Acrophobia - what is it? This is the name for fear of heights, and it is the most common fear associated with spatial discomfort. This phobia is considered a mild degree of neurosis, which does not lead to any consequences. But such fear warns that a person has an imbalance and is prone to mental disorders.
Many people at high altitude experience fear and dizziness. And people who suffer from acrophobia experience such fear more vividly and expressively. They experience an attack of nausea and irresistible horror, strong salivation appears, breathing and heart rate increase, body temperature drops, and the work of the gastrointestinal tract increases.
What is Acrophobia?
The statistics are inexorable: 5% of the entire world population has a problem - fear of heights.
400 million people worldwide suffer from acrophobia. Mild degree of fear: no desire to fall, even if there is a real possibility of doing so. If a person falls into hysterics, feels animal fear and loses his head at the slightest prospect of being on top, this is a manifestation of neurosis.
The psyche of modern man reacts to threats from the outside, just as primitive people did. He strives to leave the risk zone and becomes pinched. Adrenaline is injected into the blood, the heart begins to “jump out of the chest.”
How to distinguish a normal state of fear from pathology?
It is natural for a person to experience a feeling of fear, which appears only when there is a real threat of falling.
Fear of heights has nothing to do with attacks of terror at the thought of falling from a height. The first parachute jump, base jumping without detailed instructions, or a ski jump for an unprepared person will cause unpleasant sensations.
When there is no time to avoid an unpleasant situation or there is a lack of information in one of the listed areas, the fear of falling is the body’s adequate reaction to the threat. Only when a similar situation actually occurs, when a person realizes that something can go wrong, such a fear of heights will not be a mental disorder. This is the main difference between a phobia and ordinary fear.
The thin line between deviation and normal behavior sometimes turns out to be wishful thinking. How to distinguish the 2 forms of fear? Fear of heights, as a pathology, is not associated with the possibility of being in a real-time situation that would threaten life. This is a game of the mind or imagination.
A person cannot control this feeling, cannot suppress it or influence it in any way. His life is dominated by fears. Finding himself at the top, he ceases to be what his friends and acquaintances know him to be. In this state there is no way to control your actions. One of the symptoms is the desire to jump.
An exception:
slight malaise in the mountains. It should not be taken as a signal of phobia; this is a normal reaction of the body to an extreme situation.
Aerophobia is the fear of flying or air travel.
How to stop being afraid of heights?
Before starting treatment, experts recommend checking how advanced the phobia is. Standard therapy will relieve discomfort and neurosis, but will not cope with dangerous conditions. If a person refuses to leave the house or go to work because he is afraid of heights, then take more serious measures. In addition to sedatives, the patient will need the help of relatives and a psychotherapist.
How to stop being afraid of heights?
Assess the degree of harm. Determine when you become afraid. You are afraid of flying on airplanes or riding roller coasters, or fear appears when riding in an elevator to the upper floors of a building. Then look at the statistics on how many people are physically injured in the event of a disaster, ride or elevator breakdown. As a rule, the numbers come down to one in a million. Learn to relax. Any technique you know or are interested in will do. Do meditation, yoga. During attacks, practice deep breathing techniques. Such exercises give you control over your own body and allow you to observe from the outside the symptoms of panic: sweating, rapid heartbeat, breathing. Connect virtual methods. First, look at the pictures showing the city from above. If you manage to look at the photo without shuddering, then move on to computer games or special programs. Modern technologies allow you to design various situations, for example, you are standing on the edge of a cliff. Intellectually, a person understands that the situation is not real, but quite real. The level of fear is lower, try to cope with panic.
A healthy person is less prone to worry and panic. A normal lifestyle is influenced by the quality of food consumed, the amount of physical activity and prolonged sleep. These recommendations will not completely eliminate acrophobia, but they will reduce symptoms.
Causes of acrophobia
To diagnose a disorder, a person's condition must meet established medical criteria.
Why does such a feeling of animal fear arise? A phobia is subject to fantasy: the more impressionable a person is, the greater the likelihood of his illness. No extreme situation is needed, just a thought that will give rise to panic. Having seen a person fall in a dream, you can be charged with negative emotions for the whole day and remain in a state of trance or excitement.
People have evolved, but there remains a connection with the past. If thousands of years ago falling or being at a height was a crime for primitive man, then genetic memory begins to impose this fear on him. There is a desire to jump.
There are theories that prove that animals are also subject to acrophobia. Conclusion: if there are eyes that can see, then there is fear.
Overcome fear of heights
Scientists identify the following medical causes of fear of heights:
- At a certain time, the brain was damaged through mechanical action or inflammatory processes occurred.
- Regular frequent stress.
- Frequent drinking of alcohol.
- Psychological factor: the child was either not appreciated at one time or was overpraised.
- Excessive emotionality, slight excitability, or, conversely, shyness and timidity.
- Experienced a similar situation. It leaves its mark on the memory, and begins to control a person’s thoughts and feelings.
Victory over fear: Types of human phobias, what they are
What can a neglected phobia lead to?
The more advanced the disease, the more difficult it is for a person in everyday life, personal life, and at work. Climbing a stepladder to screw in a light bulb, going down the stairs at the entrance, entering the subway or public transport, exiting the subway and climbing the stairs to the office - all this provokes a panic attack. It begins even before a person leaves the house, just think about the upcoming contact with the stairs. As a result, the patient chooses isolation; he finds himself locked within four walls. But this does not relieve tension, which over time leads to psychophysical exhaustion, which, in turn, causes new disorders.
Symptoms
There are no identical people and reactions to heights in the world.
Everything is individual for everyone. Experts identify average indicators of symptoms of neurosis. The first thing people with acrophobia note is that they have absolutely no control over their body and mind in a moment of “danger.” There is a persistent obsessive thought about jumping down. Such suicidal tendencies appear only when there is a threat of falling. The fear of slipping and falling headfirst onto the ground is a concomitant symptom of phobia.
How does the body react to heights with acrophobia?
- The head refuses to perceive reality and is treacherously spinning.
- The stomach strives to return its contents to the outside. Cases of diarrhea are common.
- The heart may either slow down or begin to jump out of the chest.
- Tremors in the hands or feet are also quite common with fear of heights.
- Excessive sweating and frequent urination make it impossible to live normally.
- The muscles remember what state they were in at birth, which is why “hypertonicity” occurs.
- The pupils completely fill the eye.
- Nightmares and poor sleep deplete a person’s nervous system and exhaust the body.
These were vegetative or somatic symptoms.
Mental abnormalities are expressed in possible aggression, excessive irritability and even anger. A person cannot concentrate and focus on any problem; he resembles a compressed spring. He lives for one terrible moment, reminiscent of Groundhog Day. Often deja vu.
Bufonophobia is the fear of frogs and toads.
Treatment
How to get rid of Acrophobia
A person suffering from this kind of phobia will require enormous efforts. What do we have to do? Complex treatment: drugs + psychotherapy. The use of tranquilizers for a period of 2-3 weeks and antidepressants for a period of 6 months is inevitable.
Medicines that stimulate blood circulation are used by doctors to treat acrophobia:
- Benzodiazepines calm the patient and have an anticonvulsant effect.
- Beta inhibitors prevent the active production of adrenaline, prevent panic attacks, normalizing the human condition.
- Nootropic drugs are used to stimulate brain functions and increase resistance to emotional and mental stress.
- Also, a person prone to acrophobia needs to take vitamin complexes.
A hypnotic trance has a strong influence, but an experienced psychologist must introduce the patient into such a state.
Therapy based on self-control and relaxation brings results to desperate people. Many people try to cope with the symptoms of acrophobia on their own, but this is almost impossible if the case is advanced. When self-medicating, the situation may worsen, because a person may misdiagnose himself or be guided by false advice.
The technique to help cure a phobia is based on 4 tips:
- It is necessary to find the cause of the phobia.
- You need to overcome fear by imagining the picture of being on the roof of a house. Do the exercise every day.
- Try to be on top often.
- Control and self-hypnosis of the absence of danger.
VR as one of the ways to treat fear of heights
There is cognitive behavioral therapy, which has been widely used in recent years. Control must be established over two factors, mental and physical. Thanks to the system, fear remains at the hormonal level.
Neurolinguistic programming is a technique that influences the past. It is necessary to return to the moment when there was a fear of heights. Negativity turns into positivity.
Cognitive behavioral therapy is a specific technique for relaxing muscles and tightness. The patient overcomes his fear of heights at a slow pace, taking small steps.
Psychotherapists use cognitive behavioral therapy with deep hypnosis techniques. The technique acts on a person’s subconscious and fights internal, unconscious causes. The emotional state and behavior program, which previously gave rise to panic, are normalized.
Research stages
- The doctor begins working with the patient by examining his condition. He models situations that cause fear in the patient. Corrects emerging feelings and emotions.
- The psychotherapist confronts the person with a real threat. Attacks of terror occur. Virtual reality simulators help you control the situation. A stable, sustainable reaction is formed on the basis of experience.
- Yoga, meditation and breathing exercises help overcome fear. You need to master relaxation techniques.
- Computer games where the player personifies himself with a virtual hero, runs and jumps, can give a good effect. Movies with staged jumps help you get used to the idea of life without fear of heights.
First of all, people with acrophobia do not need to give up, become isolated and stop going out.
You need to face your fears. Only the patient himself is able to take the first step by recognizing the problem and starting to fight it. Milyukova Yuno Nov 16, 2018
Causes of fear of heights
Why is a person afraid of heights?
Psychologists have different opinions here. Some believe that fear of heights is inherent in humans. This is a self-preservation instinct that protects against danger in an unusual situation. Others believe that such an inner sense is acquired during life or may be due to mental characteristics. Based on these ideas, the causes of acrophobia may be:
- Congenital reflexes
. Associated with the instinct of self-preservation. In prehistoric times, when man was still in a primitive state, the probability of falling, say, from a steep mountain while hunting, was high. Ancient people developed an evolutionary mechanism to beware of high places. Over time, the need for it disappeared, but for some it is present in the body as a relic (atavism) even today. - Conditioned reflexes
. Reactions of the body acquired during life. Let's say a child unsuccessfully climbed a tree and fell. From then on I became afraid of heights. - Features of the psyche
. For example, a person is impressionable and suspicious. Just the mental image of falling from a great height causes a strong reaction of rejection - fear of high places. Often sharp deafening sounds become the cause of such a phobia. - Poor spatial orientation
. A sign of a poorly developed vestibular apparatus, an organ that is responsible for coordinating movements, forces a person to adapt to environmental conditions. Let's say he climbed high and became dizzy.
No matter what the cause of acrophobia, you should not laugh at a person who is afraid of heights. It is quite possible that he has this innate instinct, or maybe a slight mental illness - neurosis, when medical help is needed.
