Escalaphobia – sometimes called Escalataphobia – is defined as the fear of escalators. Although it is a “phobia”, and therefore generally defined as irrational, many specific cases are actually based on legitimate medical concern, and are hence completely rational. It is estimated that Escalaphobia affects 1.36% of the population, but it is suggested that this number is a lot higher, affecting hundreds of thousands of individuals, and is in fact largely common. While many simply fear escalators in general, some may just fear escalors going in a specific direction, such as going down. Signs and symptoms of Escalaphobia may include nausea, increased heart rate, panic attacks, visible trembling, crying or screaming if forced to try to ascend or descend an escalator, shortness of breath, getting dizzy, getting stomach queasy, anxiety, sweatiness, shallow breathing. muscle tension, a hot flushed feeling, feeling the need to run away, and sometimes even fainting. In more severe cases, an Escalaphobe may freeze at the top or bottom of an escalator, unable to take the first step, usually because they are at the top and so afraid of falling. Many people have much more mild reactions to escalators, such as simply feeling a bit nervous/slightly anxious. In all cases, the Escalaphobe will do alomost anything to get away from or avoid taking an escalator. This may include taking the elevator or stairs. Sometimes, this may mean feeling the need to take “irrational” measures, such as waiting for far too long for the elevator or walking very far to find stairs on the opposite end of the floor. There is not much that can be said about the history of Escalaphobia, or too much in depth about its connection to evolution necessarily. Escalaphobia can be closely linked to Acrophobia, the fear of heights. Also possibly related are Bathmophobia, the fear of stairs and slopes, Climacophobia, the fear of climbing, and Illyngophobia, the fear of vertigo, or even Phonophobia, the fear of loud sounds. These other phobias also center on the fear of falling. Specifically, Acrophoba is evolutionary, since mankind has always used the fear of falling as a survival mechanism. Causes of Escalaphobia include being a side effect of these other, broader phobias, or even more likely, some past negative experience (either direct or indirect) related to escalators. A traumatic childhood experience or a fear of not being able to get off the escalator in time may have taken root in an individual and grown into adulthood. Some myths regarding escalators claim that they actually move a lot faster than normal walking or climbing speed. This is not actually true, but an Escalaphobe may believe that he or she is going up/down too fast and might crash or get thrown off. Misunderstandings about their construction may make elevators seem more dangerous than they really are. Medical conditions such as medical vertigo, balance difficulties, a lack of depth perception, vision troubles and sensory issues may also induce Escalaphobia. Perception of Escalaphobia is often critical. Many don’t take it seriously, as the name may sound as if it is made-up. Even more common, people may perceive it as an excuse used in malls, airports, train stations, etc, used to talk one’s way into getting preference to be allowed first on an elevator, or if they are just lazy. Possible treatment may include Neuro Linguistic Programming, behaviorial therapy, hypnosis, desensitizing, and even simple self-help techniques.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                Fun Fact: According to the Elevator Escalator Safety Foundation, over 35,000 escalators in the United States and Canada move 245 million people per day.