Fellow Acrophobes--Some Answers, Please

Factual Questions
1

Sorry about the vagueness of the question, but I have several issues here.

As a person with acrophobia knows, there are varying degrees of fear of heights. Mine kicks in at about 30 feet or so. Some things I’ve noticed that strike me odd are the following:

Why am I not afraid of being in an airplane?

Why is it that I can stand on top of the Empire State Building, which has a fence around it, and feel no fear, but could never comfortably stand on the edge of a two story building with no fence/wall?

Why can I easily walk along a trail with a drop-off to one side that has an incline sloping away from me, but even the thought of getting near a sheer drop petrifies me? In fact, I can’t even go out on an overlook platform with rails/walls, if I can’t see the slope underneath, and forget ANY situation where there may be an undercut bank lurking under there.

What is it about bridges? I can drive across a bridge with guard rails, but will not even attempt one that doesn’t (we have several of these in Alaska).

Why is it that walking across a bridge, even with rails, can make me break out in a sweat? Particularly if it is over water. And forget those godawful bridges where you can see down through them to the water. NO friggin’ way am I setting foot on THAT!

Why is it that merely watching someone approach a sheer drop makes my stomach do flips, when I couldn’t possibly be in danger? My children can relate this problem eloquently, as in (name of child), GET AWAY FROM THE EDGE OF THAT (river, bridge, cliff, etc.)!!!

There are probably other situations, but I curious as to the mental process that says "This one is okay, Chefguy, but don’t you dare go out on that one.

2

Me curious also about English speaking, that.

3

I think it’s more of a control issue. When you are in control, no fear. Walking along the trail, you are in charge. But walking on the bridge, you have to trust whoever built it. Add to that, when walking, you can feel the bridge move. Brain tells you, “Something this big is NOT supposed to move. ARGH!” or in the case of a small, see-through-the-slats bridge “Ack! Water! Look how far down it is, and the only thing holding me up is a 2x4, which can break easily. Run away Run away!”. Personally, I freak when there is no barrier to the drop. Empire State? No problem, Big Fence controls fall. Someone leaning on a open balcony ledge? EEK!

Also you are so much more in touch with your environment when your moving slow, or walking. You control walking on the trail. But that other person, getting close to the edge, and there’s no barrier… Again, eek.

Fear of flying is very different from a fear of heights. The fast moving car and plane have movements that are controllable.

4

I don’t have any answers for you, but I have another for your list. I have it so bad that I get that feeling in the pit of my stomach from playing a computer game that overlooks a great height. I can work off ladders, but don’t want to be much higher than that, unless the need arises for a high-angle rescue, or someone needs help up high. It seems to go away at that point, only to return at incident’s end.

5

I don’t have any answers for you, but I have another for your list. I have it so bad that I get that feeling in the pit of my stomach from playing a computer game that overlooks a great height. I can work off ladders, but don’t want to be much higher than that, unless the need arises for a high-angle rescue, or someone needs help up high. It seems to go away at that point, only to return at incident’s end.

6

I have such a fear of heights that I broke into a sweat just reading this thread.

My belief is that the fear stems from possibility of falling over the edge. When you are in a vehicle, falling out is a fairly low probability. Walking near the edge of path, however, has a sense of higher probability.

7

I can climb up a ladder, but not down. This is less useful than you might think.

8

I had this same fear (though not as severe as you describe) and I decided to see if I could conquer it.

I took up rock climbing, starting on easy, very short routes that weren’t steep. I was able to progress gradually, and finally got to the point where almost all my fear of heights is gone. I think it was the very gradual approach that did it (took several years).

When I stand at the edge of a cliff or bridge, I can remember how I used to feel, but it seems like it doesn’t intrude deeply into my thoughts now. My unease at seeing other people near the edge of a cliff is also less than it used to be, but this remains more of a fear.

YMMV.

9

I definitely know the feeling. It does vary with how “safe” I may feel in the surroundings. Railings, walls, what-not.

I worked in a downtown 13-story building that was surrounded by even taller buildings. I’d go up on the roof for breaks during my night shift hours and go over to the two-foot-high wall-like thing at the edge of the roof. As long as I was behind that wall I was okay, and could even sit on the wall without freaking out.

But if I stood up and looked up at the taller buildings, I got almost like James Stewart in Vertigo.

Another instance, I went to the top floor in a 30-story building and they were still putting finishing touches on the offices there. They had windows that went from below floor level to above ceiling level, so you could walk right up to the window and look down to the street! Like to have sucked me out the window.

Bottom line: fear of falling!

10

DeVena: The explanation about being in control rings true, particularly when it comes to sloping terrain. I went out this past weekend and hiked a trail that wound along a gorge, and had no problems. I think this is because my mind says to me “hey, a tree could stop your fall”. After the hike, we took a cable car to the top of the mountain. I had little problem with the 2000 foot rise in about a mile, but at the top, could not go to the edge of the enclosed platform because I couldn’t see the slope underneath.

Zeldar brings up a good point with vertigo, however. It seems that the vertigo is much less when confronted with sloping terrain than with an abrupt precipice. With a precipice, there is almost a sickening urge to be drawn over the edge, not to mention the dizziness which could cause one to lose one’s balance.

Xema (I hope that’s not because of a skin condition: Climbing doesn’t bother me, nor does descent. But once I’m up there, I have to get away from the edge.

Thanks for all responses. I’m surprised there weren’t more people who wanted to discus this problem.

11

Chefguy, there’s more of us out there, I just didn’t really have much to add. I agree with the control explanation. I even have problems with steep slopes if it’s completely wide open. But as long as there’s trees/lamp posts/whatever I’m fine because I feel that I could grab onto that if I were to fall. I’m also much more likely to have a problem in situations where I already feel somewhat uncomfortable, i.e. if I’m in an unfamiliar location or tired/hungry/just generally having a bad day.

This may be wandering into IMHO territory, but I’m just curious if anyone knows what initially started their phobia. I’m pretty sure mine came from a bad fall on the playground when I was a child where I fell off the top of a climbing thing and split my chin open, and I guess I was wondering how many other people can trace their fear back to a specific event.

12

Chefguy, every single thing you describe applies to me as well. But I’ve found that a certain level of excitement can override the acrophobia. That’s why I love flying, even in a transparent helicopter, and going to the top of tall buildings.

I’ve noticed that when I’m near a high edge, e.g. a tall building or bridge or overlook, it’s the approach to the edge that makes me light-headed. Once I get to that railing and can hold onto it, and take a moment to acclimate myself, I’m relatively ok. But if I then have to move to another spot, I have to go through the whole process again.

As for the origins of this fear, it could be genetic. My father had it much worse than I do. We visited New York when I was a kid, and he wouldn’t come with us to the top of the Empire State Building; he wouldn’t even go to the roof of our hotel. And he definitely had a fear of flying.

Here’s a question: How do you fellow acrophobes feel about roller coasters? I love the **idea **of coasters, but can force myself to go on only the medium-height wooden ones, and definitely nothing that goes upside-down. This is a fear I’d love to overcome. Maybe I should start a new thread about this.

13

I love roller coasters, especially the rickety 50-year-old wooden one at Playland, which is funny since I have friends who are otherwise completely fearless but absolutely refuse to get on that thing. I do generally get the “Crap, why did I get on this” feeling on the way up the first hill, but that vanishes the instant it goes over the drop. Of course, I’ve never been to anywhere that has the really big coasters, so I don’t know how I’d react to those. I don’t like the ones that go upside-down, but that’s more due to motion sickness issues than any fear of being upside-down.

14

My mom has the exact symptoms. She says when she’s near some kind of precipice, she feels exactly like the ground she’s standing on is starting to tilt and slide her right off.

We went on Going-to-the-Sun Road in Glacier Park. She spent the whole time curled up in the back seat, eyes clenched shut, whimpering.

I’ve warned her to stay away from the Mall of America, too. Man, you can see a looong way down in there.

15

I did have a childhood experience that may have started the whole thing. We used to climb out underneath a railroad trestle that spanned a creek (I’m also a very poor swimmer). This area of Anchorage is near Cook Inlet and the creek empties into the inlet. The mud on the banks of the creek is treacherous and people have lost their lives by becoming stuck and then drowning when the tide comes it.

Anyway, the drop was about 30 feet to the creek (hmmmm). Climbing out to the platform wasn’t a problem. From there, there were steel “L” irons zigzagging across the span to the next platform. Some kids would walk out on those pieces, but I was never tempted. One day, however, there were some girls about and, wanting to impress one of them, I stepped out towards one of the steel angles with one foot. Well, I missed…pitched out over the abyss…and by some miracle was able to grab the metal and scramble back onto the platform. Scared the living shit out of me, I can tell you.

The combination of falling, drowning, etc. was terrifying. To this day, I also dislike deep water (which could also be related to several near-death experiences in boats, but that’s a different thread).

16

That doesn’t quite ring true, at least not for me. I have no doubt that the big scary bridge will support me. The thought of rivets popping out never occurs to me. The fear is more immediate, almost instinctual. And, as with any phobia, irrational. And I don’t think it’s so much of a control issue as a trapped issue.

JulKatBo, I know exactly what you mean. My girlfriend and I call it “crunchiness.” It’s not having things to hold on to, but just having things around. And things to do. I always prefer driving in cities to driving on a highway. On a highway there is nothing to do, and no real way to escape other than the occasional exit. But in a city on is constantly starting, stopping, and turning. For some reason this is way more comforting.

Here’s a nice success story: My girlfriend had the same problem, especially with driving. She was loth to even see her ailing mother because of the highways involved. But given some clonopin and practice, she now conquers eight lane highways with ease. She wonders why she was ever afraid in the first place.