I’m claustrophobic and certain kinds of public toilet locks freak me out. Has anyone overcome this, or similar?

[LetsAllOvercomeOurFears]

Hi, I happily traverse my life with confidence (pretty much) apart from when my claustrophobia kicks in. It has ebbed and flowed over the years, sometimes not bothering me at all, but at the moment is in an acute phase. Possibly perimenopause..?

The kind of locks I hate are the ones in complete sealed cubicles which you have to rotate to lock - you can’t see the mechanism, it’s hidden, and therefore if it got stuck you’d be helpless; whereas loos with space above and below the door and a nice simple plastic bolt type lock are fine.

Has anyone managed to free themselves of this kind of phobia? It’s annoying to get rushes of pure adrenalin when I even think about turning and locking a door like that.

Would be very interested to know about any tips to help me move forwards and not care so much about something which is very unlikely to happen.

Dd and I always make sure we take our phones with us into any public toilet so we can ring for help if necessary.

I’m the same and I just don’t lock the door, I just pull it to and risk someone walking in. Unless it’s a proper bolt, if can see the mechanism and it’s manual I’m fine with locking it.

I was just about to create a thread like this and checked first if there was a similar one.
I also thought it was only me!
Ive been locked in toilet years ago and now sometimes just don’t lock the door and put my bag against it.
Like PPs I’m fine if it’s a simple bolt.
It wouldn’t be so bad if there was a gap above or under the doors if it’s the other type of lock.
I like going to restaurants etc I’m familiar with that have loos with the bolt- and a gap under the door!

It's the public toilets with electronic locks that I simply can't use.

Agree with that too!
Has anyone got any other tips for overcoming this?

I am glad this thread was resurrected. I thought I was the only one who felt like this! I cannot lock enclosed toilets that have invisible bolts, I'd rather someone caught me mid pee or worse, than lock myself in, seriously.

Sadly, toilet cubicles with gaps and easy locks are becoming fewer and fewer as bogs become fully enclosed and mixed sex (yep, thanks for that).

I'm the same with lifts, won't get in one alone.

I'm also claustrophobic and worry a lot about toilet locks! I got stuck in a loo with a dodgy lock once. It was probably only for a couple of minutes but it felt like longer. I had what I can only assume was a panic attack. It was awful and terrifying.

I could have written your post OP - it's exactly the locks that you describe - only the other day I went to a public loo with a nice little separate latch that you click closed on a hook and I thought why cant all locks be like this! I have decided that I would rather have the door open (while I yell "Im in here") than face the fear of being locked in!

Omg I'm the exact same! I always take my phone with me just incase, if I'm unsure I just hold the door or I try the lock a few times.

I would recommend hypnotherapy. I had it a few years ago for an anxiety about something else irrational and it went immediately away!

at a guess a loo is a loo, as long as its not in a secret base then chances are theres always people about to assist if one was stuck