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1222635 tn?1366396286

Anyone heard of this phobia - fear of floor collapse?

for as long as i can remember, i have had a fear of floor collapse. i think it started when i was little and read in the newspaper that  truck had been under a bridge that collapsed. that seemed to introduce me to the possibility. to find out that something you've trusted can fail at a young age can be somewhat traumatizing. now i am scared when im in homes, apartments, etc... my husband and i - despite my opposition - live in an apartment unit on the top floor. sometimes it scares me and other times it doesnt. i get terrified when i think about how heavy the couch is, or the fridge, or especially the washing machine when it's loaded and running. i get nervous bringing home heavy bags of groceries. we are moving into another unit soon and its also on the top floor. im scared of the move. scared to move furniture in. i dont know how to overcome this phobia, but sometimes it can really interfere with my happiness. the thought of buying a home is not as happy as it should be because im scared of the top floors. ive told my husband repeatedly that i want a ranch. anyone ever heard of this?
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875426 tn?1325528416
It's understandable how your fear started.  Top floors and bridges aren't the only things that can collapse.  We have only to hear of sink holes and tornadoes and earthquakes to realize life is fragile and it makes us contemplate our mortality. Have you gotten counsel about this fear?

Trusting God is good and that He won't allow anything to happen outside of His will is very helpful if you are a Christian.  If anything happens to the believer, He will be with us through trial and if we die, we will be with Him, which is far better than down here.  Do you know Him?

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4851940 tn?1515694593
I suffer with a mild version of the same.

I used to work in an office that protruded over the sidewalk and I was very phobic about it falling down. I had a phobia of lifts, and panicked every time I had to go into one and the other terrible phobia that I had was dealing with all the cables that were in the office.  I had to come over my fear because it was my job.  I still have a phobia about germs and will not touch door handles in shops and hospitals without covering my hand first or washing the door handle when I am in a hospital toilet room before coming out.

It is a type of phobia.  I am very sorry that you are being moved to yet another top flat.  

My fear probably stemmed from falling off a table when I was a baby.  
I am fine as long as I do not think about the fact that I am not on a ground floor.

Don't worry about your furniture being heavy, the structure of buildings are made so as to withstand the weight.

It may help you to see your doctor so that he can refer you for appropriate counselling to help you overcome your fear.  It is no fun living with a phobia.

Best wishes.

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Avatar universal
I have this!!!!

I seriously thought i was the only one... its so bad and it comes on without warning and when it comes its comes hard. I feel heavy in my chest and panic sets in ... sometimes i will have to leave a room if  there are too many ppl in it.
I saw something once that stated the average floor can hold up to 40lbs per square foot .. so sometimes i will start estimating .. this room is 10*10 that 100 square feet * 40 thats 4000lbs and ill start averaging what everyone and everything in the room weighs to make sure Im ok...
Honestly nothing helped at all ... until we got our second dog... he seems to be so in tune with me and has truly helped my anxiety about this fear... once the panic starts to come on the dog gets worked up and my concentration goes from my fear to calming him down... in the process changing whats on my mind and making the panic pass!
I didnt want this dog my boyfriend was the one that brought him home .. but honestly he has saved me... this is not to say i never have my moments ... like i cant be in the city due to the fact that there is a metro under and i feel everything will collapse. But when the dog is around i feel like my panic is less and less often :)
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Avatar universal
This might sound weird but i am so glad to know that I am not the only one suffering from this as well. Been on meds for so long and now i've been on seroquel xr 50mg for 3 days going on 4 now. I have similar anxieties when in tall buildings, most recently a hospital building as a visitor. I also get anxiety crossing big city streets, walking alone at night, and one specifically is driving. I have been driving since 97 to 03 with no problem. With meds i wqs able to get back 70% of my driving ability back. Then i got off the meds and one incident where i had a full blown anxiety attack, sitting in the left turn lane was my last one and haven't really driven since. I hope when this medication really kicks in i hope it will allow me to drive normally again.

So far, about an hr and a half of taking it...it makes me really sleepy, and if i dont sleep it'll make me feel really drugged out. On the bright side, i am waking up feeling pretty good considering i heard from aomewhere that you take it at 12hrs from when you want to get up.

Right now my car isnt with me so its pretty difficult to put this medication to the test, but i did manage to drive a few blocks with my wifes car, but made very minimal left turns or the lights were really kind and was never stuck for a long period of time in the left turn lane.
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Avatar universal
I have suffered from the same phobia almost my whole life.  I fear that floors are not strong enough to hold the weight of furniture and people.  I fear that cupboards cannot hold the weight of dishes.  I fear that furniture can't hold the weight of people.  I will not take a bath (only showers) because in my mind I calculate the weight of the water plus a body.  I, too, have suggested a house on a slab instead of over a basement.  I rarely have over more than a couple because I cannot enjoy an evening if we have multiple people in our living room. The only thing that helps me is using certain essential oils that are calming.  I have considered hypnotherapy to try to find the root of my phobia.  I guess I'll let you know if that works.
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Avatar universal
Wow, this happens to me too. Sometimes in cars too, it freaks me out when a car (especially older) is packed ... I feel like it will just fall apart. Sometimes I can deal but other times I can't get it off my mind. Reminding myself it is silly - a "phobia" - helps but I wonder if there are other ways to think about these things to help ease the worry...
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2 Comments
Omg I legit have the same phobia with cars, it feels like if too many people are in it, if two people that weigh a lot sit on one side and one person sits on the other, one side of the car will fall apart
Understand.  Is this a fleeing fear or a panic attack moment?  Does it impact you much or just fearful thoughts that run through your mind?
Avatar universal
I have had this same type of panic attack since I was 15.  I am now 54.  I just had one tonight after being at Thanksgiving dinner with too many people in the house.  I have spent the last hour panicking about Christmas being at our place.  My husband and I live in a upper floor apartment and am freaking out because my son and daughter in law are on the large side.  I've been on citalopram for years and for the most part in works.  It's just the rare times like these that are debilitating.  It is absolutely terrifying to the point I have had to leave my home because I was positive that something was going to happen or have to get out of the car and sit on the side of the road until it passes.  I need help!
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2 Comments
I am on citalopram too, for over 10 years... Wonder if it is related.
Do you think it’s a side affect from citalopram?
Avatar universal
I have this same fear i wish i knew the name!!!
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Avatar universal
Wow finally I'm not alone! I get so terrified calculating the weight of everything in the room people and furniture included. My hands start to sweat and my mouth goes dry and I start to feel really sick and need to get out. At work we have staff meetings in this converted cottage and the floor is really bouncy and when the door slams downstairs it bounces so bad and then it starts! The room isn't huge. There's a MASSIVE 6 piece table in the middle with 12 chairs full of people. I always sit near the door but it still doesn't help. I feel sick thinking about it and I'm sat in bed now. I look for bungalows to rent as I don't think I can live forever like this it's horrible. It only started when I was 18 and I'm 25 now. I miss not being scared all the time. I even have nightmares about it. I need help but I'm scared if I get help I will be oblivious to the fact I'm going to fall through the floor so I feel I need to know about it. If that makes sense?
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Avatar universal
I have this same thing!!! Looking back I had a mild version of this phobia as a child, I would get a sick feeling when the swings would bump. Then as I got into early teens I got anxiety when my parents put an elliptical on the second floor of our home above out foyer... I didn't really notice it until recently I found myself being very nervous at the cottage - asking if trees have ever fallen down on the roof. The cottage was raised, as was the deck and when people walk on the deck I could feel it, when I mentioned that to the owner he said the wood was rotting and would need to be replaced in the coming years. It's only a foot off the ground, and I sat there trying to logically call myself down saying I wouldn't be hurt if it fell but it didn't make me feel any better. The fear is getting irrational... I get sick when I can feel the vibration of the washer and dryer. I even worry about my bed being held up by only four corner posts. I wish I knew the name for this!
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4 Comments
I have both of these - the fear of trees falling thru the roof when the wind picks up AND the fear of falling thru the 2nd floor of a building. It's been 3 years since you posted this. Have you had any luck overcoming it. It is paralyzing sometimes.
I would only say, phobias are an anxiety problem.  It's not so much what a particular person is phobic about as the fact their lives are bothered so much by them.  
I have had the same thoughts about everything.
I’ve had these thoughts since I can remember.
Trees falling, buildings collapsing, the weight of certain things. I’ve travelled when I’m as younger and could manage it but now that I’m 28 and I’ve just had a baby is sparked back up. Having something that you care so much about feels like you have it double and about more. I want to really try find a way to deal with it because I don’t want it to effect my babies life. And it stop me from doing things.
It was nice to read that other people feel the same way. They are just thoughts we all have. But maybe we could try help each other out with trying to figure out how to think about it and make our anxiety a little less. I’ve tried hypnotherapy (it didn’t work how you would think but it was still helpful). I’m going to try talk to a different psychologist. I was even thinking of talking to an architect or town planner so they could explain the science of how things are made to with stand weights.
Anyway it was so nice to hear other people’s thoughts on this. And it will be ok.
Try a form of therapy called CBT.  Might help.
Avatar universal
I just cried tears to read that others share the exact phobia! It's a relief to know I'm not the only one. Calculating furniture and weight of groceries. The fridge and weight of water in the tub freaks me out. I had this as a child then was finally put on Zoloft. It helped but then I developed (unrelated) fibromyalgia and was switched to cymbalta. I recent went off my meds as I was trying to conceive . I just found out that I'm pregnant. It's going to be a long nine months as the anxiety just started to come back. It's not more frequent and sticking around longer. Someone mentioned aromatherapy. What sents might help? What are some other non medical things you all do to make the anxiety attack go away? I try to take my mind off it but you all know it turns into a snowball once it starts.
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Avatar universal
I seriously also cried a little reading these replies. The relief I feel is overwhelming just knowing others out there are like me. Everyone around me makes me feel like, its just me. And most of the time I am unsure of how to explain what I feel. Its not normal to them, so they dont understand. This affects me everyday. Even my work sometimes when I have to go to the second floor. We are looking to buy  a house and I CONSTANTLY worry about having a tub on the second floor. Or having a basement. I just dont know what to do. I pretend to be like everyone else most of the day but sometimes the panic gets the best of me and I crash. This is the first time I decided to research it and I am so glad I did. I plan to keep looking into it and hopefully find something that can help. Good luck everyone.
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1 Comments
I too am in tears reading this as I now know I'm not alone. I have the same "weight issues" and most of the times I try to hide it because I believe people think I'm crazy. But as you know, it takes over you and I crash too.
I will try some essential oils as it seems like my anxiety is getting worse. I live in a two story house we just bought 4 years ago, and I regret it every day. I wanted to buy a ranch style home because I've had this issue since I was a kid. I hope we all find a way to cure our self.
Avatar universal
I have never thought people felt that same as i did. Reading this gives me relief knowing im not alone! I constantly fear at school being on the 2nd floor about how the structure holds everything up. It gives me panic attacks and i even stress when there are extra people in my bedroom. Is there a name for this phobia??
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1 Comments
Wow!!!! So happy to know that I'm not the only one who suffers. It's awful to have this fear. Half of the time I get off work and on my way home it starts. I usually sit in my car for 15-30 minutes trying to talk myself down. What's this phobia called?
Avatar universal
I always thought I was the only one . Mine started since i was 8 and im 20 now . The reason why it began was because a teacher in my elementary school fell to his death when the rotting wooden floor suddenly gave away . The floor of the school’s administration office was infested with termites. He plunged five metres to the hall’s hard cement floor. Ever since i get nervous when im on a wooden floor . It gives me panic attacks . Not just that , I'm scared of making huge movements on second floors . Being afraid of building collapsing as it cannot take the weighs . Guess that incident just gives me a trauma that haunts me for life .
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Avatar universal
I have the same phobia. I thought I was the only one.
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Avatar universal
Omg there  are heaps of us out there, I am surprised and selfishly greatful as I have always thought I was alone I dont ever remember a specific incident that may have given my phobia but as far back as I remember I have had a fear of unsafe structures or any structure at all being feeling unsafe in my mind off overcrowding I feel like buildings are not equiped the floor will colapse the walls will colapse all these things racing in my mind and growing and growing and people not understanding that there behaviour wether it being just walkinf to an act of dancing and making the walls vibrate is one of tbe most irritating things ever for me to the point of a full blown panick attack, izoloft has helped but if i have neglecyed my health eg not slept enough etc then it can still bother me but not as extreme, but I still dont know if thete is a name for it????
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2 Comments
I think for me the origin may have been a trampoline but that’s just a guess. For me when it comes to structures it’s just if I’m in either the top floor or one of the higher ones. Elevators play a part in my fear too because i always imagine the cables snapping and me falling to my death
Edit: the only thing I found to be closest to the name is possibly this:

Barophobia (Fear of Gravity)
People with barophobia fear gravity. They worry that gravity will cause a fall that leads to serious injury or death. Or they fear that gravity may topple a heavy object onto them. A person with barophobia may also be frightened of images of outer space where gravity doesn’t exist. A traumatic accident may cause a fear of gravity.

I do however feel that this name could be Incorrect but, seeing as, in my personal belief, this is a fear/phobia so rarely talked about, it is difficult to find the proper name.
Avatar universal
i am amazed to read all this!!

i have this since i was 5 or so. i'm now 34. had always thought theres something wrong with me. well, i guess there is, but at least i'm not alone... the calculations of weights, the fear of the water in the bath, all so familiar...
i have it especially when the weight is in the middle of the room and not next to a wall. and when it's windy outside - the fear grows harder.

how can people think of the floor as ground??

be strong, dear friends! : )
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1 Comments
Be strong as well! All the furniture on the sides only! If it's all in the middle of the room...well that gives me bad anxiety as well!!! This is so me. Glad I'm not alone!
Avatar universal
Finally found people who feel exactly the same as i do. Damn..what is this phobia called? How can we help ourselves from this?
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Avatar universal
This phobia has made me feel so alone in social settings!!! When there is too many people in a room ESPECIALLY in a cottage, I sometimes need to go outside and talk myself down from my panic attack. The people I have told think it is very funny, and I understand why they would think that... it IS irrational but it is so hard on me to live like this. I am so glad I found a thread of people who also feel this way... I remember when I was younger I was afraid of the swing falling over when there were a lot of people swinging (you know when you could feel that bump of the swing set?) but it has gotten so bad in the past few years... the calculations, the fear of taking baths, not putting furniture in the centre of the room... The worst part is IM A PSYCHOTHERAPY STUDENT and I have no idea how to help myself... I am scared to get help in my area due to the code of ethics (I can not be hired somewhere that I have been a client and I live in a fairly small town). I have heard of this fear being classified as batophobia. I do wonder, however, if there is an OCD component to it. I know I have some OCD tendencies as well.
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Avatar universal
OMG  I thought I was the only one!! I don't know what this is called either but I have the exact same fears and it spans out to the streets when I'm driving. With sink holes rising,  I have a horrible fear of the house falling into the ground like that poor man in FL who was lying in his bed when his home sunk in the ground,  they never found him! Under the streets I know its not solid ground, there are tunnels and sewers, what holds up all the heavy cars???? And bridges are awful. Highways that go high, how do we know they were built right and won't give way?? It goes on and on. Someone mentioned when it's windy outside,  this freaks me out big time,  I'm afraid the house or cars will be blown down.... I can't go on second floors especially if they're wooden, forget it. How do heavy appliances, bathtubs, furniture stay up? It's awful,  I have to talk myself through this sometimes like some kind of crazy person. Thank you for sharing and supporting each other.
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Avatar universal
I let out a sigh of relief when I looked this phobia upup and found out I'm not weird, I felt like no one will understand so I've always kept this to myself. I wake up thinking about water in the tub, if my son jumps too hard in the living room, when my husband and I are laying in bed, what kind of structure is between us and the neighbor below us. This fear is so foreign to people. I would love any support from people that understand.
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2 Comments
I'm in tears as well as I read your comment. I thought I was the only one with this issue/anxiety/fear. I've had it since I was a kid. I'm happy to know I'm not the only one.
I know this is an old post but I can’t believe I am not the only one with this issue!! My family does not understand it. Anyone found any relief??
Avatar universal
I have this too for as long as i can remember. I have panic attacks when i give my kids baths, too much weight during parties, a full fridge, parking garages, being downtown with heavy skyscrapers...sometimes loud noise sets the panic in motion. What is this phobia called? I am so happy im not alone.
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1 Comments
I am so happy I'm not alone as well. I too have this same issues with  everything your saying !
Avatar universal
I have the same problem! And it is getting worse. I have been taking Clonazapem for over 15 years.  It helps a little but sometimes the fear just takes over and for 10 or 15 minutes, i am an absolute mess...anxious, crying ,etc. No one understands this fear and to be honest, I thought I was going crazy.  I am 52 years old and I just want to be able to live in peace and not have to worry about every vibration or will my floor collapse or will the full cabinets fall down, will the tub fall through the floor, etc.  Is there any cure for this?
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3 Comments
I am taking Clonazapem as well for the same phobia. But it still happens.
Hello! I’m now taking  these natural supplements and CBD Fluid. not Oil. And the one I take does not get you High. It helps...there’s a difference.  
How are you finding the CBD? Has it helped at all?
Avatar universal
I suffer from the same problem. Does anyone have a name for it? I mean what kind of phobia is it?
an hour ago I was in the kitchen, cleaning the dishes and all of a sudden I realize that I have to put some stuff in the fridge. the only problem is that there is a water container just next to it. it got me so worked out that I wanted to get the hell out of my house PS: as crazy as it already is, I live on the 4th floor.
I too had none to understand how serious this is for me until I met my husband I don't know what might have caused it. but tomorrow I am seeing someone for the first time about this problem. I am 8 months pregnant and I don't want to forbid my child from having toys, running around or just having a life.
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