# Is a temptation to jump off high buildings normal? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 7, 2009, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-temptation-to-jump-off-high-buildings-normal/512994 "2009-10-07T23:47:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Swallowed_My_Cellphone)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2009, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-temptation-to-jump-off-high-buildings-normal/512994/41 "2009-10-08T19:15:45Z")
> [@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 :eek: Most of those pictures made me queasy. ---
**Author:** ![Telcontar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3bc359/32.png) [@Telcontar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telcontar)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2009, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-temptation-to-jump-off-high-buildings-normal/512994/42 "2009-10-08T19:24:54Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2009, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-temptation-to-jump-off-high-buildings-normal/512994/43 "2009-10-08T19:37:20Z")
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 ---
**Author:** ![Alan\_Bird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b3f665/32.png) [@Alan\_Bird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alan_Bird)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2009, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-temptation-to-jump-off-high-buildings-normal/512994/44 "2009-10-08T21:06:34Z")
> [@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. ---
**Author:** ![Never\_Say\_Dice](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ee59a6/32.png) [@Never\_Say\_Dice](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Never_Say_Dice)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2009, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-temptation-to-jump-off-high-buildings-normal/512994/45 "2009-10-08T21:12:56Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2009, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-temptation-to-jump-off-high-buildings-normal/512994/46 "2009-10-08T21:30:20Z")
> [@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._ ---
**Author:** ![Heart\_of\_Dorkness](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/4bbf92/32.png) [@Heart\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heart_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2009, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-temptation-to-jump-off-high-buildings-normal/512994/47 "2009-10-08T21:40:18Z")
> [@gigi](#): > > Combine my irrational fear of puncturing an eyeball with my obsessive quilting ? How… how would that… what do you fear would happen? ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2009, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-temptation-to-jump-off-high-buildings-normal/512994/48 "2009-10-08T22:27:04Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2009, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-temptation-to-jump-off-high-buildings-normal/512994/49 "2009-10-08T23:01:50Z")
> [@](#): > > Is a temptation to jump off high buildings normal? Only if you are a native of the planet Krypton. ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2009, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-temptation-to-jump-off-high-buildings-normal/512994/50 "2009-10-08T23:09:21Z")
> [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](#): > > Only if you are a native of the planet Krypton. That’s OVER buildings. Though I’ll admit, if I ever got superpowers that would let me survive long drops and fly or superjump, I’d be off rooftops all day. Boing, boing, boing! ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2009, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-temptation-to-jump-off-high-buildings-normal/512994/51 "2009-10-08T23:32:38Z")
Just adding to the list of yup. I’ve heard fear of heights described as a fear of falling and vertigo described as fear that you will jump. That last one describes how I’ve sometimes felt on a super high building. ---
**Author:** ![Mops](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mops/32/16494_2.png) [@Mops](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mops)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2009, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-temptation-to-jump-off-high-buildings-normal/512994/52 "2009-10-08T23:43:52Z")
I also get this often, but with me it’s definitely not a temptation but rather a fear: _If I went insane now for just five seconds I’d be over the high fence and falling down._ ---
**Author:** ![pbsama](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b4bc9f/32.png) [@pbsama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pbsama)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2013, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-temptation-to-jump-off-high-buildings-normal/512994/53 "2013-08-25T20:00:10Z")
i have no fear…the only thing that stops me is the feeling that i have to see a little bit of my future…whenever i am on a height the urge of jumping just gets stronger ---
**Author:** ![pbsama](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b4bc9f/32.png) [@pbsama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pbsama)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2013, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-temptation-to-jump-off-high-buildings-normal/512994/54 "2013-08-25T20:10:52Z")
> [@Kamino\_Neko](#): > > 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. that is the same thing… i wouldnt call it suicidal tendency becuz i dont want to die but its a sudden urge to have the feeling what a cut or jump would feel…freaks the hell out of me…am i insane??? ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2013, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-temptation-to-jump-off-high-buildings-normal/512994/55 "2013-08-26T02:14:52Z")
> [@Never\_Say\_Dice](#): > > 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. Yeah, I know, zombie thread and banned poster, but… I saw some people doing this on snow-corniches at Crater Lake. They were running around and playing, out on little ledges of snow…directly over hundreds of feet of steep, sharp lava! What a hell of a way to die! The theory I’ve heard: the normal human mind is always proffering alternatives. “Burgers for lunch? Or just stay at my desk? Go home early? Finish up these last few assignments? Put in overtime? Quit and look for a new job? Phone my wife?” etc. etc. One of the alternatives, when near a high overlook, is “Go closer?” And since that’s insanely suicidal, the rest of the mind reacts very harshly. “No WAY!” But the alternatives-offerer didn’t mean it as the thing to do, any more than it meant “Quit your job” as the thing to do. It’s one alternative. The trouble is that it’s an alternative that’s an inch away, and deadly. So the “censorship” function of the mind reacts against it very strongly. Anyway…I don’t know if this is the correct explanation…but it’s an idea I’ve heard, and it seems to make sense. ---
**Author:** ![Caneknife](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dec6dc/32.png) [@Caneknife](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caneknife)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2013, 7:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-temptation-to-jump-off-high-buildings-normal/512994/56 "2013-08-26T07:59:17Z")
Yes , I do also, there also could be a bit of suicide hidden in it also with everyone, I don’t know, I’m happy but want to jump also when on high buildings, can not explain it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-temptation-to-jump-off-high-buildings-normal/512994.md?page=2)