Acrophobia: Is an extreme or irrational fear or phobia of heights, especially when one is not particularly high up. It belongs to a category of specific phobias, called space and motion discomfort, that share both similar causes and options for treatment.
Basophobia: The fear of falling, is a natural fear and is typical of most humans and mammals, in varying degrees of extremity. It differs from acrophobia, although the two fears are closely related. The fear of falling encompasses the anxieties accompanying the sensation and the possibly dangerous effects of falling, as opposed to the heights themselves. Basophobia is also sometimes associated with astasia-abasia, the fear of walking/standing erect.
My fear of heights has grown a lot over the years. Things I was okay with doing in my late 20s and early 30s, I freak out about now. I know it’s all in my head but tell my body that because it surely doesn’t think so as it starts to tremble. My Mom (may she forever rest in peace) always took blame for our fear of heights. She had a friend that she saw fall to his death at a young age.
But after thinking about it and researching the fear of heights more, I believe it’s more of a fear of falling. Here are a few brief scenarios…
I have gone on sky trams and they are great. However if it stops, the paranoia kicks in. The “what if’s” start to work their way into my mind. What if the cable breaks?
I have gone up in glass elevators, such as the one at the space needed in Seattle. I can record the whole experience and be fine see video here, I am fine coming out of the elevator and enjoying the view far from the edge. But I can’t bring my self to go to the edge as my body starts to tremble. They have a camera that will take your picture at the top but it’s toward the edge. I had Terry wait in line since its along the edge of the observation deck. I sat on a bench till it was our turn and I closed my eyes as I walked to her, turned around and smiled and walked straight back. About 8 years prior I was at the same spot and fine with being at the edge.
I am afraid to go up two steps on my ladder. If I am holding on to something (usually if your on a ladder though your hands are to busy to hold on) or my wife has her hand on my back. It helps to make me feel more secure.
If I’m watching TV and a clip comes up of someone doing daring stunts high up on top of a building, I can’t watch it without it giving me really bad anxiety. My feet and legs start to tingle, my toes will curl in fear. If I know it’s coming I always turn away and will have my wife tell me when its over. So I can continue to watch the show.
Dreams, now I have heard that a a lot of people have this happen so not sure it’s related but I’m sharing it anyhow. I am starting to doze off at night, I start the beginning stages of dreamland and I fall and jump up out of my sleep. Nothing like getting your heart racing when your trying to fall asleep.
Funny thing is even with my fear of heights and or falling, when we went to Hawaii in December of 2017, we had booked a Parasailing adventure. As scared as I am about it, it’s something I have always wanted to do, and I figured that would be the best place to take that risk. However that morning as we were getting ready to head out to do it, it was cancelled due to high winds. So I still have yet to face it.
Are you afraid of heights and or falling? Share an experience with me…
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I feel that I am the same. Both in that as long as there is a high enough railing (like on the Empire State Building) I feel kinda safe, but also in that it just gets worse with time. Maybe the lockdown due to pandemic has exacerbated it too. Because prior I was able to cross a bridge by foot with only mild to medium discomfort and now it became relatively hard. I haven’t crossed any bridges last year because of lockdown. Maybe I am not used to it anymore, but I have crossed that same bridge a couple of times now the past months and it just feels always the same. I tried to conttol it, but it’s impossible, and the sensation is awful, I don’t know what to do. Maybe I should start therapy, because not being able to walk over bridges is often an unavoidable situation, unlike walking on hills and mountains, for instance. Do you have any suggestions or advice on what to do?