Do you have PTSD from something that happened a long time ago?

[Machine_Elf]

@HoneyBadgerDC

I think a fear of heights is a sign of intelligence

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:

Have you personally experienced trauma?

I was in a car crash about ten years ago. I had no physical injuries at all, but there were several mentally traumatizing aspects: I lost control in the rain at highway speed. The car started to spin, and I couldn’t stop it; I knew what to do, and had actually done it before many times, but my brain just froze up this time. The sliding lasted for several seconds, and there was a point at which I was sliding backwards at high speed toward a guard rail and couldn’t tell when the collision wa…

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.