Anyone heard of this phobia - fear of floor collapse?

[mom2ariana]

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?

[SmileyLB]

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.

[brembopie]

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 :)

[jemma116]

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.

[LivingInHope]

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?