Fear of roller coasters

Fear of roller coasters, also known as veloxrotaphobia, is the extreme fear of roller coasters. It can also be informally referred to as coasterphobia.[1]

Such a fear is thought to originate from one or more of three factors: childhood trauma, fear of heights, and parental fears that “rub off” on their children.[2] In addition, veloxrotaphobia may be intensified by underlying fears such as claustrophobia and illygnophobia.

Incidence

The enjoyment of roller coasters has been likened to a form of benign masochism.[3] According to Rajvi Desai, "For something to be deemed benign masochism, the activity at hand needs to incite so little negative emotion as to be tolerable; if the negative emotion reaches or surpasses into intolerable, it won’t be worthy of being indulged in."[4] However, for those with veloxrotaphobia, roller coasters release high doses of the stress hormone cortisol,[5] which may cause elevated heart rate, sweating, feeling faint, uncontrollable shaking, trembling, and tingling, fast breathing, and chest pain.[6]

It is estimated that about five percent of the world’s population suffers from an extreme fear of heights,[7] however, no exact data has been published on what percent of people are afraid of roller coasters.

It is believed that individuals with lower natural levels of dopamine are more prone to being fearful of roller coasters.[8][5]

Remedies

The fear of roller coasters is a relatively common fear. It can be treated effectively through exposure therapy, in which the subject learns to disassociate roller coasters with danger.[9][10] The use of virtual reality headsets in providing a remedy for those with the fear has also been suggested.[11]

Riders are also encouraged to familiarize themselves with statistics on roller coaster safety. For example, according to the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions, there is a 1 in 750 million chance of suffering a fatal injury on a fixed-location roller coaster.[12]

See also

References
  1. "Fear of being on a roller coaster (branch of ochophobia). Veloxrotaphobia - FearOf.org". 2021-01-26. Retrieved 2023-05-10.
  2. "I have a crippling fear of rollercoasters...so my editor put me on Leviathan | The Star". www.thestar.com. 27 August 2016. Retrieved 2023-05-10.
  3. Swaddle, The; Desai, Rajvi (2019-11-13). "Benign Masochism: Why We Love Sad Movies, Roller Coasters, and Painful Massages". The Swaddle. Retrieved 2023-05-19.
  4. Rozin, Paul; Guillot, Lily; Fincher, Katrina; Rozin, Alexander; Tsukayama, Eli (January 1, 2023). "Glad to be sad, and other examples of benign masochism". Judgment and Decision Making. 8 (4): 439–447. doi:10.1017/S1930297500005295. ISSN 1930-2975. S2CID 147602127.
  5. Swaddle, The; Rakshit, Devrupa (2020-06-15). "Is This Normal? "I Hate Roller Coasters"". The Swaddle. Retrieved 2023-05-19.
  6. "Fear of being on a roller coaster (branch of ochophobia). Veloxrotaphobia - FearOf.org". 2021-01-26. Retrieved 2023-05-19.
  7. Misiewicz, Z.; Hiekkalinna, T.; Paunio, T.; Varilo, T.; Terwilliger, J. D.; Partonen, T.; Hovatta, I. (December 20, 2016). "A genome-wide screen for acrophobia susceptibility loci in a Finnish isolate". Scientific Reports. 6: 39345. Bibcode:2016NatSR...639345M. doi:10.1038/srep39345. PMC 5171840. PMID 27996024.
  8. Norbury, Agnes (2015). "Dopamine Regulates Approach-Avoidance in Human Sensation-Seeking". The International Journal of Neuropsychopharmacology. 18 (10): pyv041. doi:10.1093/ijnp/pyv041. PMC 4648156. PMID 25857822. Retrieved 2023-05-19.
  9. Leila Atassi, cleveland com (2010-09-28). "Psychology students use 'exposure therapy' to conquer coaster-phobia". cleveland. Retrieved 2023-05-10.
  10. "Legoland creates program to help those with veloxrotaphobia (fear of roller coasters)". Attractions Magazine. 2012-05-23. Retrieved 2023-05-10.
  11. "5 Phobias We Could Cure With The "Oculus Rift" Virtual Reality Headset - Maxim". www.maxim.com. 2013-08-02. Retrieved 2023-05-19.
  12. "How safe are rollercoasters?". The Week UK. 31 May 2019. Retrieved 2023-05-11.
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