Fear of large spaces

Edwin Selij
May 08, 2018

Large spaces are incredibly convenient. I use large spaces myself for Break Free Seminars, preferably a theater, I love that. Then you also have other large spaces that have a practical use, just think of the hall of Utrecht Central Station, that space is just needed especially during rush hour, preferably even more.

Do you shudder at the idea of sitting in the theater, or do you have a car so you can avoid the crowds at places like Utrecht central. Then you may suffer from fear of large spaces. Read what you can do about this in this blog

Fear of large spaces is actually...

As with fear of slides, the fear may actually be an indication of something else. Fear of large spaces may therefore include:

  • Fear of crowds.
  • Fear of Safety.
  • Fear of terrorism.
  • Other social anxiety issues.

Fear of crowds

Large spaces are often available for many people. The theater there can often accommodate hundreds of people enjoying a performance. The train station also has hundreds if not thousands of people walking around.

The fear of crowds is also the fear of losing track. Especially if you are a little smaller and only face people's backs, it is very annoying if you cannot read the signposts.

In doing so, you can sometimes be trained by the flow of people a side you don't want, which of course isn't helpful either.

Not to mention pickpockets.

Then, in addition, you may also suffer from social anxiety. The idea that people judge you and think all kinds of things about you that you have little or no control over.

Fear of safety

Large rooms often have special architecture. As a result, the space the ceiling occupies without support can seem almost unreal. This can also make you fear collapse or fire.

You might just be paying attention all the time to all the emergency exits and emergency routes there are in the great room, just in case something happens like fire and you have to get the hell out of there.

Fear of terrorism

Unfortunately, terrorists also find large spaces very useful for carrying out attacks. Just think of Ariana Grande's concert in England and the ballet theater in Moscow a few decades ago faced a real hostage situation.

The fear of terrorism has grown considerably with the attacks of 2015 in particular, precisely because there were suddenly many more attacks in Europe, just after decades of calm as the IRA and the Basques took a more peaceful approach to achieving their independence.

In doing so, this type of terrorism was also fairly new in Europe, but not unknown, think 2004 in Madrid and London.

In the Netherlands we have also suffered from terrorism, but that was more focused on public individuals and less on large groups of people in large spaces. If you assume that, you can still breathe quite calmly in the Netherlands.

Recognizing fear of large spaces

Not sure if you have a fear of large spaces? Then find out if you suffer from the following symptoms when you enter or think about entering a large space:

  • Faster breathing
  • Tense muscles
  • Extra Sweat
  • Vibrate
  • Nausea
  • Cramp
  • Dizziness
  • Panic

These symptoms are a physical response to your brain's signal that you are afraid of the situation. This is because you are stressed by fear which sends your body the signal to fight, flee or freeze. To do this properly, your body focuses all your energy on that. This causes you to have tense muscles and your digestion does a little less work for a while (hence the nausea or cramping).

Your body’s reaction can often exacerbate the fear, potentially leading to a panic attack.

Finding out the basis of fear of large spaces

So there are all kinds of sub-anxieties that can trigger your fear of large spaces. It is important to figure out for yourself why you find it so scary to go to spaces like Utrecht Central.

A hypnotherapist can help you get to the root of this fear. The beliefs you hold about large spaces are crucial for understanding this fear and for reducing it.

Beliefs often originate in childhood. Hypnosis can be particularly helpful if you don’t know why you’re actually afraid of large spaces, because hypnosis allows you to use regression. During regression, you go back to the event that caused you to become afraid of large spaces.

Perhaps as a child you went with your parents to Utrecht Central Station for a train ride and then briefly lost your parents. The result may then be that your subconscious has linked fear to large spaces and, as a result, you suffer from anxiety when you are in a large space.

During regression, you can find out if in your case there has also been such an event that now causes you to have fear of large spaces.

Socratic Conversation

Another technique used to find out beliefs is a Socratic Conversation. This conversation asks about your beliefs about large spaces and why they are the way they are. Your explanations of the beliefs are also questioned. In this way you get to the root of your beliefs, with this the hypnotist has clues for reducing this fear.

Reduce fear of large spaces

When the hypnotist knows why you are afraid of large spaces, he or she can help you reduce that fear. This can be done in a variety of ways. From techniques you can apply on a daily basis to change beliefs to techniques you can apply in such large spaces to stay calm and suffer less or even no anxiety.

Techniques to change your beliefs

There are several techniques a hypnotist uses to change beliefs. In this blog I highlight a few, but of course there are many more.

Guided visualization:

One way to reduce anxiety is to visualize going fearlessly to a large space. For example you want to go to a theater performance, but are afraid of that high large and crowded space. In that case, a hypnotist can give a guided visualization that increases the chances that you can just enjoy the play or dance. This is because people often need to see behaviors in front of them before they can imagine themselves doing them.

If you cannot imagine how something feels without fear, it is also very difficult to go to a large room without fear. The guided visualization stimulates your thinking ability to create that very representation without fear.

For example:

"You go to the theater with your partner/friends. You are all decked out to really enjoy the experience. In line, you talk about the performance to come and the expectations you have. You look at the people around you and admire their clothes, or not, and already find your seats. During the performance, you enjoy the play of the actors. You even carry a small pair of binoculars to get an even better look at the facial expressions. You think only of the performance, the fun and the bond that is now strengthened with your friends/partner. After the performance, you note that you had no anxiety at all, and that this allowed you to absorb the performance much better. This also gives you much more to talk about during after-dinner drinks. The sociability continues."

Hypnotic suggestions

Another technique a hypnotist can use are hypnotic suggestions. You have suggestions you can use every day and you have post-hypnotic suggestions.

The suggestions you can use every day cause beliefs that reduce your anxiety about large spaces or that imply no anxiety to become stronger, and thus the beliefs that create anxiety become weaker. You can also repeat these suggestions at home during self-hypnosis.

Post-hypnotic suggestions give your subconscious a specific task to perform. For example:

"Next time you go to the theater and you see something that scares you, consciously think about the best moment of your birthday and touch your wrist for a moment."

This assignment causes you to distract yourself from anxiety. This is just one example. A hypnotist can give you an assignment that suits you better and is therefore more effective.

Would you like to learn more about hypnosis, or learn how self-hypnosis works? Then join the workshop or check out the other events hosted by the Hypnosis Institute of the Netherlands in our calendar.