When I was three or four years old (around 1971) my father picked me up and set me on a big tree branch that was five feet off the ground and four inches in diameter. I cried and screamed. I don’t know why he did it.
I have been scared of heights ever since.
Yes. I won’t tell the story here. But believe me it was terrible.
I don’t have a problem staying away from what causes me to get scared and afraid and feel unsafe.
I do think it’s why I have extreme phobias though. And fears of odd ball things.
Otherwise I get a long ok.
About ten years I moved back home to look after my mother for a while while she was terminally ill. At one point, one of the circuit breakers tripped, and I was at the electrical box trying to find which one so I could reset it. My brother started to push me away and I just blew up at him. I told him not to ever, ever, ever touch me again; a response to all the times he bullied me as a kid, probably.
My fear of heights may also be partly related to something my father did when I was 9. It’s a long boring story so I won’t go into it, and I am not certain the two are connected. I just can’t think of any other incident that would have triggered a fear of heights.
I think a fear of heights is a sign of intelligence
My fish phobia comes from early childhood experience, but that’s more of a phobia than actual PTSD, or so I think. I do have PTSD about a couple of very different incidents in my life, one involving a racing incident I responded to as part of my job, and another due to a more personal experience.
I didn’t realize the racing one until a few years ago, when I witnessed a similar incident and absolutely froze up until it began to resolve itself. I found myself panting with relief but also with the realization that what I had just experienced was PTSD and that PTSD had colored other parts of my life. It was very revealing to me, and it has helped me move forward or have insights into not just my experience but that of those close to me as well.
I’ve mentioned this before, but the short version is, I had an extremely intense near-drowning incident when I was 11, and now, more than 40 years later, I still suffer low-grade panic when I go in water deeper than mid-torso or start to lose my footing.
Totally different details but similar experience to the OP from a “funny” prank Dad played on me when I was real young. Maybe age 2, probably age 3 or 4. Even as a, say, 8yo I didn’t recall the event as a distinct event, just a vague impression of terror surrounding the general situation with no idea how I found myself in it. He felt terrible about it later as I grew up and the phobia fully manifested. Too late; damage done. I wish it hadn’t happened, but I never could hold any blame or grudge about it. Shit happens.
Conveniently for adult me, it’s not a situation that comes up in normal daily life ; I’d have to seek out the stimulus, and that’s usually easy to just not do. Usually. Now at retirement age I’m much less sensitive than I was as e.g. a teen, but even today it still meets all the DSM criteria for a phobia. I’m sure I could seek psych treatment for it and thereby solve it once and for all. But the thought of the de-sensitization treatment is aversive enough to just not bother.
In other news …
I’ve had my share of accidents, near accidents, battle carnage in the military, etc. None of which seemed to produce any lasting PTSD-like things. But which certainly produced temporary (couple-few months) sensitivities, weird dreams, etc. I got off thankfully light on that score. So far.
Yes, as a result of childhood physical and psychological abuse.
A healthy fear of heights that motivates you to take appropriate protective measures is a good thing.
OTOH, a crippling fear of heights that leaves you frozen in terror and unable to function in situations that are objectively safe is maladaptive.
As for the OP’s question…my answer is yes:
My crash happened on a highway on-ramp not far from my home. I struggled with PTSD for a couple of years after that, and while I’m mostly fine now, I do still get uncomfortable when I go down that particular on-ramp - especially in the rain. It makes me go slower there than other folks would, and I don’t have that same unease on other highway on-ramps.
I would have thought it’s a sign of imagination. The reason heights are scary is how vividly you imagine falling.
Does it require a specfic incident to trigger a fear of heights? (I was thinking the OP’s incident wouldn’t have been so scary to him if he didn’t already have some fear of heights.)
Yes. When I was 16, my parents were killed by criminals fleeing the police. Then, only 5 years later, an ex-boyfriend turned stalker almost killed me. I think I’m living a good life but, trust me, there is no cure for that type of thing.
I don’t think being scared of heights equates to PTSD.
From Psychiatry.org
People with PTSD have intense, disturbing thoughts and feelings related to their experience that last long after the traumatic event has ended.
This is nothing compared to some of your stories. When I was a very small child I accidently locked myself in a bedroom closet. It was about 3 feet by 3 feet and had no lights, and so it was completely dark. I couldn’t get out and began pounding on the door. After what seemed like an eternity, my parents came upstairs to find out what all the ruckus was about. I was in a complete panic by the time they got there and I can still remember the incident vividly, almost 70 years later.
To this day I am claustrophobic, and it’s gotten worse in recent years. I can’t even watched a movie or TV show in which someone is held in a small room or in some way restrained without having a panic attack. I sometimes have to get up and go stand outside until it passes.
As I said, this is pretty minor compared to many of your stories, and I feel for those of you who have much more serious incidents that continue to affect you.
I don’t know. In my case, I’m pretty sure I didn’t have it during my incident, which today I would find very difficult. As for the OP being suddenly placed on a precarious perch, maybe it’s like swimming – some kids have to be introduced to it slowly and with a lot of support and encouragement, and others just jump in.
My father teased me mercilessly as a kid, much of it was about horror movies that he thought were appropriate for a 6 year old. He also beat me with a 2 x 4 for something I did not do, my aunt had to hit him with a shovel to get him to stop. To this day 60 some years later, I still do not like being teased. Unfortunately for my wife, she says a lot of things directed to me as being funny and she gets upset when I don’t respond in a laughing manner. She tells me I need to lighten up, I just shut up and don’t say anything, I don’t want to upset her even more.
Back in both 2010 and 2011 my apartment was infested by a certain insect (the initials are BB). I was really surfing the zeitgeist: the week I had to have my apartment poison-bumbed, the epidemic was making the front pages of the newspapers here. I lost a bunch of furniture and ultimately had to move apartments. I haven’t seen one since I moved, but I literally can’t even say the name out loud, as if merely speaking the word would make them return. Whenever I see a news report about them, or I hear that there’s been an uptick, my whole body goes cold with fear.
Does that count?
When I was three I was running across the street to hug one of my beloved aunts. A car hit me and kept going until he reached the end of the street with my family screaming behind him.
Apparently my clothing had secured me to the bumper ( this was in the early 1960s so think big heavy car and bumper). I fell off the bumper onto the street and my bloody little self was hospitalized for a spell with multiple injuries that impact me to this day.
This couple was traumatized by the accident and secretly kept up with my life. I only found this out 30 some years later when the wife of the couple approached me where I worked at the time in a public facing industry. They wanted to make sure I recovered? Had a decent life? That was a bit of a shocker.
Never had any PTSD about cars despite being hit three more times and also being involved in numerous crashes as a driver/passenger. My brother and father were in some bad accidents and my son was killed in a car accident.
Thus far, amazingly I might add, no car PTSD has ever surfaced.
However, I do have a very elevated startle response that I have never been able to tame.
I have recent panic attacks and anxiety but it’s not from anything related to all of these accidents lol.
My life is a never ending tragedy…
Oh yeah, severely beaten by a day care provider at age three; lifelong anxiety and panic attacks over fear of failure and helplessness ever since.
I had an episode in a sea kayak as an adult where I nearly drowned in 3’ of water. I have very long legs (36" inseams). I had used recreational kayaks a lot - side, big openings, easy to get out of if you did flip (which you never do because they are so wide). I got in a sea kayak which is very narrow and has a much smaller opening and nearly instantly flipped it. I couldn’t get out because my legs were stuck. Somehow I contorted my body enough to get a gulp of air, then finally got out by going down. I still freak out thinking about it. I will never get in a sea kayak again, which is too bad because my wife loves it and it still seems like a thing I would’ve loved when we visit the San Juans (we visit multiple times per year). Recreational kayaks are still OK for me.