Heights.

[Laneorexorcist]

I'm not really sure if this has been posted here before, or even if this is really anxiety or is just simple fear, buy my anxiety to heights has always been there since I was a little boy. I could never go to mechanical games because of that fear and taking an airplane is always a challenge for me. My hands start sweating, my heart rate goes crazy and I can barely think clearly about anything else that doesn't have to do with the feeling of that place, and the most curious thing about this is that I haven't had any bad experiences related to them...


Does anyone has experienced something similar over here? And also, do you have any techniques that help you to cope with this feeling?

 

[amy88]

I'm okay with heights - but if there's any potential at all that I could fall from a high thing - that's where I get really anxious. So it's not so much the being up high that gets me nervous, it's just if something isn't enclosed properly, for instance. That's what I don't like!

 

[Panic57]

I have a selective fear of heights. I grew up in an airport so planes never bothered me because I saw how diligently the people in the towers worked and how much training the pilots go through to fly professionally, so planes never really bothered me. I have a bigger problem when it comes to heights where falling would be my fault. I can't jump off the high jump because I'm afraid I'll hit the bottom of the pool and drown. Or when climbing a ladder that could tip and fall, that's when I'm afraid of heights. Most of that has to do with being afraid that I'll absent-mindedly tip sideways or miss a step and fall. It's not usually to my death, just a horrid injury without anyone to call the ambulance. Roller coasters are half and half, I don't actually mind them if I can't see how they work. So Space Mountain and the Mummy ride (at Universal Studios) don't bother me but I have a hard time with the Jurassic park ride or traditional roller coasters.

 

[Novelangel]

I have trouble with stairs that are uncomfortably narrow. A lot of older houses have them, and I always feel like there isn't enough room for my feet. I get that fear of heights as I'm climbing stairs like that, but I have no trouble at all with the wider ones. I can look out the window of a flying airplane without any fear at all, yet I had trouble with the Ledge, which is a glass box on the 103rd floor of the Willis Tower in Chicago. It took some serious internal persuasion to get me out on that pane of glass to enjoy the view. But I'm very glad I did it as I really enjoyed the experience.

 

[rldonah]

I was actually just mentioning this in the thread about escalaphobia (the fear of escalators). I think both of these phobias, for me, stems from my balance or equilibrium issues. When you feel like you're going to fall, it's not a good feeling. If I have something to hold onto - not like the moving handrail of an escalator - it's not so bad, but if I look down ... whoa that can be scary but sometimes thrilling if I am confident I am safe.

 

[gwood]

I always get very nervous at heights. Even if I m standing somewhere safe with railings and all, I am still panicking inside my mind. I get this feeling of vertigo and get more and more anxious the longer I am there. I am not sure if it can be categorized as a phobia yet, but I surely do have an issue with heights.

 

[cluckeyo]

I am reminded of my 27 year old son. He wanted to hang a flag from our old flag pole for a 4th of July family gathering we were having. It would require climbing to the top of a 20 foot ladder. He was full of confidence and got a friend to help him steady the ladder. At the hour of reckoning, they began. There were several false starts, but finally he quickly climbed to the top and hung to new flag. It all looked perfect and I was impressed. But when he got back down, he ran to me with big eyes like saucers and said, "I ain't doin' that #%&@ no mo"! I guess everyone has their breaking point when it comes to fearing heights!

 

[chrispas93]

Same here. I have been suffering acrophobia since I was young. Acrophobia gives me an undulating fear and that I will be eaten by a huge hole. I think a lot of us share the same problem. A lot of people will say that you need to overcome it. But, it is not something you need to overcome since it takes deep roots in your psychological being. I think more applicable term it "lessen it" because there are people still, who have overcome this but still posses hints of acrophobia.

 

[Gergyta]

I have a minor fear of heights, like I can go on a rollercoaster because I know there are saftey precautions and that most likely nothing’s going to go wrong, but if I’m not secured onto something I’m terrified. Like if I’m climbing a tree, I can’t get very high without being afraid