ESCALATORPHOBIA

Is this a made-up word?

Sorry, maybe it is, but that is what I call what I have.

And how relieved I was this past trip to Brazil when I noticed that grandma has a little bit of it too. So does my best friend Lua.

You can tell when someone has it: 

They stop and hesitate right before going on the escalator, 

they evaluate when to take the first step carefully,

 and, upon nearing the end of the trip, 

they focus all their attention on the exiting process.

ESCALATORPHOBIA

Once when I was little, I was at the mall with mom, and, out of the blue, I froze at the top of the escalator. Mom took off and I froze. 

My brain was going like:   "How again do I do this?"   While I stood at the top and ... began to cry.

Yup,

ESCALATORPHOBIA