Photo: UGC Fear of heights, called acrophobia, is one of the common phobias that are related to space. The human body is not designed to be at significant altitudes, so in the mountains a person experiences dizziness, which is considered a normal physiological reaction. Discomfort is considered problematic when staying at low altitudes. Let's tell you more about the fear of heights and ways to overcome it.
What is fear of heights called?
Panic, pathological fear of heights is called acrophobia. This is a fairly common phobia that many people suffer from.
Acrophobia can cause a lot of trouble to a person, especially if his activities are related to life in a metropolis and the need to stay in high-rise buildings. People may be terrified of elevators that take them to high floors, stairs, or escalators. Without treatment, this phobia can progress and cause isolation, stress, and health problems.
Treatment of acrophobia in our clinic
In our clinic, treatment of acrophobia is carried out by psychotherapists and hypnotherapists. As a rule, 10 or less sessions over a distance of 2 months are sufficient to treat fear of heights. This number of sessions includes training in relaxation techniques that allow you to independently stop attacks of fear and normalize physical well-being.
Among the methods that our doctors use to get rid of acrophobia, it should be noted:
- cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT);
- method of systematic desensitization;
- body-oriented therapy;
- Gestalt therapy.
In some cases, hypnosis allows you to quickly find the true causes of a phobia that lie deep in the subconscious. Therefore, psychotherapeutic treatment of fear of heights can be supplemented with hypnosis sessions. For frequent and severe attacks of fear, the doctor prescribes herbal-based drugs, including those that have a beneficial effect on the therapeutic process.
Causes of fear of heights in adults
A fear of heights is quite natural - it is part of the instinct of self-preservation. But at the same time there are no vegetative reactions and panic, paralyzing fear. Pathological deviations and phobias of heights arise under special conditions. They can be divided into two groups:
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Psychological fear of heights due to increased impressionability, fixation on specific episodes seen in films, real life or told by people. This provokes receptive and emotional individuals to become fixated on a specific problem. As a result, fear is cultivated, which manifests itself especially strongly under specific circumstances. Problems are often possible in people with disorders of the vestibular system, suffering from instability and dizziness.
Often, fear of heights for no reason can arise after experiencing stress or severe moral trauma. The consequences lead to the fact that certain events or situations create horror uncontrollable by the mind.
Fear of heights is the lot of impressionable people: they become fixated on episodes from the past, stories from friends, and even film footage. Photo: Pixabay
Causes of acrophobia
At the moment, science does not know how and why people develop certain phobias. Physiologist Ivan Pavlov argued that every phobia has a physiological cause, and panic fear in certain situations appears due to organic disorders in the human brain. The scientist and his school successfully created experimental neuroses and phobias through physiological changes in the functioning of the brain and nervous system in dogs. However, it is not always possible to prove such a relationship in relation to people. In addition, not all cases show clear links between the development of phobias and childhood events associated with specific fears.
Symptoms of fear of heights in adults
An attack of acrophobia or panic fear of heights is most often accompanied by:
- dizziness even at low altitude, a fainting state that threatens to fall, the inability to stand on one’s feet - a person, feeling a similar symptom, frantically grabs objects, trying not to fall;
- rapid heartbeat, which is felt in the temples, chest - sometimes this is also accompanied by unpleasant sensations in the chest, discomfort;
- severe shortness of breath, a feeling of lack of air - difficulty breathing adversely affects health and psyche, which leads not just to fear, but to a real panic attack;
- increased sweating - due to fear and the release of a large portion of stress hormones, it leads to increased sweating, the skin becomes covered with cold, sticky sweat;
- dry mouth due to suppression of the process of salivation as a reaction to stress hormones, a metallic taste in the mouth is also possible, problems with swallowing saliva, chewing, shortness of breath - because of this, a person may realize that it is difficult for him to ask for help;
- trembling of the limbs and trembling throughout the body - overexcitement and emotional stress lead to tremors, muscle contraction with trembling, which worsens the condition in combination with other factors.
Acrophobia and natural fear of heights - differences
There is hardly a person who will not experience discomfort while being on the edge of a high cliff or riding a Ferris wheel. And that's okay. If such feelings did not exist, people would die out due to reckless actions. But thanks to natural fear, you will step back from the edge of the roof of a high-rise building or the same cliff, so as not to fall from a height. In this case, you will not experience any unpleasant mental or physical symptoms.
With acrophobia things are different. Fear of heights seems to paralyze a person’s consciousness, depriving him of the ability to make adequate decisions or, for example, to escape from danger. Over time, fear intensifies. Discomfort appears at low, non-hazardous heights. Some people are even afraid to stand on a chair.
The second characteristic feature of acrophobia is an attempt to avoid situations in which unpleasant emotions may appear. An ordinary person will behave calmly if he is on a hill, riding in an elevator, or standing on a balcony on the upper floors. Those who have a fear of heights avoid such places.
Acrophobia lives in the subconscious, and it is completely illogical. A person cannot analyze the situation and understand that there is no danger for him. He does not realize that in order to fall he needs to take a step forward, and in order to avoid it he needs to step back. He's just terrified.
Treatment of fear of heights in adults
If acrophobia is severe, it can make a person's life significantly more difficult and requires treatment from a specialist. Without therapy, normal activities may become impossible.
Diagnostics
The basis of the diagnosis is a detailed discussion of all the existing symptoms that the patient has, with a detailed study of the medical history and life history. This allows you to find out where the phobia came from. In addition, the doctor can conduct a series of tests that will show the severity of the condition and the presence of additional problems - depression, panic attacks.
Modern methods of treatment
“The treatment of this phobia,” explains psychiatrist Alexander Pyatnitsky , “is carried out either by a psychotherapist or a clinical psychologist. Despite the fact that there is a general algorithm for helping with phobic disorders, each person is deeply individual, and therapy is tailored specifically to his personality. Conventionally, we can divide therapy into two stages. The first is work with thinking and emotions, in which we analyze various distortions of thinking, learn to work with emotions, and study self-regulation techniques. The second is gradual exposure, i.e. contact with the patient’s specific situation that causes the phobia.
The final stage of therapy for acrophobia is to come into contact with the source of fear. Photo: Pixabay
Why should you seek help from psychologists?
Acrophobia is difficult to cope with on your own, especially if the manifestation of fear is pronounced. With the help of competent specialists in the field of psychology and psychotherapy, the issue of overcoming the fear of heights can be resolved quickly and effectively. Our psychotherapists have:
- professional hypnosis skills;
- techniques for controlling your psychophysical state;
- Relaxation techniques to help overcome fear of heights.
Getting rid of this fear will open up new opportunities for you that you previously denied yourself. You can safely go on a trip by plane, enjoy the view of St. Petersburg from the roof, ride a roller coaster or even jump with a parachute.
Zashirinskaya Oksana Vladimirovna
General recommendations
During treatment for pathological fear, it is necessary to constantly exercise. Join a gym and train several times a week. Do exercises in the morning and breathing exercises afterwards.
- To do this, stand up straight, close your eyes, take a deep breath and hold your breath for a couple of seconds. Then exhale forcefully and repeat the exercise 10 times.
- Normalize your sleep. It should be calm and long-lasting. Go to bed no later than 11 pm, having a relaxation session before bed.
- Start eating right. Eliminate fatty, spicy foods from your diet and instead try to consume more natural fruit juices, herbs, fish and dairy dishes.
- Doctors recommend giving up strong coffee. The caffeine it contains can increase anxiety and aggravate acrophobia. As soon as you stop drinking the aromatic drink, you will notice that the symptoms of fear have lost their severity, and the constant tension has decreased.
Do you need to fight fear?
Many people think that fear of heights is not such an important problem to focus on if it is not expressed by constant panic attacks. You just need to not get above your head, don’t go near open windows, and everything will be fine. But this is far from true.
We never know what the future holds for us. Perhaps someday you will have to climb to save your life, and you will not know how to overcome your fear of heights.
In addition, almost everyone suffering from acrophobia is afraid of flying on an airplane. You can, of course, exclude this type of transport from use and travel only by train, but who can guarantee that flying by plane will not be needed in the future, and you will start to get hysterical right at the airport.
People who experience constant fear at heights and do nothing to overcome this condition can become severely depressed, the recovery from which will be difficult and painful.
The line between phobia and fear
Are there limits to fear? Conditional. People who have a fear of heights learn to cope with their fear, gradually getting used to it.
A sociological study was conducted in Germany. Scientists have found that there are twice as many women suffering from acrophobia as men. Conducting a study: people were sent to walk along the stairs, cross a bridge, they noted the manifestation of symptoms of phobia. Many reported that they were being drawn into the abyss.
People who were afraid to walk on open areas of the bridge, with holes or broken railings, developed fear - a normal reason. For people who are afraid to look at a tall building, the phobia is a pathological reason. It is possible to overcome it on your own. Those who are afraid of non-fearful things have a phobia.
Symptoms
There are no identical people and reactions to heights in the world.
Everything is individual for everyone. Experts identify average indicators of symptoms of neurosis. The first thing people with acrophobia note is that they have absolutely no control over their body and mind in a moment of “danger.” There is a persistent obsessive thought about jumping down. Such suicidal tendencies appear only when there is a threat of falling. The fear of slipping and falling headfirst onto the ground is a concomitant symptom of phobia.
How does the body react to heights with acrophobia?
- The head refuses to perceive reality and is treacherously spinning.
- The stomach strives to return its contents to the outside. Cases of diarrhea are common.
- The heart may either slow down or begin to jump out of the chest.
- Tremors in the hands or feet are also quite common with fear of heights.
- Excessive sweating and frequent urination make it impossible to live normally.
- The muscles remember what state they were in at birth, which is why “hypertonicity” occurs.
- The pupils completely fill the eye.
- Nightmares and poor sleep deplete a person’s nervous system and exhaust the body.
These were vegetative or somatic symptoms.
Mental abnormalities are expressed in possible aggression, excessive irritability and even anger. A person cannot concentrate and focus on any problem; he resembles a compressed spring. He lives for one terrible moment, reminiscent of Groundhog Day. Often deja vu.
Bufonophobia is the fear of frogs and toads.
