Is a temptation to jump off high buildings normal?

Love Rhombus · #1 10-07-2009, 06:47 PM

Not in a suicidal sense. I've just always found that when I'm on the edge of something high (a building, the Grand Canyon) I feel a kind of curiosity about what would happen. I mean, I know I'd die, but still. It draws me. I'm in no danger of doing it, no fear, but it's an odd sensation.

Zsofia · #2 10-07-2009, 06:50 PM

That's why I don't like high places without railings - I'm not afraid I'll fall, I'm afraid I'll jump. I've heard other people say the same thing. (My boyfriend is afraid of high places in the more "normal" sense - it's completely different.)

Patty O'Furniture · #3 10-07-2009, 06:50 PM

It's the Imp of the Perverse.

sweetie pea · #4 10-07-2009, 08:36 PM

It's the fastest way down.

Indistinguishable · #5 10-07-2009, 09:00 PM

Yes. I suspect it's damn near universal.

Driver8 · #6 10-07-2009, 09:14 PM

I thought this was just me.

I'm far more afraid of my brain misfiring and causing me to jump than I am of accidentally falling.

I'm currently doing a road trip visiting the Grand Canyon and other canyons in Utah, so I have experienced this very sensation on numerous occasions over the last few days. It is quite disconcerting.

Stealth Potato · #7 10-07-2009, 09:17 PM

Yep, I get that feeling whenever I'm in a high place, be it a skyscraper or a mountain cliff. Even sometimes just on fairly steep hills; it almost feels like I should be able to glide down if I really wanted to. There's this little voice inside that seems to be urging me to make the leap, spread my wings, and take to the air. I have to remind it that I don't, in fact, have any wings.

And I'm not buying any of that awful Red Bull stuff either so that's right out.

pulykamell · #8 10-07-2009, 09:38 PM

It's common, but I've never experienced it.

ToeJam · #9 10-07-2009, 09:51 PM

Interesting, for me it's a total fear of the edge- I'm afraid I might get dizzy and lose my balance and tumble over. So i try to avoid getting close to edges, even windows that go from floor to ceilings kinda freak me out.

So, I don't think it's a "universal" feeling to want to jump, but i'm sure it's more common one that expected.

Gfactor · #10 10-07-2009, 09:56 PM

I'm moving this from General Questions to In My Humble Opinion.

Gfactor
General Questions Moderator

AuntiePam · #11 10-07-2009, 10:19 PM

There aren't many tall buildings or high places around here, so my urge has been to drive my car off the road and into rivers or snowbanks.

Princhester · #12 10-07-2009, 10:20 PM

Yep

Poysyn · #13 10-07-2009, 10:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ro0sh

Interesting, for me it's a total fear of the edge- I'm afraid I might get dizzy and lose my balance and tumble over. So i try to avoid getting close to edges, even windows that go from floor to ceilings kinda freak me out.

So, I don't think it's a "universal" feeling to want to jump, but i'm sure it's more common one that expected.

I have this too, it freaks me out...

Alex Osaki · #14 10-07-2009, 10:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AuntiePam

There aren't many tall buildings or high places around here, so my urge has been to drive my car off the road and into rivers or snowbanks.

This.

It's definitely not a suicidal thing, and I cannot for the life of me conceive of a single reason why I would possibly want to do it. But I distinctly recall wanting to drive into the Alsea River. Given that a) it was a rental car and b) that's incredibly stupid I never did, obviously. But I was curious about the experience.

Love Rhombus · #15 10-07-2009, 10:44 PM

Whew, glad I'm not alone. What's odder is since I moved into my 10th floor apartment a few years back, I'll get the same urge as I lie in bed. Just pop through the screen on the window and go right down...

LouisB · #16 10-07-2009, 11:02 PM

I've had this fear most of my life, or at least as long as I can remember. I was told once that a fear of height correlates somehow with a fear of sex or sexuality----if I'm a freak, I'm glad I've got so much good company.

Lust4Life · #17 10-07-2009, 11:05 PM

Why not take up Base Jumping or abseiling?

Then you can jump off and hopefully live.

gaffa · #18 10-07-2009, 11:18 PM

There was a fascinating article about a pair of brothers with Lesch-Nyhan syndrome by Richard Preston in the New Yorker. People with this condition cannot stop harming themselves, biting off their lips, tongue and fingers. Here's a link to the abstract - access to the full article requires a subscription.

Happy Lendervedder · #19 10-08-2009, 12:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Love Rhombus

Whew, glad I'm not alone. What's odder is since I moved into my 10th floor apartment a few years back, I'll get the same urge as I lie in bed. Just pop through the screen on the window and go right down...

I had something similar to this. I was staying in corporate housing for work on the 20th floor of an apartment building a few years ago. There were no screens in any of the windows, so it was just big sliding windows and...a really far drop down. I would sometimes open it late at night and lean out and watch the drunk kids leave the bars. And I always had that urge/fear that I might just jump/tumble out. The whole time I was living there, I refused to drink, fearing I might give in to the urge if I had enough booze in me.

Freaks me out just remembering that feeling.

What's weird is that I have an open air balcony on the second floor of my house now, and I have no urge to jump/tumble off of that; this "urge" seems to just be associated with REALLY high buildings.

BleizDu · #20 10-08-2009, 05:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alex Osaki

This.

It's definitely not a suicidal thing, and I cannot for the life of me conceive of a single reason why I would possibly want to do it. But I distinctly recall wanting to drive into the Alsea River. Given that a) it was a rental car and b) that's incredibly stupid I never did, obviously. But I was curious about the experience.

Heh, I get this too. Sometimes while driving I'll think: "mmh...I could just not turn the wheel, or not slow down...I would crash...why not"
And then my hands turn the wheel automatically to follow the curb.

I knew many people were wondering how it would feel to jump from, say, a high building, when at the top, and I also experience this, but I thought the car thing was one of my oddities

LSLGuy · #21 10-08-2009, 09:17 AM

If you're prone to this sensation, you might really enjoy standing on a freeway overpass. Something about the rapid flow below carrying you away really amplifies the effect for me.

Even from behind the tall cyclone fence, the attaction is almost magnetic.

It's a very weird sensation. And not one I'd actually want to act on.

gigi · #22 10-08-2009, 09:20 AM

Yep, I occasionally think about turning my car into the other lane, or crashing into a guard rail or bicyclist on purpose. It's a control thing--I know I'll crash my car by accident at some point, and God forbid may actually hurt someone, so I'd like to choose to get it over with.

But I don't.

A co-worker used to make the sickest jokes about bad things happening to his toddler--I think maybe it was to diffuse his own real fears about what could go wrong.

Harmonious Discord · #23 10-08-2009, 09:29 AM

I get the urge to leap from the cliff to tall trees that are a few feet out. I know I might make it, but it would be fatal when you fail in the jump and catch. It's one of those things you might try if your life was in danger.

Lanzy · #24 10-08-2009, 09:38 AM

I love heights. I loved lying on the glass panes at the top of the St. Louis Arch, I'm looking forward to doing the same on some of the the other glass panes being constructed at the top of buildings, and the grand canyon.
I like to sit at the top of cliffs with as much view below and above as I can get.
And I do feel a pulling to let go and jump/fly/fall, but I have it under control and just enjoy the feeling.

Colophon · #25 10-08-2009, 09:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pulykamell

It's common, but I've never experienced it.

I'd never experienced it until a couple of years ago, walking round the city walls of Dubrovnik (photo). Something about the sheer drop and the deep blue of the water just triggered my brain to start thinking "Hey, what if...?"

I almost had to cling on to the masonry, the feeling was so strong.

carlb · #26 10-08-2009, 09:55 AM

My wife and I both get that feeling, and I get the why-not-just-slam-into-that-abutment feeling occasionally as well.

Colophon · #27 10-08-2009, 10:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by carlb

My wife and I both get that feeling, and I get the why-not-just-slam-into-that-abutment feeling occasionally as well.

There's a long straight stretch of single-lane road I drive along quite often - it has a 60mph limit, and it's quite narrow. As I'm approaching oncoming cars at a combined speed of 120mph, I do sometimes think, one yank of the wheel and that would be a biiiig crash. I don't have any desire to kill myself, it's just a scientific curiosity I guess.

I'm glad it's not just me.

cjepson · #28 10-08-2009, 10:18 AM

I've experienced this in a couple of situations:

1. A hotel with an eight-story-high atrium in the middle. On each floor, walkways run around the perimeter of the atrium. On the top floor, the ceiling is right above the walkway, and it's one of those industrial-type ceilings with I-beams. So if you were so inclined, you could just reach up and hang by your hands, like you were on monkey bars, out over the atrium. Just imagining doing that made my stomach do flips.

2. I went to Niagara Falls about 20 years ago. There was a place where you could stand insanely close to the river bank right at the exact point where it drops off the edge. It was quite an amazing spot -- turn your head one way, you see a big, wide river; turn the other way, nothing. It was hard not to imagine yourself just stepping into that river.

rainy · #29 10-08-2009, 10:22 AM

First time I got that feeling was at the top of a ladder coming off a friend's house when I was about ten years old. I paused for so long, my friend's Dad asked what was going on. I still have a vivid memory of grasping the top of the ladder, looking down at their upturned faces and the very soft and cushiony looking green lawn and just wanting to jump. I agree it is an odd feeling.

-rainy

Colophon · #30 10-08-2009, 10:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cjepson

2. I went to Niagara Falls about 20 years ago. There was a place where you could stand insanely close to the river bank right at the exact point where it drops off the edge. It was quite an amazing spot -- turn your head one way, you see a big, wide river; turn the other way, nothing. It was hard not to imagine yourself just stepping into that river.

You'd love the Devil's Pool at Victoria Falls. More pics here, for context. (Vic Falls is twice as high as Niagara.)

I do have to wonder how long that "natural rock ledge" is going to hold out, though. Wouldn't want to be there when it goes...

G0sp3l · #31 10-08-2009, 11:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Driver8

I thought this was just me.

I'm far more afraid of my brain misfiring and causing me to jump than I am of accidentally falling.

Thank you. Thank you. I'm so happy not to be alone. There's a Calvin and Hobbes script where Calvin laments that his brain is trying to kill him. I can so sympathize.

Anne Neville · #32 10-08-2009, 11:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zsofia

That's why I don't like high places without railings - I'm not afraid I'll fall, I'm afraid I'll jump.

I thought I was the only one who didn't like high places without railings for this reason.

hellpaso · #33 10-08-2009, 11:20 AM

Wow--I thought it was just me. I've also had the urge to jump into deep water (from bridges, boats, etc.).

bri1600bv · #34 10-08-2009, 11:24 AM

I don't have the "urge". I feel like I'll be put into a trance and kind of be "sucked" over the side.

It's terrifying.

dangermom · #35 10-08-2009, 11:33 AM

Sure, I think it's very common.

Now that I'm a parent, drop-offs terrify me because I'm afraid the kids will get too close. It gets better as they get older, but whenever we go hiking I clutch the 6yo's hand in terror near any cliff. And last summer, we hiked on to an old covered bridge, and the 2-foot gap between the floor and the walls completely freaked me out. Everyone laughed at me, but I know that if my 6yo had gotten anywhere near that, she would promptly have slipped and been sucked out and fallen 20' into the river. So there.

Heart of Dorkness · #36 10-08-2009, 11:34 AM

My mom experienced this. Unfortunately, she chose to tell me about it when I was just a kid, on a visit to the Grand Canyon. She wouldn't go to the edge with me, and I asked if she was afraid of falling. She said, "No, I just want to jump off." Well, that freaked me the fuck out. I spent the rest of the visit terrified, watching her like a hawk, ready to tackle her if she made a run for the edge.

I've never had that feeling, although I have stood on subway platforms and imagined stepping into the path of the train just as it arrives. I imagine that, rather than falling and being immediately crushed under the wheels and electrocuted on the third rail, I might be pinned to the front of the train for a few seconds by the train's momentum. And I have a good idea of what the initial impact might actually feel like, since I was once hit by a semi (while driving, so it's not a perfect corollary, but still).

But as vividly as I've imagined it, I never once felt a desire to do it, or the need to restrain myself from it.

Kamino Neko · #37 10-08-2009, 11:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zsofia

That's why I don't like high places without railings - I'm not afraid I'll fall, I'm afraid I'll jump. I've heard other people say the same thing.

I experience the same thing...I don't like knives or razors for the same reason - I'm afraid of cutting myself, not by accident, but deliberately.

janeslogin · #38 10-08-2009, 12:02 PM

I've no experiences with high buildings but as a kid on the farm we often amused ourselves by jumping out of a hay loft.

Jumping from bridges is a fairly widespread amusement, isn't it?

Swallowed My Cellphone · #39 10-08-2009, 01:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lust4Life

Why not take up Base Jumping or abseiling?

Then you can jump off and hopefully live.

I have to abseil (in North America it's more common to say "rappel") a lot when I rock climb. No matter how zippy it looks in movies, it's actually a relatively slow decent and does not at all feel like falling.

Sky diving, bungee jumping, or wingsuit base jumping would be the more like falling/flying.

ETA: And yes, I've had the jump-off-the-edge impulse too.

WOOKINPANUB · #40 10-08-2009, 02:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Colophon

You'd love the Devil's Pool at Victoria Falls. More pics here, for context. (Vic Falls is twice as high as Niagara.)

I do have to wonder how long that "natural rock ledge" is going to hold out, though. Wouldn't want to be there when it goes...

Aggggggghhh!Just looking at those pictures gives me the vertigo. I'm not afraid of heights, per se, but the picture of the woman leaning back on her arms with her head over the edge makes me very anxious

Swallowed My Cellphone · #41 10-08-2009, 02:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WOOKINPANUB

Aggggggghhh!Just looking at those pictures gives me the vertigo. I'm not afraid of heights, per se, but the picture of the woman leaning back on her arms with her head over the edge makes me very anxious

Most of those pictures made me queasy.

Telcontar · #42 10-08-2009, 02:24 PM

Dear Og, what a collection of self destructive weirdos. Insurance executives everywhere must be frantic.

I get the same kind of feeling. It's something about being one body motion away from death.

Hampshire · #43 10-08-2009, 02:37 PM

I get the same urge as mentioned here by so many others but have to wonder if anyone ever acts on this urge?
Does it happen but it's just reported as suicide or accident?
I imagine it would be hard to put for cause of death: spontaneous urge to jump

Alan Bird · #44 10-08-2009, 04:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tengu

I experience the same thing...I don't like knives or razors for the same reason - I'm afraid of cutting myself, not by accident, but deliberately.

Holy crap. I never knew this feeling was so apparently wide-spread. For me, it's like there's a loaded gun on a table within reach.

Never Say Dice · #45 10-08-2009, 04:12 PM

I know the day I stopped looking over precipices. July 4, 1957. My brother and I were running all around the top rim of Badlands National Park and jumped over the rail to peek over the edge. They looked like really steep fluffy sand dunes, but they were steep because they were hard sand stone. Well Dad called us back. He was trying to be calm but I knew he was worried. When we got back to the car we could look back at the cliff, with chunks dropping off as we watched and I saw how close to death I had come.

gigi · #46 10-08-2009, 04:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alan Bird

Holy crap. I never knew this feeling was so apparently wide-spread. For me, it's like there's a loaded gun on a table within reach.

Combine my irrational fear of puncturing an eyeball with my obsessive quilting and I am on edge* during a hobby that's supposed to be relaxing.

I almost said "on pins and needles" but that's bad even for me.

Heart of Dorkness · #47 10-08-2009, 04:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gigi

Combine my irrational fear of puncturing an eyeball with my obsessive quilting

?

How... how would that... what do you fear would happen?

Ike Witt · #48 10-08-2009, 05:27 PM

I am somebody who also has to deal with the jump urge. I was pretty certain that I wasn't alone with the urge, but I never had any idea how common the thought was.

I also find that the urge to jump is not just regulated to cliffs and high buildings, but also includes large open interior spaces...buildings with large atrium (and atria in general), theaters with a balcony, and arenas with an upper level...all make me want to realize a dream.

Now, I am sure that I have had numerous dreams where I was able to fly...I just don't know how it relates to the urge to jump, but I really think it does.