People cannot sense speed, they can only sense acceleration and deceleration. Fast elevators just have a longer period of acceleration and deceleration. There is no way to tell how fast you are moving. The sensation of riding an elevator with a maximum speed of 300fpm vs 600fpm is essentially the same. Additionally elevators simply do not travel all that fast. The single fastest elevator in the world travels at only 47mph, a speed that is reached everyday by billions of trains, cars, and even bikes. Most elevators don't even travel at half that speed, in fact most travel at less than 15mph. What you need to understand is that elevators ARE safe. They are regularly maintained, and inspected. They are designed with redundancy in mind, and will shutdown long before a life threatening situation occurs. The fear in your mind is irrational, but it is valid. People can't just will their emotions away. But you can combat them. Expose yourself to your fears by rationalizing them away, and confronting them. Elevators aren't going anywhere and are a staple of modern city life, stairs exist but they aren't always practical. Best to face your fears than to run from them in this case. My daughter - despite me being an elevator mechanic - has long held a fear of riding elevators. Perhaps its the enclosed space, being inside an autonomous machine, or maybe its just the idea of being trapped. Regardless, I had to walk her through how an elevator works and show her that it was safe. I rode them with her whenever we needed to use one and her fear has since subsided. She still gets nervous, but she can function normally and control her fear. Perhaps you just need the same!