporting (usually on a vent) crammed into our tiny elevator up to ICU with a PCT and RT...something always happens. It's like a bad jinx. There is so little room to work you have no choice but to jump up on the bed, straddle the patient, and deliver compressions this way.

I have a hospital wide reputation for doing this.

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Specializes in NICU, Infection Control.

I have developed a fear of stairs, esp going down. Like @ a stadium. Just can't do it. I'm afraid of falling, which is not too crazy, as my balance and strength have diminished over the past few years.

Went to the Shore last summer, the house we were in had long stairs to the entrance and back of the house. I kind of crawled up, and went down on my butt. It was worth it, tho. Great fun weekend!!

I've always had a problem w/revolving doors. I think I hold my breath when I'm using them.

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Specializes in retired LTC.

I have a problem with escalators. Stepping off I can manage, but 'on' is the problem. I stand there rocking and trying to pace my step on; then I step back & try again. Even passerby people will stop to help, but I just flag them on. Eventuaaaaaly I make it, altho I have been known to just find the elevator.

No problem with elevators except if they get crowded. I'll step off and get the next one.

I don't like revolving doors either!

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