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Comment by arethuza | Hacker News Reader

I have a weird phobia where I'm afraid of caves - the very idea of caving in small caves where people wriggle through has always terrified me and as for cave diving....

I could not do what they have done - not if my life depended on it....

Personally, I think they deserve the very highest honours we can give them as a country.

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It's not that weird, caves are dangerous! A weird phobia would be if you were terrified of grass or mirrors.

That's not a weird phobia by any means. That's very common and it's called claustrophobia.

I'm not afraid of small enclosed spaces (e.g. in a building) - I'm afraid of caves :-)

I'm no psychologist but I think claustrophobia can express itself in different ways in different people - if it's the enclosed spaces in caves that make you fearful/anxious, it's a claustrophobic reaction. You wouldn't necessarily also have to have the same reaction in e.g. an elevator.

My personal experience is that I never experienced claustrophobia in normal conditions (lifts, tunnels) but I did while scuba diving in the dark.

> claustrophobia can express itself in different ways

Too right. I'm a reasonably experienced cave diver, and regularly dive in a system of 11km of intersecting fully-underwater tunnels, with the single entry/exit being a small pond, a few feet across, in a small, underground air-filled cave. I'd typically go 700-800 meters out, with a dozen navigational decisions along the way (left? right? straight ahead?), then have to reverse all that to get back out. But a few years ago I had an MRI, where you're wheeled into a narrow metal tube, on your back, with your arms pinned to your sides, with the tube an inch away from your face. Result: GET ME OUT!! GET ME OUT!! I had to be wheeled back out & take a break, before I could grit my teeth and try again. I absolutely hated it. I told them I was an active cave diver, but I don't think they believed me :-)

There are degrees to these phobias, of course. One can find a four story roof acceptable but a ten story roof terrifying. Or a speech in front of twenty easy but one in front of 1000 paralyzing.

Scope doesn't change the phobia.

Cavephobia! ;-)

(as others point out, it's probably the same)

Of course. Caves aren't designed by people for people, so there are surprises there.

I haven't thought that it's a big deal until actually having to lead into a pretty tight passage without prior information about it.

I've always wondered this: is it appropriate to call fears of legitimately dangerous things "phobias"? I don't like being close to the edge of deadly tall cliffs; am I scared of heights or are cliffs just dangerous?

My feeling also - look up the concept "l'appel du void", finally explained my reactions to high open places.

Although I still don't like being in the high floors of buildings - those Dubai towers give me the honest to god creeps.

I would imagine its based on how reasonable the fear is; I have a (minor) fear of heights that activates regardless of how safe an environment I'm in. If I'm standing precariously on a rooftop, or just standing idly on a well-secured ladder, the fear is the same (given the same height). In my case, I can still operate without much trouble (it remains there, but I can ignore it), but if it were debilitating, I think it certainly makes sense to refer to it as a phobia.

Not just a fear, but an unreasonable fear, that limits your ability to operate.

I think a non-phobia would be acknowledging that the danger exists, but also acknowledging its risk (according to the safety of your environment), and your fear rises accordingly (linearly?).

Have you read about ted the caver?

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