PhobiaCheck

Free self-check · 2 minutes

Claustrophobia test

Ten plain questions about elevators, small rooms, crowds, and scans. Takes two minutes and is not a diagnosis, just a clear picture of where you stand.

0 of 10 answered

  1. 1.In a elevator with the doors closed, you feel you are running out of air.
  2. 2.A small room with the door shut makes your heart pound, even when you can leave.
  3. 3.On a crowded train or bus, you feel trapped and start to sweat or shake.
  4. 4.You take the stairs, even for many floors, so you do not have to use a elevator.
  5. 5.The thought of an MRI scan, or a long tunnel, fills you with dread days ahead.
  6. 6.You put off medical scans or treatments because of the enclosed space.
  7. 7.A face mask, a helmet, or a hood pulled up makes you feel you cannot breathe properly.
  8. 8.You only sit near a door or an exit, and skip the event if that is not possible.
  9. 9.Stuck in traffic in a tunnel, or in a car with the windows up, you feel panic rising.
  10. 10.Your fear of enclosed spaces costs you work, trips, or time with people you care about.

Answer all 10 statements to see your result.

How this test works

Ten statements about enclosed spaces: how you feel when you are facing them, whether you go out of your way to avoid them, and whether the fear costs you anything in daily life. For each one you pick how often it is true for you: never or almost never, sometimes, often, or almost always.

The result is one of three levels: mild, moderate or marked. The page then shows what set it: how your answers came out on the whole, the statements you answered "often" or "almost always", and two rules that override the average. Avoiding the situation often counts as at least moderate. The fear often costing you something counts as marked.

Why there is no score: a number out of forty looks precise but hides what matters. Two people with the same total can be in very different places, one who feels afraid but goes anyway, and one who has quietly stopped going. A level, the statements behind it and the rules in plain words tell you more than a figure would, and they are honest about how rough a ten-question check is.

Fear or phobia?

Fear is a normal alarm. It fires near a real drop, in real turbulence or in a stuck elevator, and it settles once the situation is over. A phobia is the same alarm gone out of proportion: it fires at the thought of enclosed spaces, well beyond the actual danger; you avoid the situation or get through it in distress; it lasts for months rather than days; and it costs you something, such as a plan, a job or a relationship. That is how the NHS describes phobias (opens in a new tab), and it is the line this self-check is built around.

Frequently asked questions

Is this an official claustrophobia test?
No. It is a free self-check written in plain language: ten statements about how you react to enclosed spaces, four answers each, and one of three levels with the reasons behind it. Only a clinician can diagnose a phobia.
What counts as a phobia of enclosed spaces?
Not liking a packed elevator is ordinary. It looks more like a phobia when the fear of being trapped or of running out of air is far out of proportion to the situation, when you avoid elevators, MRI scanners, tunnels, small rooms or crowded trains, when it has lasted months, and when it costs you something, such as a scan you keep postponing.
Does claustrophobia include MRI scans and elevators?
Usually, yes. MRI scanners, elevators, tunnels, planes, windowless rooms and thick crowds are the situations people mention most. The self-check asks about enclosed spaces in general, so it fits whichever of them is yours.
Are my answers private?
Yes. Your answers are saved only in this browser, so you can come back to them; nothing is sent to us. "Start over" deletes them.

Last updated 2026-09-18. A self-check for reflection, not a diagnosis; if fear is affecting your life, talk to a doctor or a therapist.

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