10% of the world's population are among patients suffering from panic elevation phobia. If in more detail, then many people will feel uncomfortable if they are above the surface of the earth. But more sensitive individuals subject to such a phobia will plunge headlong into a panic state, tormented by periodic bouts of dizziness and nausea.
In scientific circles, this phobia is called acrophobia. It develops quite slowly, which makes it possible at any time to seek help from a specialist or decide to independently overcome it.
What is acrophobia?
Acrophobia is a specific psychological deviation that manifests itself in a feeling of tremendous panic, which instantly builds up at a time when the patient is at a certain distance from the ground. But not everyone can say what phobia is called with a fear of heights, and even more so to distinguish it from ordinary fear. He rests on the usual instinct of self-preservation, designed to preserve human life and the usual level of health. Unlike the harmless fear of heights, acrophobia is a type of psychological pathology that needs to be eliminated.
The development of modern technology has allowed people not only to travel on the earth, but also to fly through the air. This fact indirectly affected the further spread of height phobia. In some cases, the disease is so neglected that patients cannot ride lifts or escalators on their own.
Symptoms
A panic fear of heights is fraught with the fact that the patient begins to experience not the most pleasant feelings already at the minimum height, which even in theory is not able to harm a person. It happens that the patient is in a similar condition for many years, starting from early childhood. But this is rarer than the rule, so most patients have acquired a similar pathology at some stage in their lives.
To assess their psychological health, anyone can conduct a kind of test for fear of heights. To do this, you need to be at a certain distance from the ground. He is sick if he feels:
- dizziness;
- pain in the eyes;
- bouts of nausea;
- drop in body temperature;
- general weakness;
- panic attacks;
- too frequent sighs or rapid pulse;
- cramps or jittery limbs.
But when making any conclusions, it should be remembered that psychiatrists emit a similar condition, more characteristic of the instinct of self-preservation, than a collection of psychological pathologies. Without expert advice, there is a significant risk of confusing these concepts, and accordingly, harming your health by the lack of suitable treatment.
Causes
Each person in his own way experiences a phobia of height. One cannot go to the balcony without trembling in his knees or fly on a plane without a dose of sedatives, and the other shakes in panic at the mere thought that he has to go to any height. At the moment, even if we collect all the available knowledge about human development, no one can say for sure what causes fear. There are only assumptions about the built-in defense reaction, remaining as an inheritance from the memory of DNA.
A popular version of the development of human phobia is a negative experience, as a result of which a person received physical or moral trauma, falling from a certain height:
- severe stress during childhood;
- wild imagination;
- fell down from a tall bush or tree.
Psychologists believe that the causes of acrophobia are somatic pathologies of the body. True or not, no one knows. But many phobias are accompanied by errors in the functioning of the vestibular system. It is a fact.
Provocative factors
At first, the researchers suggested that the traumatic situation in childhood, which occurred at a certain height, leaves an imprint on the human psyche, provoking the development of acrophobia. Over time, it was proved that not one, but a combination of reasons leads to such consequences:
- Disruptions in the functioning of the vestibular apparatus - when it begins to work poorly, a person loses control over his own body, which increases the risk of falling even from a small height.
- Sick relatives - geneticists have found that parents with a mentally ill provoke the onset of the disease in their children.
- Injured brain - the presence of a hematoma of varying severity in the head, or a sluggish infection.
- Improper upbringing is a strict family environment in which the habit of praising and supporting a child is not encouraged.
- Too much stress.
- Heavy use of alcoholic beverages causing clogging of the body.
- Certain character traits are an increased level of anxiety, emotionality, shyness and strong suspiciousness.
Along with other opinions, there is a theory that fear of heights is a primitive instinct inherited from ancestors. The first people were more guided by their instincts and feelings than modern society. Therefore, it is not surprising that, at the sight of height, a primitive man was afraid for his life, evoking the instinct of self-preservation.
An indirect proof of this theory is that many animals that see well are also scared of heights, confirming the instinctive nature of such a step.
Benefit
To understand how to overcome the fear of heights, you need to evaluate not only the negative sides of this phenomenon, but also the good ones:
- Any kind of fear is a manifestation of the instinct of self-preservation, aimed at protecting the life of a particular individual. Therefore, while fear is under human control, and does not cause particular moral inconvenience, it does not need outside interference.
- At that moment when a person is afraid of something, the level of adrenaline rises inside his body, bringing a sense of moral satisfaction. Therefore, some people like to tickle their nerves by watching horror movies. The fear of heights has a similar effect.
Psychiatrists have long appreciated the instinctive impact of feelings, and successfully apply it in their work. One of these tricks can be called artificial provocation aimed at a special challenge of fear. Under his influence, the instinct of self-preservation wakes up, and a person who is in a prolonged depression rethinks the meaning of his life.
- Many insecure individuals get a chance to assert themselves if they overcome their fears. Their personal development moves to a new level, allowing them to gain determination to overcome new heights.
Harm
Fear, which has a strong emotional connotation, often turns into obsession, causing some harm to the human psyche. If in more detail, then the organs of a frightened person function in an unusual mode for themselves. Such a restructuring confuses the body, leading to loss of consciousness, stroke or interruptions in the heart rhythm.
Being in a state of intense fear for a long time wears out the human body, shortening its lifespan. Psychiatrists claim that carriers of fears of water, transport, and so on, live 20 years less than other people who are more successful in controlling their emotions and can say that "I'm not afraid of heights."
Unfortunately, not all phobias can be eliminated on their own. Without appropriate treatment, a person will gradually begin to fear the very thought of the object of his fears. This fact will increase the time period spent in a state of stress, which will contribute to the occurrence of somatic or psychological diseases. In more advanced cases, patients went crazy or committed suicide.
Advice
But not everything is as hopeless as it looks at first glance. If a person is afraid, but his fear has not yet passed into the phase of acrophobia, then he can use certain methods. In the event that everything is done correctly, then the help of specialists will not be required, and he himself will understand how to stop being afraid of heights:
- It is necessary to climb regularly on the hills, gradually increasing the height of the required point.
- When a person is upstairs, the first thing he needs to do is concentrate his attention on any subject located a little further away from him. Such a trick will calm, and temporarily delay the onset of fear.
- If there is no desire to go somewhere, then you can do everything you need at home. To do this, visualize your innermost fear. Psychologists advise a person to get comfortable, close their eyes, and imagine that he was at an impressive height. Around blows warm air, and under the feet is a hard surface. It is strong and does not move, which means it cannot fall, therefore, the person on it will not fly away.
- When the phobia of height begins to disappear, then it is quite possible to consolidate success. For this, the most decisive jump with a parachute. Having survived the fall and successful landing, former acrophobes laughingly recall their past fears.
- If a person could not perform at least one of the above, then it is better for him to use the help of a specialist. Over time, he will not be able to control his feelings, which will thoroughly ruin his quality of life.
Additional fight options
Any person has a set of characteristic features of behavior and personality inherent in him alone. Therefore, even in theory, it is impossible to create such a technique that will help all people understand how to deal with the fear of heights. In this case, the best option would be to contact a psychologist working with phobias. And he will pick up a tool suitable for a particular person.
Moreover, experts themselves warn against rash self-medication. An inexperienced person may overlook small nuances, and all his treatment will fail. And qualified psychologists for a long time and in detail affect all aspects of subconscious fears, increasing the chance of a final deliverance from a tormented nightmare.
A popular treatment for acrophobia is a course of hypnosis sessions. An experienced doctor puts the patient in a suitable condition, and corrects all the appropriate points. Such treatment ends successfully, and most patients do not even remember the existence of phobias in the future.
Drug treatment
Paradoxically, medications are useless against phobias. Basically, their use is intended to alleviate the general picture of the disease, and to remove the symptoms that tortured the patient.
Therefore, any advertisement about wonderful pills that eliminated phobia in a couple of uses is a myth! Medicine is in search of a suitable medicine, but when she finds it, remains a big question.
For a more complete effect of psychotherapy, the following drugs are recommended for use:
- antidepressants - are used for six months, one of the most popular drugs is imipramine;
- vitamins (the most suitable Magne B6);
- tranquilizers - reception is possible for a period not exceeding two weeks (phenazepam);
- Nootropics - favorably affect blood circulation in the brain.
When a child is afraid of heights
Infantile acrophobia is part of instinctive behavior. He does not understand the name of the phobia, that fear of heights prevents him from living. All the behavior of the child is directly dependent on the instinct of self-preservation, which tries to protect him until the moment of final maturity. But in very rare cases, children's fears can reach a level beyond which they cannot cope with their feelings without the help of a specialist. Psychiatrists do not like to work with such patients because they are too young and uncontrollable.
Sometimes acrophobia appears after some cases associated with a traumatic fall or excessive parental care. Parents, trying to do better for the child, in every possible way set him up, are afraid of any height.
Prevention of childhood acrophobia
An equally important role is played by the prevention of childhood acrophobia, which includes:
- sports activities involving classes at an altitude (scooter, bicycle);
- games with training the vestibular apparatus (to climb a rope, ride on a swing);
- warning parents of the possible consequences of excessive suggestion about the dangers of heights.
Any child is more likely to accept indirect parenting. If you do not force him to do certain things, but read books and tales in which they talk about overcoming any fears, then it is likely that the child will forget about his feelings and be more calm about the possibility of being at his best.
Why is man not afraid of anything
In any struggle with conflicting feelings, one must not forget that fear is a natural reaction aimed at preserving the life of a particular individual. Therefore, if a person is on a certain height, and feels relatively safe, this condition is no less dangerous than a panic fear of heights.
Such emotions often lead to manifestations of carelessness, when a person, without realizing it, can jump down. This is the less studied side of such a phobia, which can cause no less dangerous fearlessness. Therefore, if a person wants to jump from a high-rise building, believing that nothing will happen to him, then he urgently needs to be led to a psychotherapist.
All fears are part of a person’s daily life. Therefore, they will always be present in it, taking any form of feelings. But if their presence is very harmful to the quality of life, then they must be disposed of with the help of a specialist. It must be understood that he cannot help without the desire of the patient himself. Therefore, he himself should want to control his life, directing it in the necessary direction.