Acrophobia: fear of heights – Online Psychologists

Sometimes, if not treated through psychotherapy, fear of heights or acrophobia It can become a disease.

There is a wide variety of phobias today, from the fear of driving to the panic of being trapped in a small space to the irrational fear of heights. All phobias have a specific name and this last one is called acrophobia.

It is called acrophobia. extreme fear of heights. We are not talking about a common fear, we are referring to a fear that ends up being disabling for the person, even damaging their quality of life.

It's a irrational fearthat is to say, It is not an adaptive response to a situation that poses a threat to the person who suffers from it and is related to human survival, making it one of the oldest phobias.

When we talk about acrophobia we are not only referring to a fear of heights in natural mountains or in amusement parks, for example, It also refers to an extreme fear of getting in an elevator. with transparent walls, to the very steep stairsat rooftopsto bridges, to the balconies…

It should also be noted that people who suffer from this phobia do not necessarily have to be in a high or steep place, It is enough to imagine a place or watch a movie in which a place at a high altitude appears. for symptoms to begin to appear.

Thus, this phobia is quite harmful and affects between 2% and 5% of the population, more frequently in women.

People have a habit of Defining acrophobia as vertigo to heights when it is not so. On the one hand, Vertigo is an illusion of our brain which makes us see as if the ground or other objects were spinning around us, something that makes us lose our balance. If this occurs when the person is near a cliff, it is usually called height vertigo..

On the other hand, acrophobia is related to height vertigo, but it is not the same thing.

According to some studies, this phobia is related to the inner ear and sense of balancewhich integrates proprioceptive and vestibular sensations through sight. This fear is not only related to the height at which we are, but also to our position at that timeStanding is not the same as sitting or lying down.

Sometimes acrophobia comes from a negative experience (although it is strange) or by the fear that parents transmit to the child. Other times the cause is a picture of vertigo related to the ear and others are the Lack of information we receive from our peripheral visionwhich is essential for the sense of balance.

However, it is common that Almost all phobias come from a multi-causal originThere are some factors that create different degrees of vulnerability when suffering from anxiety, although not all people have the same degree.

As mentioned before, fear of heights is a Evolutionary fear that is part of the human survival instinct And it is true that there are people who are very sensitive to this instinct or have it highly developed.

In general people who are afraid of heights They avoid situations in which they have to expose themselves to these circumstances such as: viewpoints, elevators, bridges, doing sports at height or cliffs.

Being afraid of heights It greatly affects the lives of people who suffer from this phobia.since they try not to make plans that include going to a viewpoint, doing sports in the mountains, going to a rocky cove in summer, etc.

And this is in the best of cases, there are other people who are much more afraid. It can make your daily life difficult.. We are talking about people who do not dare to get into an elevator, to look out from a balcony or to be in tall buildings. In some cases, if not treated, the person may reach a point where they may become depressed. fear of even leaving home.

Besides, The self-esteem of these people can deterioratesince these types of situations cause a person to feel incapable when seeing other people doing activities that they cannot do.

As for symptoms, there are three levels:

TO physiological level such as: tachycardia, dizziness, sweating, nervousness, muscle tension, nausea…

TO cognitive and emotional level: anxiety, fear, panic, negative thoughts about falling or dying.

TO behavioral level Symptoms such as those already mentioned appear: avoiding plans and situations that involve heights.

Within those levels there are symptoms most common and less commonThe most common ones regarding people who suffer from this phobia are:

When people start having Negative thoughts about falls or terrible accidents A state of physiological and cognitive activation appears in which everything is focused on the possible threats presented by the situation. This state is called anxiety. It prevents rational thinking and causes extreme discomfort.

This state of irrational fear leads to muscle tension that makes everything the body begins to tremble. This is because the sympathetic nervous system is highly activated and causes the muscle fibers to receive even more activation signals so that they can react quickly.

Due to this situation, the mind begins to experience different sensations that are produced by the anticipation of death or pain and, in turn, the sensory stimuli that arrive about the current situation and that have to do with the difference in height between the person and the background. Panic attacks can occur.

Increases blood pulse and the person begins to experience a sensation of shortness of breath and therefore difficulty breathing.

The person is unable to adequately manage executive processes such as attention or establishing consistent plans and sequences of actions.

After all the symptoms, it is common for the person to start have a severe headache due to changes in blood pressure and increased activation of the nervous system.

Even though it may seem difficult, Fear of heights can be overcome. To do this, it is usually done gradually (so the person will not be afraid).

The objective is regain confidence and control of emotions and to carry it out, cognitive and behavioral therapy are combined.

This therapy consists of Recognize fears and rationalize them. Thanks to this it is easier to be able to control emotionsDuring the process, an attempt is made to relate the present fear to some childhood events with the aim of finding where the problem comes from.

After knowing what fears and phobias the person has, we must begin with the behavioral techniques. The person faces the problem, leaves gradually exposing to the heights until I reach a high place and feel no fear or insecurity.

3. Relaxation techniques

The person with a phobia is afraid and that fear produces restlessness. There are some relaxation techniques that help maintain good breathing, meditation and avoid problems such as muscle tension.

It is one of the most used techniques to reduce anxiety. The objective is that the air concentrates more in the stomach that in the chest.

Keep a straight posture and place the palm of your hand on your chest and the other in the abdomen.

Inhale and exhale for 20 secondsthis way you will notice where the air is focused. You will feel that your chest moves more than your stomach.

Keep doing it up to 3 minuteswhen you feel that the hand on the abdomen moves more.

Inhale through the nose during 7 seconds in a deep way and hold it for 3 seconds in the belly.

Finally, during 7 seconds exhale through your mouth.

This technique aims to help oxygenate the lungs and also tones the respiratory system.

First you have to relax and find a a place where we feel comfortable.

Breathe through the nose, inhale and fill the diaphragm with air.

Hold your breath 5 seconds.

Expel the air through the mouth slowly.

Blow slowlystop for 2 seconds and continue exhaling.

Repeat this for at least another 2 times.

If you have stress or any worries this exercise will help you.

Keep your back straightplace your index and middle fingers between your eyebrows.

Press gently and place the thumb in right nostril.

Inhale slowly through the left nostril for 7 seconds.

Keep the air 4 seconds and eject it.

You can repeat the exercise by changing the position of your thumb.