Madison may not boast a towering skyline like New York City or Chicago, but as new high-rise apartment buildings and dormitories start rising to the sky, so too do the chances of ending up on an elevator.
And while riding in an elevator may not seem like a big deal to most people, there are some who see the elevator not as a convenience, but as a nightmare instead.
Elevator anxiety is a real condition that can rear its head in many different forms and for a wide variety of reasons.
Whether it is just a small part of a large-scale panic disorder, a fear of small enclosed spaces or social anxiety caused by the other riders, elevator anxiety, in its most extreme cases, can keep a person from even stepping into an elevator.
According to UW-Madison psychiatry professor Jack Nitschke, an anxiety researcher, the majority of those who suffer from elevator anxiety are simply claustrophobic, meaning they have an intense fear of being stuck in a small space. Nitschke said approximately 10 percent of Americans experience some kind of claustrophobia. For this small chunk of the population, a cramped elevator is a nightmare.
\When they get in a small elevator, they're going to feel it,"" Nitschke said.
Because elevators seem like such an everyday thing, it might seem unnatural for a human being to be afraid of them. But in actuality, nature plays a huge role in causing this fright.
Dr. Thomas Farvolden of the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto said the reason people are nervous about elevators, and might be claustrophobic in general, is because of evolution.
""They say animals don't like to be trapped,"" Farvolden said. ""It's a fear based on evolution, because you could be trapped and you could be dead. Humans are animals, so that's where it comes from.""
Along the same lines is the idea that somehow that elevator will stop, leaving all occupants trapped inside. With the recent power outages downtown and the fact that many elevators on campus date back to the Carter administration, this kind of anxiety is increasingly legitimate in Madison.
""I'm not scared to the point where I can't ride on elevators, but I'm definitely uneasy on some of the really old, creaky elevators in UW buildings,"" UW-Madison sophomore Kira Sparks said.
In addition to the fear of the elevator itself, there are some people who suffer from a social anxiety disorder. These individuals experience nervousness and fear when they are put into close social contact because they feel they are judged. Dr. John Marshall, director of the UW-Madison Anxiety Disorders Clinic, said that things as trivial as bad breath or body odor may keep a person from going into an elevator. It stems from a fear of embarrassing themselves in front of others-especially strangers.
The third primary type of elevator anxiety comes under the umbrella of a large-scale panic disorder situation. For these people, fear of an elevator is just on small piece of a much larger and more serious puzzle.
Regardless of the cause of elevator anxiety, there are numerous ways that people react to the affliction. In less extreme cases, a person who suffers from this phobia braves the ride with the help of distraction. This might be an iPod or a cell phone to play with or small talk to break the sometimes eerie and always-awkward silence found in elevators.
But in severe cases, simple distraction methods are not enough. For some people, riding on an elevator is not even an option. According to Nitschke, some people will avoid an elevator at all-even if it means extra work.
""What a lot of people will do is they'll never get on an elevator,"" Nitschke said. ""They take stairs. They'll find stairs even if they have to go up 15 to 20 flights. That's where the whole elevator anxiety thing gets dysfunctional because people are having to go way out of their way to avoid their feared stimulus.""
When the anxiety gets this bad, the only answer is clinical help. Some medication can ease the nerves, but Nitschke said the best way to deal with it is ""exposure."" Several forms of treatment fall under this broad definition. Examples include practicing elevator riding and visualization of elevator situations with a psychiatrist.
To some, it may sound silly to be afraid of elevators. But for some people it is a real fear that can take a toll on daily life.
""Lots of people get a little anxious in an elevator, just like a lot of people get anxious on the top of a tall building,"" Farvolden said. ""It doesn't become a serious condition until it becomes a disruption and is something that interferes with life.""
