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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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Avatar universal
I actually cried when I found this thread because I have had all of the same exact fears ever since I can remember and could never find anything on the internet about it. The floor vibrating from loud music or people jumping will give me a panic attack and I freak out about how the floor can hold that much weight. When I was younger a big one for me would be packing my car for a beach week; we would stuff the car with things in our trunk and I would panic over thinking the car can't handle that much weight in the trunk. Or how parking garages can withstand the weight of that many cars. Or if too many people are standing on one side of the room its gonna break through. I could actually go on for hours with examples and I thought I was crazy! I am 20 now and I went to therapy for it in middle school and I don't get it nearly as much but I will have a panic attack every once in awhile and always have to remove myself from the situation to calm down. One thing that really helped me was my therapist would have me write in my notes positive thoughts to go to when I'm having a panic attack. Some of them that truly helped me was "This is a temporary feeling and it will pass" "Not all thoughts are true"  and those have always been my "go to" that I will say to myself! Also distraction and being focused on something else would help me a lot so I try to start meaningful conversations with people and it helps my mind think about something else! So glad I found this thread I have finally seen all my thoughts written out and its comforting to know people can relate to me!
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1 Comments
OMG I feel exactly how you feel like legit exactly, I was so happy when I found this thread, it’s making me feel so much better
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
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 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 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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15242955 tn?1534438461
Phobia fear of floor collapse.  That a new one for me.
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Avatar universal
I just bought a house on a crawlspace despite my wishes to be on a slab. It was affordable and really nice. Now I won’t take a bath, Im scared in the shower, I tell my husband not to jump or bang anything on the floors. I feel like my bed is going to collapse. Every creak in the hardwood flooring makes my gut sink. It’s getting out of hand. :(
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Avatar universal
For me, it really puts a limit on things I can do. Because of it, I can’t go on a boat, go to a concert, go in a swimming pool, can’t go on a trampoline or even go to an indoor rock climbing gym without feeling like the floor and walls will collapse in on themselves while technically, I can do it if I have to but I get all nervous s as d can’t even enjoy what’s going on around me.  Another thing that I can’t do is take a shower at night. Doesn’t happen during the day though, which I find weird. And just recently, I felt rather than imagined the floor caving in on itself and I could feel the walls sloping downwards. The feeling it is for me is the floor caving in and I fall into the earths core and burn to death. My hometown is a great example of this. If you’ve ever been to or live in Regina, Saskatchewan, you might notice they have these really tall buildings. That’s part of it too. At this point, I’m willing to go as far as getting it hypnotized out of me because I know that my boyfriend wants to go to a Coldplay concert with me and because of my fear, that seems like a high impossibility.
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4 Comments
Update: it’s been awhile since I left this and I find it ironic how my Arachnophobia is getting better but this feat of mine is getting worse. It’s now starting to carry over into daytime showering as well and it’s now getting to the point where sometimes, barely though, I will simply turn on the kitchen sink- or any sink, and I imagine the entirety of my house falling onto its side. I know it may seem a ridiculous imagining but I simply can’t help it when it just enters my mind.
So, I have a son with tremendous debilitating ocd. We are working on a specialized therapy called exposure response. Now, it's balanced with medication and talk therapy. But he he basically is learning not to avoid the things his thought ocd fears. And not do anything to try to solve the fear or pain. So, in your case, a little different. But what they'd likely do is have you try to desensitize .So, when you have the fear of the sink and everything collapsing. Sit and be uncomfortable. "saying, ya. This scares me. It's an anxious thought but is no more relevant than any other thought." Don't push it away. Don't try to do anything but feel the discomfort for a bit. Doing that makes your mind start to not recognize it as important. It loses it's power over you. It indeed becomes something that is just a thought. Does that make sense?
Yea; I’ll try that and see how it goes
Please do! I would love to hear if it helps you.
6897718 tn?1386145496
I have a fear of collapsing roofs. It started when my dad showed me a collapsed roof to warn me not to ignore leaks when i have to mantian my own home. It backfired and made me fear collapsing roofs, being scared i was under it when it happened and getting stuck slowly dying with no way to call for help. if you also have this fear please contact me.
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1 Comments
This seems to be a pretty common fear/phobia. But you have a real reason having lived through it.  Yours may be also a bit of ptsd from what had to be a traumatic event.  Like a house fire. You are never the same after it.  Have you done therapy for this?
Avatar universal
I can't believe there are others who suffer from this same thing. The fear is terrible. Not wanting to bring a lot of groceries in the house and definitely not loading down the fridge, having too many people in the house, floors creaking, putting dishes away in the cupboards, feeling the floor move if someone walks past me and on and on. Just looking at the heavy pieces of furniture in my home sets my anxiety on high! I can be at work and if I lift a heavy box, it immediately makes me think of if I bring one more heavy thing in the house, that may be it.... I go in the basement and examine the structures that I can visibly see like the joists and beams... I try to watch videos online how houses are constructed so that I can get some sense of contradiction to these horrible thoughts, but it does not help. I need help before I drive myself crazy.
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1 Comments
Hi there bbtgreen3201.  That's terrible.  Fear is so hard like this.  One thing I've learned a lot about is something called 'exposure ' or known as ERP therapy.  The fear, the obsession, the trying to prove to yourself with looking up housing construction, etc.  it all doesn't end.  But through exposure therapy, they say that you can indeed move on.  It basically involves thinking about it, talking about it, etc. to the point that your mind grows kind of numb to it and it doesn't bother you anymore.  My son has ocd that involves intrusive thoughts.  And the ritual or compulsion is researching it, asking for reassurance, etc.  When he researches and gets reassurance, he feels better briefly, but the intrusive thought almost always returns.  Right now, he is in the early stages of dealing with this.  Starting by naming it when it happens (the fear) "ocd intrusive thoughts' is powerful.  It makes the actual fear less meaningful because it is just an OCD intrusive thought and not a realistic fear. When he wants reassurance and research to feel better, it's suggested right now, instead he do another activity to distract himself. Next step will be to actually expose himself to the fear. In his case, instead of saying X can't happen, he has to picture if it did.  gulp. Sounds hard.  And but supposedly, it WILL make him get over the thoughts.  https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/exposure-therapy
Avatar universal
I have been experiencing the same exact thing for very long now. I thought it was only me who had this weird fear of jumping in my apartment (in 11th floor). I get scared even when my parents move furniture at home.
Today I randomly googled it to see if this thing even exists or not. I hope we will find a name of it soon!
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Avatar universal
I’m another one like so many of the responses above, who has had this phobia my whole life without knowing a name or cure. Not Inviting people over, not taking baths, keeping the fridge fairly empty, not standing next to the washing machine when it’s running, keeping furniture to the edges of the rooms, walking lightly on my toes to avoid thudding floor boards. I can’t even stand next to my wife without my mind racing over the weight of two people concentrated on the weight of one wooden beam. I’ve read and researched structural engineering and architecture books in the hope of finding reassurance. But, just like planes ‘can’ crash and spiders ‘do’ exist, floors can collapse and do have max capacities. So maybe it’s about weighing the fear of an event occurring against the possibility of it not. To note, all the structural texts state ‘live loads’ (people, furniture etc) are made to withstand well over the expected capacity. In places where extra weight is expected (bath tubs, kitchens) then extra support is added. But as it’s hard to gain a definitive answer, all buildings not being created equally, this knowledge only helps a little!
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Avatar universal
I literally feel the exact same way, and I hate living with this fear. I seriously thought I was the only one
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Avatar universal
Batophobia (from Greek batos, meaning passable) is the fear of being in or close to tall buildings. The fear is often caused by being up in a tall building and looked down from above and found themselves suddenly frozen and extremely scared that he or she might fall down and die.
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Avatar universal
I’ve googled this a million times as I feel so alone with this fear. But I’ve never found an answer let alone people that have the same thing going on! I recently discovered CBD oil. I’ve always refused to take anything for my anxiety and irrational fear triggered panic attacks. CBD has changed my life. I apply under the tongue and wait until it burns a little bit then I swish with water and swallow. I often think the things on the earth are too heavy for it. Or buildings are not strong enough to support all the furniture. I tend to have this fear as I am drifting off to sleep (especially when it’s not on the ground floor) and it is absolutely crippling. I have felt helpless about this issue my whole life and I am so happy to know I am not alone. CBD does not alter your mind or body in any way. (I am not a marijuana user, and was terrified to try CBD as I thought I would get high from it.) I feel it starting to help around 5 minutes after taking it. It feels like a hug from Jesus as I feel my anxiety melt away and the bricks on my chest are lifted. I hope this can help even just one of you guys!
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Avatar universal
I have the same phobia, have done since I was a kid and now in my fifties. I have searched and searched for a name for this, and I also thought I was all alone, I have never seen anyone else describe my fears until I found this thread today. It has made a huge negative impact on my life, and I haven't been able to share it with anyone because on the odd occasion that I have tried to open up people have not taken me seriously. I try so hard not to think about structure collapse, but whenever I read the rare stories of structures or buildings collapsing in the news it just seems to confirm my fears.
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2 Comments
I am not affected as much since I live in a 1 story home with no basement. I deal with this phobia while staying at hotels. I over-analyze a LOT of stuff, and I fear, "What if it collapses, how the heck can this hotel handle this much weight?" I deal with this EVERY time and rarely get sleep. It helps to know that people also deal with this.
DudeS  Maybe a sleep app with narrators will help your sleep. They focus you to NOT think. Avoiding overthinking if you're tired may make you fall asleep.
Avatar universal
Here’s a different kind of explanation for phobias that are otherwise inexplicable:  past-life memory when you died from the very thing you are phobic about.  I have a strong fear of fire.  It doesn’t take long for me to “remember” being burned alive when waking up to a house in flames.  For those of you who are willing to explore this possibility a little further, just allow for it to exist, and see what kind of memories might arise.  It’s pretty freeing to put the phobia “back where it belongs.”  The fear is still there for sure, but now it makes sense, and that in and of itself is healing.  
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Avatar universal
Hi,
My friend has the same phobia.
Thanks.
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Avatar universal
A phobia is a type of anxiety disorder,Phobias can be divided into specific phobias, social phobia, and agoraphobia like Specific phobia may be further subdivided into four categories: animal type, natural environment type, situational type, blood-injection-injury type, Social phobia, also known as social anxiety disorder, is when the situation is feared as the person is worried about others judging them and agoraphobia  is a type of anxiety disorder in which you fear and avoid places or situations that might cause you to panic and make you feel trapped, helpless or embarrassed.
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2 Comments
Just to say, almost everyone has a phobia, so if you're reading the above and you're phobic about jumping out of airplanes, don't worry.  Just don't jump out of airplanes, it won't affect your life.  An anxiety disorder is an anxiety disorder, and it can manifest in many ways, but it is a disorder in the sense it's a medical problem only when it significantly affects your life and what you're willing to do.  Avoidance is the key to anxiety disorders -- you start to avoid doing things you want to do or have to do, and that's the disorder.  If you're scared of something, well, we're all scared of things, if you're still able to do it you don't have a disorder.  Agoraphobia isn't really a thing, it's a colloquial term for something that goes by different names such as panic attack disorder.  It usually rises to the level of being called agoraphobia, which literally translates to fear of the marketplace, when you become irrationally afraid to leave your house or go far from your house and you keep developing new phobias.  It isn't caused by situations, it's caused by having a disorder that manifests itself this way -- in other words, the cause of all anxiety is how we think about something.  It isn't caused by the thing we're avoiding.  Nobody knows why anxiety or depression exist, but for some people, they do when life becomes very hard to live.  If you have a fear of something and choose not to do that one thing in your life, that isn't really a disorder, it's just a problem or maybe not even that if it's something you really won't miss by not doing.  Example:  my wife is afraid of driving because when she was very young she had problems with here eyes that required a lot of treatment and left her with poor peripheral vision.  There's no reason for her not to drive, but she's scared of doing it because she's afraid of the things she can't see that others can, even though those things aren't really a danger for a driver.  But this has never impeded her life.  She gets around fine.  Her life is fine.  She goes where she wants and does what she wants, she just finds alternative means of getting there.  So it's not a mental disorder, it's just a glitch.  Everyone has those.  It's the intensity and pervasiveness of the glitch that determines if something is a disorder or not.  I only say this so anyone reading this who has some things in life that bother them but otherwise life is fine, don't worry, you're not sick.  It's more complicated than that.  You're just human.  When you truly have a disorder, you usually know it, life gets really difficult.  Peace.
kkristy48, thanks for participating in the discussion and I appreciate what you have to say!   Hope you come back!
Avatar universal
It also gets really bad for me when I think about people dancing or at the gym on a floor which isn’t the ground, like the thought of dropping weights like weightlifters do, also the vibration of the floor when people are jumping or dancing. I have a lot of the triggers mentioned above too. Anyone else have these?
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1 Comments
First, phobias are always irrational and so trying to explain then is usually impossible.  It's possible somewhere in your past something happened or you read something, but the important thing is to get into therapy with an anxiety specialist and learn some coping techniques and then see if you can rewire the way you think about this thing.  Some of what you describe sounds familiar to me, which is disorientation, a common thing for people with panic attack disease.  It can happen when the floor doesn't seem solid which triggers a feeling of being out of control.  Alcohol can do it.  Lots of things can.  Humans are complicated and anxiety sufferers focus in on different things, and if you just have this one thing and not a whole bunch of things you're better of than many.  Almost everyone has one phobia.  If it gets in the way of your life, therapy is your best bet.  Good luck.
Avatar universal
OMG, I’ve been searching high and low on the internet to find more about this.. I have this too and it’s got to be the worst it’s ever been... everyone also thinks I’m crazy, I can’t explain it there is no way to easily describe it, but all of the above really has confirmed a lot for me, we need to find out more about this... if anyone finds out please let us know. I feel a bit of relief knowing I’m not the only one.
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1 Comments
Hello and welcome to MedHelp's forums.  You most certainly are not alone or the only one with phobias.  We appreciate that you have found our forum for support.  Do you work with a doctor or therapist?  Here is some information on phobias to read through. https://www.webmd.com/anxiety-panic/understanding-phobias-basics.  There are treatments that do help but connecting with others who also suffer can be beneficial.  So again, we are glad that you have round us.
Avatar universal
I don’t have a answer but I also have this I’m only 14 and I don’t know what caused it but I really don’t like it when the washer or dryer are going and I sleep on the top floor as well so sometimes when I try to sleep all I think about is how heavy my bed is.
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Avatar universal
I don't have an answer because I'm looking for the same answer as well.
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Avatar universal
I have had this fear for as long as I can remember. The only place I feel even somewhat safe is on the top floor of my house in my room, but even then it takes about 15-20 mins before my panic attack finally calms down. It is worst in a car especially when the radio is on very loud. If I can’t see the road I start hyperventilating especially when we hit a pothole in the ground or go over a crack or bump. When I was in elementary school the gym was on the second floor with the cafeteria underneath. I was always terrified that the weight of people running, basketballs, and other things would make the floor collapse. I lived near a sinkhole growing up and I was always terrified that a sinkhole would just randomly appear. I can look at a building or a tree and see it collapse as well as looking at cracks in the road and sidewalks. I wish I knew what this phobia is so I could try and help myself overcome it. I’m just glad that I am not alone with this fear and just going crazy. Whenever I try to explain it to somebody they never understand and say “i’ve watched too many crazy movies” Nobody ever understands it. If I am honest I don’t understand it either. I just wish there was a way to cope with the panic attacks when everything I see is falling apart in front of me in my mind. My mom used to tell me to close my eyes and take deep breaths which was when I started waking up in the night with nightmares about my ceiling fan falling on me and my bed falling through the floor. I just want this fear to go away
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