Escalaphobia is a common specific phobia affecting hundreds of thousands of individuals all around the world. The word Escalaphobia comes from Greek escalo meaning ‘to move up/escalators’ and phobos which means ‘deep aversion, dread or fear’.
There are several thousand escalators in Canada and United States, together moving millions of people up and down daily. However, there are still some people who prefer taking the stairs owing to their intense fear of escalators. The intensity and reasons behind this fear depend on individual experience that the phobic has had in relation to escalators.
Let us study Escalaphobia in detail.
Causes of fear of escalators phobia
Most cases of Escalaphobia stem from the fear of heights (or Acrophobia). Then there are some people who do not actually fear going up the escalator but they freeze when it is coming down. The fear of heights is evolutionary, since mankind has always used the fear of falling as a survival mechanism. While most of us enjoy some height to some extent, an escalophobic does not like the extreme heights associated with most escalators present in airports, stadiums, malls etc.
Some past negative experience (either direct or indirect) related to escalators is the main trigger of the phobia. A child or an adult might have tripped or fallen down while using one. Shoelaces can easily get caught in escalators leading to accidents, though these are extremely rare. This gives rise to an exaggerated response each time, since the phobic’s brain simply learns to develop the same reaction over and over.
Many movies, news reports and myths have shown escalators in bad light. Some departmental stores have actually been sued by consumers due to a child’s hand getting caught in the under-rail of the escalator. Most of these cases have been dismissed since the issues were almost always the riders’ faults.
Escalators are usually huge and centrally placed. Their moving parts are visible but the machinery is not. A child fearing large machines might believe that the parts (or a monster lurking underneath) might grab people from beneath or flatten its steps and send people flying. This fear could continue well into one’s adulthood, making the phobic avoid escalators for life.
Some myths regarding escalators claim that they actually move a lot faster than normal walking or climbing speed. This is not actually true, but it might make the phobic feel that he is going up/down too fast and might crash or get thrown off.
Phobias can also develop as a learned response. A child might see his parent/grandparent get frightened due to an escalator as a result of which s/he associates escalators as being dangerous.
Certain medical conditions could also lead to this phobia. These include vertigo, lack of balance, lack of depth perception, visual or hearing problems or other sensory issues.
Apart from fear of heights (Acrophobia), other pre-existing phobias and anxiety disorders could also trigger the fear of escalators. These include: the fear of climbing (Climacophobia), the fear of stairs (bathmophobia) or the fear of feeling dizzy or experiencing vertigo (illyngophobia).
Symptoms of Escalaphobia
Like other phobias, the fear of escalators also gives rise to a plethora of mental and physical symptoms which include:
- Shivering, shaking or trembling
- Feeling nauseated, dizzy
- Experiencing shortness of breath, heart palpitations etc
- Feeling like running away
- Avoiding escalators at any cost, and crying or screaming when forced to ride one
- Having full blown panic attack
Treatment for overcoming the fear of escalators
Once you are aware of the underlying cause of the fear of escalators, you’d be in a better position to overcome it for good. If, for example, an underlying medical condition is causing your phobia, then treating it could solve the problem. People with lack of sense of balance or perception of depth can hold someone’s hand while riding the escalator. An eye care professional can also prescribe visual aids to overcome eye problems that might be causing the Escalaphobia. Looking up straight ahead or to the side railings while going up/down can help reduce dizziness. Phobics can also take extra precautions like wearing the right clothing or footwear to minimize risks of getting entangled in the escalator.
In all such cases, it is especially important to gradually desensitize oneself to the fear. Facing the dreaded object slowly and in a controlled environment can greatly help in overcoming Escalaphobia.
In extreme cases, a professional psychotherapist can also help one overcome anxiety associated with escalators. Some examples of such therapy are hypnotherapy, cognitive behavior therapy, NLP etc. Finally, one must also read up all one can about statistics related to escalators. This can help put the phobic in a better position to overcome Escalaphobia by helping him understand for a fact that escalators are generally safe when used right.
Howard Blackwell says
I went down the escalators today at Euston Station. It scared the hell out of me, and I’m 56! I had it for some years, suddenly came on about 10 years ago for some reason. My wife had to stand in front of me, and she read out the theatre posters on the wall to calm me down. It worked, and I made it. Bless her. I wish I could cure this as it might affect my work. Good luck to all of us that suffer from this.
Ashley says
I don’t like riding escalators at all. I’m a little nervous about riding the elevator for the first time going solo on it. But I feel like I can do it.
Lovely says
I thought i was the only one who feared escalators because others thought it was petty when i told them. When i was little, i even feared long staircases so i would have my father carry me. Now, it’s lessened but i am very careful using stairs. I’m 18 now but i still fear escalators going down. I don’t know but i’m scared that i might fall or whatever. I did take escalators before alone but i think it did not lessen my fear. I get really scared taking escalators when going down especially when there are people behind me because my mind overthinks a lot and i think that people behind me will push me. So when i’m all alone at malls, i really make sure that there are no people behind me when going down. When i’m with a friend, i hold her arm so that i feel safe.
chloe says
I’m terrified of them and I’m a flight attendant. I really want to get rid of this fear.
Cortney J Richardson says
My friends are embarrassed by my phobia and I noticed I’m passing it on to my daughter.
E says
Wow! I’ve been afraid of escalators since a random time when I was a kid. I rode them fine until one day, I went up fine – but when it was time to go down it was a full panic tantrum and from there on out I was terrified, would always refuse and throw a tantrum near one, and have to take the stairs/elevator.
I think for me it’s some fear of heights, fear of something getting caught (shoelaces), and definitely bad balance and fear of falling.
I’m 24 now and I can ride them, but I have to be careful and take my time stepping on because I’m still afraid I’ll step on the line between stairs and lose balance. Hearing one near me makes me anxious still but luckily it’s something I can laugh off now. Good luck to everyone!
Beth says
The way I conquer my fear is to make sure I get on with lots of other people. Kinda makes me feel secure if I am surrounded by people on escalators.
Mia says
Same!
Wesley says
Whenever I get on one, I start uneasy, and then I feel I need someone to comfort me.
Erika says
I am not scared going near escalators but I can’t bring myself to get on one and I have no idea where the fear started
Jossie says
I usually dont have a problem being on an escalator but to get on it I need to hold on to someone. One time the person that I was with thought it was ridiculous and got on real quick and left me alone. I literally threw a fit, tears and all. I am generally a quiet person but when it comes to escalators and stairs, I will scream if left alone.
Ashley says
I feel the same way.
Faith says
I start to sweat and my hands start to shake and my heart pounds extremely fast. I can’t breathe and I start to cry, before I even see the escalator. I never knew that it was that bad, but after reading this, I realized that my phobia was bad. Now sometimes just the thought of escalators can give me panic attacks, and even looking at one online can give me anxiety. I have a phobia of escalators, not just riding them.
David says
Wow it’s great to see all these responses. I actually have an odd twist on this. I have no problem riding on working escalators, but I cannot even look at (much less walk up or down) an escalator that is stopped. Something about it induces exactly that weird feeling of vertigo/dizziness, coupled with an incredible anxiety that something terrible is about to happen. I have no conception at all what that something is, but if I had to name it, it would be that the escalator was going to open up, drag me down and chew me into bits. I thought I was the only one with this, but a few years ago, I was at a store that pretty much only had escalators (and they broke a lot), so in order to get down, a manager had to key me into the elevator and he said that it was a pretty common phobia (and he would know!)
Donna says
I am also afraid of stepping onto an escalator that is not working. I think it is because each step on and off are varying heights and it seems to go against logic.
Chandana says
I know exactly when this escalaphobia started. I was once in a mall with my friend and somehow she stepped in between the lines, we both lost balance and fell off from then I feared escalators. My friends have tried a lot to get me into one but every time I go near an escalator I get nauseated. Once two friends held me and another one was just giving the demo on how it’s nothing but I can’t tell her how I feel. People in the mall look at me as if I’m some alien trying to learn how to use escalators.
Laureen Napoleon says
I’m in seventh grade. Sometimes I travel by plane where you have to take an escalator but when I’m at the mall i feel kind of embarrassed always asking for an elevator. Everyone laughs at me even my parents, what should I do to overcome my fear?
Erika says
I have the exact same problem but I find no matter what you do you will get funny looks just try to ignore them
Jp says
My auntie forced me on an escalator today and I overcame my phobia.
Jamaican parents/relatives.
Jemie says
I fell down on escalators a lot, and until I was nearly nine, i always literally froze on it, and didn’t move. Now I’m a bit braver, and i dare to move a bit, but some particular escalators make me scream.
Jemie says
I have like 7 scars and they’re all from escalators.
Hannah Mcburney says
I was in the big toy shop in London a few years back and I missed a step on the downwards escalator and ever since then I get two of the above symptoms which means I always take steps if I can
Nikki says
I was fine until i saw a vid of a boy whose legs got stuck in the escalator . I wasn’t scared of malls escalators but those in subways . The worst thing is that i’m going overseas next month and i have to take the subway everyday . Every time before i get on subway’s escalator , my heart would beat really fast and i would hesitate to take the escalator .
Susan says
I haven’t always been afraid of escalators, although my experiences with them haven’t been the best ones. Once in a family trip I(along with the rest of my family) went to a museum with tall and steep escalators. Going down one of the escalators the museum had, I tripped and fell down a few stairs scraping and injuring my leg. Now year later I still avoid escalators when I can and if I can’t I panic a little.
Someone says
Nightmares about you falling off or getting injured by escalators may also cause escalaphobia, even though the event actually didn’t take place. I once didn’t have escalaphobia, but however, i got into a nightmare where i fell down an escalator, bouncing down until i hit the floor head-first, then i woke up. And ever since then i got the phobia just because of a nightmare.
sue says
I have a great fear of riding on escalators, I go into a panic attack and feel like I am going to fall backwards when going up on one. I go out of my way to find an elevator and it is embarrassing to explain this if I’m out with a friend or co-worker that doesn’t know. I also have a fear of heights, public speaking.
Denise says
I am the same way. I feel like I am being pulled backward! It is going UP that scares me the most and if the escalators have open sides or/and if I can see the floor beneath. I have to close my eyes and have someone stay in front of me, and I grip the handrails for dear life. I will go way out of my way to find an elevator. I also have a fear of heights and talking on the phone.
A says
I’m not exactly sure when this started, but all I can remember is being at the mall one day and unknowingly having a panic attack. I was kicking and pulling on my mom’s hand to get away. It’s the getting on/off part that gets me. Once I’m on its okay but just the idea or even walking near one (even with no intention of getting on) is nauseating. I get on elevators always if there’s an option.
Ann says
Same here. I’m scared of the getting on and getting off parts. Once lost my footing trying to get on one. So I’ll judiciously calculate and time it before getting on or getting off
Alexis says
I always take the stairs instead of escalators. I fell down an escalator at a subway station when I was little and have been scared to use them since. If there are no stairs then I just close my eyes and pretend I’m not on one. I normally will start to panic and it gets hard for me to breathe and I start to sweat. I always feel like I’m going to fall again whenever I am on an escalator.
Joy says
I am not able to step on one. How do you take the step to get on?
Ella says
Same here
Mimi says
It’s the same with me I don’t know when I started being afraid but one day at the airport returning from a trip I had to go down the escalator but I took the stairs instead. I remember a few years ago I went to J.C penny with my family but when I saw the escalator I froze I watched my family go up the escalator but I stayed downstairs. My dad had to go get me and we went together I hugged him so I didn’t see us going up but I was scared and I was crying a bit. When I got off I got really scared. It just happened randomly at the airport and ever since I have been afraid. I can’t ride the escalator without my dad or else I will be stuck on the bottom floor FOREVER! I’m still afraid though.
Faith says
I was wearing socks and slippers, because my family was in a hotel for some time. I was tired and I got on the escalator. Before that, my older brother was bugging me saying that my socks were gonna get stuck and I was going to get my foot shredded (I was six). I wasn’t scared at all at the time but the words stuck. As I was getting off my sock got stuck. I was screaming and crying while it was pulling my foot into it. I didn’t get hurt, and my foot never actually touched it, but they had to stop the escalator because my sock was stuck. Now I get panic attacks thinking of escalators.
Sandra Coates says
I have little fear of moving escalators my fear is when escalators are not working and you have to walk up or down them. I go very dizzy and my heart beats very fast and my legs feel like lead when I am walking on them.
Fennec_Love says
I have a very large phobia of escalators. I have a mild case of claustrophobia but this one is worse. On school camp one year, I remember we had to go up an escalator at this place (I forget what it was) and I had a complete panic attack. Not good. I ended up having to hold my friends hand, haha. But airports. That’s what does it, I tell ya.
Sarah says
I’m really scared that I might fall off of it. Taking the wrong step, meaning I might get really injured. And I don’t like the height of it. I just don’t feel the same control, as if I’m going down the stairs. I’m just really not a big fan of escalators. When I have to go down one, I feel scared, my body shakes, and I get dizzy.
Ethan says
I don’t like going up because I fear falling backwards.
Lala says
I have the same issue, where I feel like I’m going to pass out and get extremely nauseated/dizzy.
Barbara says
I am too scared to get on an escalator going down because I feel as if I’m going to fall forward. I’m scared to go to a strange place in case I have no option but to use an escalator to go down.
Andrea Harpe says
I have a fear of going down an escalator. I took a trip and we were driving. And a few times we had to drive straight down a steep road. Then driving back up to the top. I felt like we were going to roll back down the hill. Before that trip I had no fear of going down escalators, same effect of going down a steep hill. Airports, that’s where it started.
yanessa says
Yeah I am going to Miami and HATE going down escalators. Seriously, I will go full panic mode and once I am on, I feel better but I have to have a suitcase and just thinking of it makes me feel nauseated.
Joy says
I am with you. I want to conquer my thirty year phobia of escalators. I tried today. I touched the top step with my toe but I could not get my other foot to lift to step on. I will keep trying.
Karina says
I’m fine while riding one but I struggle with getting on/off one. They scare me. I feel like I can’t get on/off it at the right moment. I hate it when I have no other choice but to ride an escalator.
kousalya narayana says
Same here, I also struggle with getting on/off one.