Are you claustrophobic? Could you live underground in a bomb shelter or in a cave if your life depended on it? Would it drive you mad?

I saw something once upon a time...I don't know if it was in a movie or it was an actual underground home or a home built out of a mountain. But inside there were murals on the walls depicting skies and lakes and trees. It was quite beautiful. So if my mind were tricked into believing it really were "outside" I'd be OK. I think. Thank you for your reply E! I like cozy rather than huge. A mansion or palace would not be my cuppa tea. But I do like to look at the sky or trees or mountains!

So isolation and hermit-like living would not be something with which you would deal comfortably or casually? I lived alone for years before I met Jim but of course I was working then so every day there were people around me. I like solitude and quiet. I kinda require it. Jim is so easy to be with. He doesn't require my attention 24/7. We can be in the same space each doing something we like (he wears headphones to watch some TV shows of which I am unfond) while I'm here at the computer. Sometimes I call him over to share something. Sometimes he calls me to the TV because there's something he thinks might interest me. It is a very peaceful existence. Once upon a time I was briefly engaged to a very jealous guy. I could not take it. He resented my spending time with my son or doing other things. Not my cuppa tea so I dumped him. Thank you for your reply R! :)

I've never been in a cave so I really don't know how I'd react. Some of them are extremely huge. There's a place called Carlsbad Caverns that I think are quite large. That might work ok. But a dark narrow cave? I dunno. Like coalminers who go down way deep in the bowels of the earth. That job I could never do. Of course unless the cave caves in they go home at night. Still. Not a job I'd actively seek. When you go caving how long a time do you stay inside? Thank you for your reply Durdle. Are those caves by your ocean? Any ocean water filter in to the caves?

I don't think I would have wanted to be a miner, either.

I have seen photos of parts of Carlsbad Caverns; and yes, it does contain large chambers. Most cave passages are of at least reasonable walking-size, and there are a few places where you would need a lamp with a powerful beam to illuminate the roof and wall from the centre of the passage or chamber. On the other hand, yes there are caves that involve almost all crawling on hand-and-knees or flat-out. I can't take too much of that these days; but no-one really enjoys such places even if not claustrophobic.

A show-cave, such as the tourist parts of Carlsbad Caverns, uses only the areas easily accessible to non-cavers, and if possible involving minimum alteration of the cave other than providing appropriate concrete paths or steel walk-ways; and of course installing lighting.


Longest time I have been underground was about a day and a half I think, involving actually camping down there overnight. I've also been flooded in overnight. The three of us were not in danger from the water directly as we were beyond the flooded section, but the cold would have been a serious problem if we'd not managed to come out when we did, after the water had dropped to a safe level. Usually, most caving trips last just a few hours. Every cave is different and how much time you take negotiating it depends on so many factors it's not easy to answer that question. What we normally do though, is estimate the time we'll come out, from experience, and leave that time with a reliable surface contact.

Most caves are inland, away from the sea, but there are a few close enough to be affected by the rising tide in one way or another. A friend found one only a few  miles from my home, that floods at high tide, apparently from inside; but the route back from it would probably be more hazardous when submerged. The Blue Holes of the Bahamas and I think Florida, are entrances to caves now lying well below sea-level, because they formed during Ice Age glaciations when the sea level was much lower than now. I  believe archaeological remains have been found in a few of them.

As for "dark narrow", well, yes, however narrow or wide, once away from the limit or daylight penetration they are totally dark. No light at all. The only natural places on Earth that are as dark as caves, are the ocean deeps.  

I shuddered and cringed a lot as I read your reply Durdle. YOU ARE SO BRAVE! You camped overnight in a cave? Seriously that is way beyond anything I could do. On the other hand when you're sleeping it doesn't much matter where you are does it? But falling asleep for me would be the challenge. However I say this with absolutely no experience so I might be just fine! I always prefer small to large. I turned down a HUGE office that was right next to the president of the company I worked for once upon a time. A PRESTIGE location to be sure. I asked if he'd mind if I took the much smaller office down the  hall. He was a really good guy and said "of course not".  And now that I think of it there were no windows and I often worked with the door closed. So I guess I like cozy so much I'd rather have it than a HUGE office with windows. How odd that I didn't remember that till now! Whenever someone knocked on the door I'd be annoyed at the interruption! Even when it was THE BIG BOSS. So I guess I'm not as claustrophobic as I think I am. Oh..well when I get involved in my work I always get lost in it so maybe that's why? Boy I'm sure confused right now! Thank you for your reply Durdle. Are your caving days still ongoing or behind you? Just wondering.

The camping was deliberate and I was well-prepared. The bit where I had to be brave were technically difficult parts of the passages, not in the camping,  but that was cold. In fact I did this twice, in the same cave, on quite separate occasions a few years apart. On the second occasion we found someone had built a sort of lean-to tent along one wall, by draping a big polythene sheet over a length of cord, and that made a huge difference.

We also kept a candle burning in the middle of the chamber as a focal-point for people coming in - you could see it from a long way away - and for anyone who awoke in the night.

Oddly, the least likely place I have felt slightly claustrophobic was in a large cafeteria in a shopping-centre. The room was wide and long but with a fairly low ceiling, and the end walls were painted with diagonal stripes that enhanced the effect. It was peculiar!

I found a mirror-maze in a fairground museum, and a glass maze in a working funfair, unsettling too. A mirror maze is very disorientating as it messes up your sense of direction. The glass maze works because you cannot see exactly where the opening into the next section is, especially when only dimly-lit. 

I have worked in rooms with no windows. I can't say I enjoyed it especially but I didn't feel claustrophobic. 

I still do a bit of caving - lock-downs permitting - but nothing like I have done in the past 40-odd years. I am no longer physically or mentally fit as I was, but I still do what I can.

That happened to me in an IKEA store! They had marking on the floors because you couldn't see where exits were. I think the shelving was too nigh and you felt you were walking among mountains. I started to panic and just looked at the floor and finally got out! I felt like I couldn't breathe. I could have screamed I suppose. Anyway I will never go into an IKea store again. Thank you for your reply! :)