Being afraid generally of anything can be very tiring, and it can interfere with your quality of life. Trying to avoid situations which can provoke your fears can be exhausting, especially if you are exposed to them in your surroundings.
The extreme fear of heights is also known as acrophobia, and it is more common than you think. Acrophobia affects around 5% of the general population, and the number of people experiencing some degree of anxiety when placed on open high spaces. If your fear of heights is so extreme that it interferes with your performance at school or interferes with your enjoyment of everyday activities, you are likely to have acrophobia.
As any other condition there are ways by which you can help yourself in overcoming this fear, and you can also seek professional help from a physiologist or psychiatrist.
Cognitive-behavioral therapy, or CBT, is a main treatment of choice for specific phobias. This technique is based on gradual or rapid exposure to the trigger of fear, although, the gradual approach is more commonly used and proven effective. In addition, you are being taught ways of stopping the panic reaction and regaining emotional control. When it comes to fear of heights, actual exposure to heights is the most common solution. However, several research studies have shown that virtual reality may be just as effective.
Pharmacological treatment is the second line treatment approach, and it appears that using the medication in tandem with cognitive-behavioral therapy may improve results, but the research remains preliminary at this time, and the mediations are reserved for more severe and cases repellent to psychological therapy.
5 steps to overcoming your fear of heights
Step 1: Face Your Fear
Determine the triggers for your fear. Some people suffer from a fear of heights so acute that they avoid even thinking about tall buildings, while others’ fear is much more minor.
By definition, a phobia is an illogical fear, and using simple logic can help you overcome it. For the most part, the sorts of things that trigger a fear of heights – skyscrapers, airplanes, and roller coasters, for instance – are incredibly safe. These things are specifically engineered to be as secure as possible and malfunctions are so rare that when one of these things does break down in some way, it’s usually national news. It’s easy to forget just how unlikely it is for you to suffer any sort of harm at all from normal, everyday activities like flying or working in a tall building.
Once you are aware of your fear and the extent to which you can take height, try to move and push those limits. Slowly and gradually expose yourself to greater heights – for instance, you may want to start simply by reading or studying on a 2nd-story balcony. Then, when you’re comfortable, you can offer to do some roofing work on your home (and so on). Take pride in your accomplishments and with patience, you might eventually even find yourself doing extreme adrenaline sports like bungee jumping to celebrate your new strength.
Step 2: Start receiving therapy
Find a therapist that suits your needs. There are numerous schools of psychotherapy, ranging from traditional psychoanalysis to alternative approaches. The goal of any therapy program should be to help you safely and gradually lessen your fear while teaching you how to control your anxiety. Therapy may or may not be coupled with medicinal treatments. There is no universal and guaranteed method to successfully tackle a phobia, so different therapists may offer different paths to overcoming your phobia. Ultimately, you must decide which type of therapy is the best option for you.
However, before you decide for a certain therapy, explore the method of treatment offered. Though, as noted above, therapy can take many different forms, the end goal should be to help you gradually reduce your fear and/or manage your anxiety. While taking therapy sessions you will most likely learn how to control your anxiety. This will make it more manageable and you will learn how to cope with your fears, master your thoughts and feelings.
Step 3: Try medication treatment
If you feel that you may need more than a support from a psychologist, look for consult from a psychiatrist or doctor that is familiar with prescribing medication for phobic disorders. As with any problem that’s caused you to seek medical help, it’s important to choose a doctor whose expertise is suited to your problem. If you don’t know any doctors or psychiatrists who prescribe medication for phobias, a good way to start looking is by contacting your “normal” doctor (i.e., your family practitioner, etc.) She/he will most likely be able to refer you to a trusted colleague.
In cases of phobias, medication-based options is usually considered the last line resort for managing your fears, since it will not solve the underlying psychological issue that causes acrophobia.
However, it can make life much easier by easing your anxiety and allowing you to relax in situations that would normally cause stress. You may also find that you’re more willing to confront your fear head-on when you’re relaxed.
Step 4: Explore natural remedies
You can be surprised on how much your diet affects your feelings and behavior. Heavy caffeine consumption can be a contributing factor to anxiety related to acrophobia. Limiting or abstaining from caffeine could help lessen symptoms. In addition, cutting down on caffeine is likely to make you less high-strung and more relaxed, which can make it easier to confront your fear.
Improve sleeping habits and exercise regularly. While also beneficial to your overall health and well-being, proper sleep and exercise can naturally improve the way your body and mind processes stress or anxiety related to acrophobia. Natural endorphins released by frequent exercise can leave you feeling refreshed, relaxed, and happier, which can ease anxiety and make normally-stressful situations more manageable.
Try herbal or homeopathic remedies. Various herbal and homeopathic solutions have been reported by some to relieve symptoms associated with acrophobia. However, always consult with your doctor before pursuing an alternative treatment.
Step 5: Avoiding Damaging Myths
One common misconception is that when it comes to phobias is that people have to “face their fear” by doing something that would normally terrify them. For someone suffering from a fear of heights, this would be, for instance, riding a roller coaster, going skydiving, looking over the edge of a cliff, or some other similar task. The logic behind this philosophy is that, by completing this traumatic task, the person suffering from the phobia learns that activities that aggravate his or her fear are safe and that the fear has no risk of real danger. On the contrary, such approach shown that not only it doesn’t help in people with acrophobia but rather has no effect at all and may even aggravate the fear.
Don’t tolerate acrophobia. If a fear of heights keeps you from working, relaxing, or doing the things you love, is not something that you should try to learn to “tolerate”. Rather than feeling ashamed and/or trying to suppress a fear of heights, show strength by seeking real treatment.
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i completed my treatment by 2 or 3 councelars but they taught me that avoid thoghts of fobia u r not travelling everyday by space or aeroplane i am not satisfied by these statements my doctor gave me high doses of medicines i completed sessions also but… i heard some body practical of height fobia that they throw doll from terrace but there r different techniques that i don’t know so please tell me that technique by mail it is very sufficinet for my problem recovery of fobia 100 percent.
Dear jyoti,
I’m sorry to hear that your treatments have not helped you. If you are looking for an effective and natural way to eradicate your anxiety and phobias, then consider obtaining the self-help book Anxiety Protocol.
Regards,
Dr. Carlo
2nd story balcony??? I can’t even step up on a step stool without being over whelmed with fear. First step, I’m quite nervous. Beyond that, I can’t do it. My nephew graduated and I had to sit in the higher seats in the venue. I cried and held on to the railing in front of my seat through the entire first half hour. Then, I couldn’t stand for flags or prayer or anything. Even sitting, I was so scared.
I’m sorry to hear about the extent of your fear of heights. Because of the severity of your phobic anxiety, you may need to engage with a therapist for exposure therapy, and see your doctor about prescription medications to calm your phobic anxiety during the exposure work. Alternatively, you can try Anxiety Protocol and KalmPro.
I have Ill say a minor fear of heights. If im in a building or anywhere i have sure footing im fine….but a ladder makes me uncomfortable. Why and how do I fix that?
The fear of heights is a phobia that develops from environmental, psychological, and biological factors: https://anxietyboss.com/how-are-phobias-caused-biologically/. To get over the fear of heights, you need what is called graduated exposure therapy, also called systematic desensitization. You can eradicate your phobia with graduated exposure therapy and other techniques by obtaining the practical self-help book Anxiety Protocol.
Not sure what mine is sometimes i can go up to about 6 stories and other days 3 stories make me cling to the walls — i can fly on a plane and look out the window but if the plane turns and I’m looking straight down i freeze in my seat – we are due to fly to singapore and Hongkong with a cruise in between the boat is 18 stories high – I have 6 months to sort my fear out or i will be cabin bound!!
The key to overcoming your fear of heights is to keep exposing yourself to high places. Start with something you know you can handle, such as going up one story. When you can handle that and are able to calm yourself, then you can go up to two stories, and so forth. With repeated, gradual exposures, you will eventually desensitize yourself to the fear of heights, and you may even be able to go to the top floor of a skyscraper!
Im not bad with ‘low’heights but If I have to climb a ladder or similar with open sides I absolutely freeze. im a surveyor and my new job involves just that but its affecting my work. Im Ok to the first floor, i can push myself through that with mild anxiety/panic but if the second floor ladder does not have any scaffold rails which they mostly don’t Im a mess and physically cant climb it. The open sides with nothing to stop me falling are terrifying. If i couldnt see the drop Id be OK
During my day to day activities outside work i completely avoid all heights. Being on site inspections is a new part to my job, previously I was mainly desk based.
Your avoidance of heights contributes significantly to your fear of heights. You need regular, repeated exposure to heights in order to reduce your anxiety. But some people may only be able to do this with the help of a therapist, and receiving medication from your doctor to help calm you. Certainly, you can try these exposures yourself, and in the meantime make full use of relaxation techniques to help calm you and to reduce or prevent an anxiety attack when you are exposed to heights. I write about facing your fears and how it reduces your anxiety here: https://anxietyboss.com/why-does-facing-your-fears-reduce-your-anxiety/.
I really liked the suggestion to become aware of the extent of your fear of heights, and then try to push those limits a little bit further. My wife doesn’t take well to heights, but she has made it a goal to go parasailing on a vacation we’re planning for late this year. Based off the suggestions you’ve given, she ought to slowly and methodically condition herself to being comfortable pushing her boundaries and testing her limits. Do you have any specific tips to prepare someone for something like parasailing?
Hello, thanks for visiting. With regards to the fear of heights and working your way up to parasailing, may I recommend that you sit down with your wife and take an inventory of her exact fear of heights, from mild fears (ie climbing a few steps on a step stool) to moderate fears (ie climbing to top of ladder) to severe fears (ie top of building). Now these specific fears will depend on what height situations she finds anxiety-provoking, and only she can label the severity of the fear. The basic concept is to start with the milder fears, then repeat until you can handle it, then work your way up to more severe fears. With each gradual exposure, you are also instituting relaxation techniques to calm yourself during the exposure. Wash-Rinse-Repeat. Soon, you will be able to tackle all those fears, even the more severe ones.
I cried at a Taylor swift concert once because our seats were so high and they let us sit in the balcony instead. i avoid driving places where I know that the road has steep drops on the side because it terrifies me and I am afraid I’d crash out of fear. I kind of hate how inconvenient it is to be so afraid of heights, but I’m so afraid of them, I have no desire to overcome my fears.
I’m sorry to hear that. However, it does require work and initiative to overcome your fears. There is no magic bullet. Real work is involved.
Thank you for encouraging me to push myself to my limits in order to get over my mild phobia of heights. My boyfriend wants me to witness the beauty of Los Angeles through a helicopter ride and as much as I want to, I might not be able to open my eyes as soon as we’re lifted from the ground. I’ll try my best to conquer my fear so I could enjoy his anniversary gift to me.
Good for you! Many people just read what I write here on AnxietyBoss.com, but you are in the minority who actually DO SOMETHING about it- so proud! Let me know how this goes for you!
My friends want me to ride on a rollercoaster with them and I said yes but maybe that was a bad idea to say yes. When we started going up I couldn’t look down because I was terrified and when we were done, my friends noticed my acraphobia.
Thanks for sharing. Consider seeing a therapist for help overcoming that.
My friends want me to ride on a rollercoaster with them and I said yes but maybe that was a bad idea to say yes. When we started going up I couldn’t look down because I was terrified and when we were done, my friends noticed my gear of heights. I don’t know why I get so of high places. It feels like I just can’t control my fear.