Height phobia
Most of us have some fear of heights. Being in high places or too close to the edge can be very scary. It makes sense for us to be like this. It means that we take more care, e.g. if we walk close to the edge of a cliff. Some rock climbers can still feel very scared even when they spend a lot of time in high places.
But is gets to be a problem when we feel scared, e.g. when we look out of the window of a high rise flat or when we use the lift in a shop.
Common places where this fear hits us would be:
- bridges
- high rise flats
- cliffs / mountains
- ladders
If you have these fears, you might notice changes in:
- your body
- your thoughts
- the things you do
Body:
- you might feel your heart race.
- you might be drenched in sweat
- you might feel dizzy
- you might shake
- your stomach might churn
- you might feel sick
Thoughts:
- you can feel scared looking down from a height
- you might feel drawn to the edge as if you are being pulled towards it
- you might fear someone will push you.
- you might start to think that bad things are going to happen
- you might see this in your mind.
What you do:
- When you feel and think these things, you might start to avoid going to places where you think they will happen
How common is it?
Most people get their fear of heights as young adults. It is very hard to know how many people have a fear of heights. A lot of people keep it to themselves and avoid things that frighten them. We know that about 11% of us will have a phobia and find their problems so bad that they feel they have to tell someone to get some help. Both men and women get it.
What causes it?
We do not know what causes height phobia. It could be our body's way of coping with scary situations. Some people think that unpleasant things that happen to you as a child; such as a bad fall, might be linked to it. Other people think that you are less likely to get height phobia if you had a bad fall when you were 5 9 years old. So it is not at all clear
Most people think that fears build up over a number of years. This can happen slowly or after lots of smaller scary things have happened to you. While it is nice to know what causes it, it does not matter too much. It is what keeps it going that is the big thing. And we do know a lot about this.
What keeps a fear of heights going?
If you are under a lot of stress, it can make other fears worse. So maybe you dealt OK with heights before but your general stress has fed the fear and it is now a big problem.
You might be changing your life to cope with your fear. So you do not go into lifts. You do not drive over bridges, etc. This just makes it worse. This is what feeds the fear and keeps it alive.
How does it relate to other problems?
Sometimes people will have a fear of heights along with other problems such as agoraphobia (a fear of busy places).
How to deal with these fears
In the same way that you deal with any fear: you need to face your fear.
