Phobia definition: Fear of tight or enclosed spaces

I go down the hall, entering my room and laying down on my bed. I don't want to get ready. Not right now. Not just yet. I turn towards the closet just beside me, feeling every muscle in my body tighten as the closed doors jeered at me, taunting me with their silent words: Come on in. We promise you won't die....hee hee hee hee hee.....

But I must go in. How else am I to start the day if I cannot get my clothes...in the closet...far back inside where the walls close in around me, threatening to cut off the little oxygen that is inside of them? I didn't put them there; it was done for me. Why? As a way to mock me? As punishment for not wanting to go inside?

But I must.

I take a deep breath and get up, shuffling over to the closet door and slowly pulling it open. The cramped room greets me with a hiss and I can almost see the pale walls coming together in an effort to crush what is already inside. I must go in though; there's no other way. A glance at the open box invites me inside the space it takes up more of and looms backwards to show me how far I must go inside to get what I need for the day. I feel every muscle in my body lock as I stare inside the closet, but at last, I force myself to run inside. My hands dart to the box, shakily rummaging through what I have inside as I feel the wall close in around me. I feel my lungs lock up and I can feel my breath quicken as I run out of air. My body begins to squeeze together, not wanting to be squished and I continue to fumble through everything that I own.

Wait: the door!

What if it shuts behind me?!

I quickly glance behind me, seeing that the door was still open as I had left it. I hastily grab the rest of my things and run into the open space of my bedroom, collapsing on the floor and taking in deep breaths of fresh air. I am alive! I've made it another day! I have what I need and I need not come back into the confining spaces of an impending doom.

I shakily stand up and walk into the bathroom to change for the day. I'll be okay. For now.

Until tomorrow....when I have to do it all over again........