How I did it: My mother once told me that any fear one might feel limits one's ability to enjoy life to its fullest. Personally, I can say that this is so true - even more true than one might guess in the first moment.

When I was allowed to leave the mental institution at the beginning of 2005, I decided to go back to school (to finish my apprenticeship). I spent the breaks and free lessons doing whatever came to my mind, and once I went to a larger shop in one free lesson I had.

I went upstairs to where the cds are, and listened to them, and afterwards decided it was time to head back to school. I used the escalator to go downstairs, and then I lost my sense of balance, almost fell down the moving stairs and was so scared afterwards to use the rest of the escalators that I panicked and went to the nearest elevator to go downstairs ... And this was the beginning of the fear.

Whenever I faced having to use escalators, my hands would itch like mad. My heart was increasing the rate of beats per minute, and I got dizzy, panicked, and most likely used the elevator ... And there often were those. I hated such situations, and I got into a lot of trouble because of that fear (one psychiatrist of mine yelled at me because of that, because she thought I was "forced to do that because of the voices I heard" ... No, it was a simple phobia; no command from outer space, thank you!)

Anyways, I often was asked by friends and especially family members whether I didn't want to try using an escalator, but I listened to my fear and said no. However, about the time of 2010, I was forced many, many times to use the escalator, and found out it wasn't that bad or even hard. I felt relieved when I arrived downstairs. And this is such a good feeling; I had to try it many more times :).

When I moved to Cologne, I used the moving stairs almost daily. I soon realized that there was nothing that could harm me ... And I kept practicing and facing my fear ... Until now.

I cannot believe how great I am feeling now! It was really worth every attempt!

Lessons & tips: * If you like, you can ask your friends or close members of your family to go with you. I especially didn't like the moving stairs going downstairs, so maybe you can ask another person to walk infront of you on the escalator - this way you won't see the end AND when the other one steps on the moving stairs, you are FORCED to follow.
* Practice, practice, practice. If you like, try those that are not that fast first. You can also try to find "smaller" sets of escalators. Just keep practicing.
* Pay attention to your feelings when you are on the moving stairs. Especially the feeling of being relieved in the end. It gets you high.
* Talk to a doctor if you like, and ask for some kind of medication that makes you get rid of the symptoms ...

Resources: My sister and my mother were great at helping me. I also eventually found a psychiatrist who did not randomly yell at me because of this, and he once gave me a kind of liquid that you can use before you go onto the stairs.

I never had to use it, but maybe talking to your doctor would help you?

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Sep 21, 12:13AM PDT | 0 comments | 16 cheers