BY SAMUEL MANGWENA
Parkade phobia is a condition in which individuals experience intense fear or anxiety when driving or walking in a built-up parking lot.
The fear may be derived from other phobias such fear of darkness (nyctophobia); walking up using stairs (bathmophobia), using the lift(claustrophobia); being on or crossing a bridge (gephyrophobia); or fear of looking out of a high window(acrophobia).
As a service provider, City Parking continually takes note of anxiety triggers as points of service improvement.
Parkades and automated parking lots are now rampant in parking, hence the following tips to assist motorists who struggle with parkades phobia.
Have a buddy.
Whether your fear is stemming from watching too much Steven King or just a natural fear of being attacked, would you be at ease if you knew that our Parkades have 24hr surveillance and guards?
If this does not settle your gut, we recommend you try parking in pairs. If a co-worker or friend parks in the same parkade, have the plan to park near each other at similar times.
Get familiar with the whole parkade
Where are the alarms? Where are the emergency exits? These are questions that anxiety keeps posing to your subconscious.
Knowledge is power! Knowing all corners of the parkade has helped most of our customers to feel at home in our parkades. We recommend you take time to familiarise yourself with the parkade as an entire building.
Secure a reserved bay
According to London parking experts Stashbee.com, parking anxiety levels lessen when you know you have a parking space already booked and waiting for you. It takes away the hassle of having to roam around the entire parkade searching for a bay. It helps to have a reserved bay as you get to choose the right parking space for you, somewhere comfortable for you.
Do not add to the tension
Anxiety is cumulative in nature. Don’t engage in further activities such as talking on the phone or counting money to avoid triggering yourself. Lateness is another trigger, try to leave your home or office earlier than you usually would, you’ll give yourself more than enough time to find a space, park your car, and still not be shaky. Fear of heights or darkness would then thrive on an already jittery person than it would on someone dealing with one issue.
