Fear of heights

Fear and most of all Fear of heights but can also trigger such panic attacks that they have a massive impact on people's lives and leisure activities. Fear of heights can therefore be pathological.

What is fear of heights?

The fear of heights manifests itself through repeated states of fear and panic. The symptoms occur in situations associated with altitude.
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Most people feel queasy about being at high altitudes. Looking out of the window of a skyscraper or climbing sights such as the Eiffel Tower in Paris is associated with respect for height, a certain innate caution leads us humans to behave carefully so as not to endanger our lives.

Fear of heights cannot be defined in centimeters or meters, which cause panic problems across the board. Rather, fear of heights is individual. While the view from the third floor causes stomach pain and anxiety for some, others can suffer panic attacks from climbing a ladder.

People with fear of heights usually panic, they might fall to the ground, the apparent loss of control over the situation is troubling them. Confidence in structural safety precautions, such as railings or thick window glass, suddenly disappears, the person feels at the mercy of their fear.

causes

The causes for Fear of heights can be diverse. Usually the cause lies in traumatic experiences in earlier history, for example in childhood or simply in the fear of heights as an unfamiliar event, because one has never been confronted with great heights.

The new situation can make anxious, insecure people so distressing that they develop a fear of heights.

Symptoms, ailments & signs

The fear of heights manifests itself through repeated states of fear and panic. The symptoms occur in situations associated with altitude. While some sufferers from fear only at great heights (for example, when they look straight down from a high-rise building), others already feel fear on bridges or in an average stairwell. Some people have such a fear of heights that they cannot stand on a ladder or a chair.

In addition to the feeling of fear, anxiety and restlessness can also occur. In addition, specific phobias are often accompanied by symptoms that make themselves physically noticeable. These include tingling sensations in the arms or legs, sweating, dizziness. Nausea, shortness of breath, hyperventilation and racing heart. Phobics can also feel a tightness in the chest or be very aware of their heartbeat. This often gives the impression that the heart is beating unusually loud.

The symptoms of fear of heights may be similar to those of a heart attack. For this reason, it is important to rule out any medical causes that could explain the symptoms. Additional symptoms may manifest in response to the repeated anxiety attacks. Avoiding situations in which the fear could arise is typical. Many people affected feel ashamed of their fear because they see it as unfounded or exaggerated.

Diagnosis & course

The symptoms of fear of heights are just as individual, but basically they coincide with all noteworthy symptoms of other neuroses or states of anxiety, such as claustrophobia (fear in confined spaces), agoraphobia (claustrophobia) or arachnophobia (fear of spiders).

With a slight increase in height, for example when climbing stairs to a very high floor, the first nervous symptoms such as sweating, difficult breathing, increased pulse rate (tachycardia) and / or inner restlessness appear.

Abdominal pain or headache, dizziness or similar psychosomatic symptoms can also occur. The greater the feeling of acute threat, the more intense the fear begins to express itself. The stressful situation can lead to downright crying fits and screaming fits, aggressive behavior, but also to short-term fainting.

Complications

As a rule, fear of heights itself does not lead to particular complications or dangerous health conditions. Life expectancy is not limited by this disease. However, fear of heights can have a negative impact on the psyche of the person concerned, so that many patients suffer from inferiority complexes and a reduced self-esteem.

Especially with children, fear of heights can lead to social exclusion, teasing or bullying. The patient's quality of life is greatly reduced in such situations. Certain activities or work may not be possible for the patient, whereby flying in an airplane can also be affected by the fear of heights.

This results in relatively large restrictions in everyday life. However, if the patient does not go to great heights, there are no further complications. The fear of heights usually manifests itself in breathing difficulties and an increased heart rate. The person affected can also lose consciousness and possibly injure themselves if they fall. Direct treatment of fear of heights is not possible, although the symptoms can be limited with therapies. For this reason, there are no further complications.

When should you go to the doctor?

It is advisable to consult a doctor as soon as the person concerned notices they are developing unnatural fears. If the fear creates emotional stress or changes in life, a visit to the doctor is advisable. If you break out in a sweat at high altitudes, have a racing heart or have high blood pressure, you must visit a doctor or therapist. Headache, indigestion or whiny behavior should be examined. If there is inner uncertainty, a strong experience of stress or increased irritability, a doctor must be consulted. If the fears increase in intensity or if new states of fear develop in other situations, a clarification of the state of health is necessary.

If everyday tasks can no longer be carried out as usual, if a withdrawal behavior is developed or if you no longer leave your own apartment, the complaints must be discussed with a doctor. If the person concerned consumes medication or addictive substances because of his inner experience at altitude, he should consult a doctor. It is alarming if the work cannot be visited due to fear or panic attacks occur. In these cases, medical help should be sought as soon as possible. If the fear of heights occurs continuously at lower and lower altitudes, a doctor or therapist should be asked for advice and support.

Doctors & therapists in your area

Treatment & Therapy

Anxiety patients or people with Fear of heights Under no circumstances should they be forced to face their fear, unless they are trained specialists who specifically make the fearful situation part of the therapy.

Usually the only way out of the fear of heights is therapy; psychological measures can help the "sick person" to free himself from his limiting fear. The main pillars of fear of heights therapy and the general treatment of anxiety neuroses are, on the one hand, to find out where the fear originates and whether there was a specific event in the previous history that triggered the fear.

On the other hand, the fear is then approached step by step, with the therapist accompanying the fearful person into fear. First of all, an attempt is made in stages to increase the level with which the patient to be treated has to deal. The therapist may confront the patient with a ladder and carefully investigate and reflect on what is going on in the patient in his incipient fear. The therapist usually increases this project slowly until the desired success occurs.

This approach of exposure therapy is part of the classic psychological model as it is used in behavioral psychological therapy approaches. There are of course a whole range of other models. Hypnosis, acupuncture or other traditional Chinese medicine applications are very popular here. Homeopathy also promises long-term improvement if the correct means are used. Still others swear by measures such as yoga or meditation to increase self-confidence.

It is primarily important for the anxious patient to realize that he would like to accept help. Without the patient's compliance (willingness to cooperate), therapy for fear of heights is not possible. The patient alone can find out which form of therapy is the right one. The patient may have to try out many approaches and measures before he decides that he can be helped.

Not every fear of heights has to be treated. Many people live with it and do not feel significantly affected by it. However, if the fear reduces the quality of life and is perceived by the person as stressful, treatment is strongly recommended.

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prevention

Preventive measures against the Fear of heights there is hardly any, but at a young age parents can do a certain amount of prevention by getting their child used to heights and showing that appropriate safety precautions have been taken. If these are observed, the altitude is usually not dangerous.

Aftercare

If the fear of heights has been successfully overcome, for example with a suitable therapy or another method, it is important to keep working on it and not to assume the attitude that you cannot get this fear again. The complete overcoming of fear of heights is often temporary.

Often a small remnant of the fear of altitude remains lifelong, even if it does not seem likely after the recently terminated therapy or method. On the other hand, if everyday life gradually resumes without paying special attention to fear and the fear of altitude is no longer adequately counteracted, it can increase again. If you start again to avoid surfaces and situations at great heights, further therapy is required.

It is relevant to discover this development in its early stages in order to avoid wasting time, money and energy. In order to notice the beginning in good time, situations can regularly be brought about in which fear was felt prior to the treatment. If comparable feelings can be perceived as in the time before the healing process, the fear of heights should be actively fought repeatedly. However, if fear is still not felt, the situations to check for the return of fear can occur after longer intervals.

You can do that yourself

In many cases, those affected show an increasing avoidance behavior in the case of fear of heights. This usually increases gradually over a longer period of time. However, it has been scientifically proven several times that it is helpful to face fear. This can be done in different ways, cognitively as well as physically. To avoid uncertainty, you should work with a therapist or psychologist. This enables the fearful to gain positive experiences and receive new information.

Daring single-handed situations should be avoided as they can lead to an intensification of fear. Running away or breaking off a stay in a higher position too early also increases the existing fear. Therefore we have to wait for the moment when we realize that after the fear habituation, habituation and then relaxation will occur. For physiological reasons, there is no risk of circulatory collapse or loss of consciousness in these situations.

In order not to be alone, the person affected can ask a person he trusts to visit situations with him that are fearful for him. A visit to a high-rise building or a secured roof of a house is sufficient for this. Everyday situations should be sought out so that there is a realistic relationship to the lifestyle of the person concerned.