Acrophobia - how to stop being afraid of heights?

An obsessive condition in which a person experiences a severe fear of heights is called acrophobia. From the point of view of psychology, it has a positive and negative side. In favor of the first says the strengthening of the instinct of self-preservation , the second - the development of fear before a panic attack, when one thought of the abyss below horrifies.

What is acrophobia?

The natural fear of being on unsteady and unstable support, under which there is an airy abyss, is inherent in all people. The body includes protective mechanisms - they protect against a possible fall and painful death. Acrophobia is an intrusive, persistent fear of high sites, roofs, balconies, mountain peaks and other places on the hill where the surface is unstable.

A platform on which a person is afraid of losing balance, causes animal fear. With this obsessive state the "phantophobia" closely resembles - the fear of the impenetrable abyss, the depth beneath itself. This sensation can appear in scuba divers, climbers, firemen - high-altitude, employees of the Ministry of Emergency Situations. It takes months and years for people to cope with it.

Acrophobia - symptoms

A person knows his weaknesses and tries to avoid situations in which he remains alone with his fear, but if this happens - the sufferer will not envy. In a state of severe stress, he develops a physical reaction: the release of adrenaline and norepinephrine causes the heart to beat in a frenzied rhythm, the hands are shaking with a small tremor, and the legs become "wadded."

  1. The body becomes covered with a cold sweat, ceases to obey, becomes "wooden" because of muscle spasms.
  2. The skin of the face acquires a deathly pale shade.
  3. Fear of losing balance leads to a real disruption of coordination in space: increased fear of height , dizzy.

There is a desire to become on all fours - several points of support create a sense of security. When you try to look down again, acrophobia multiplies repeatedly - right up to the pre-occult state. Serious threat to health acrophobia does not represent, but its manifestations make the patient think that he is close to death from cardiac arrest.

Why is man afraid of heights?

People are experiencing great fear for reasons that are caused by unpleasant experience in the past, mental illnesses, physical exhaustion. It can provoke: an unsuccessful fall, spinal diseases, hormonal failure , brain disease. Qualities of character: suspiciousness, excessive emotionality - increase the fear of heights, the phobia becomes grotesque.

The norm is the use of the instinct of self-preservation under the threat of life. If it were not, the percentage of deaths of people would increase many times. A person who is afraid, but is ready to overcome fear in force majeure situations - acrophobia does not suffer. He does not lose his composure, clearly analyzes what is happening, makes quick and correct decisions.

Fear of heights is good and bad

It has long been noted that people who are not afraid of heights get into delicate circumstances constantly and often create them themselves. These pictures and their own feelings are firmly entrenched in the memory, forming confidence in their abilities . Other individuals at the thought, how not to be afraid of heights, dig deeper into the blanket and prefer to drive away obsessive visual images from themselves.

The use of fear of heights

When acrophobia is released a large amount of adrenaline - this hormone is produced by the adrenal glands. It causes activation of all vital systems. The organism is preparing for a possible fight, for the struggle for life. The blood supply increases, the heart pushes the blood 2-3 times faster. A person feels the rise of strength - it helps to believe in yourself and not be afraid of heights.

  1. Time "stretches" - the daredevil makes precise, rapid movements and the feeling that it took an hour, although in fact it was seconds.
  2. In such moments of life, people are able to analyze life lived. There is a reassessment of values ​​that will in the future change the character and actions for the better.
  3. Overcoming acrophobia forms a sense of self-respect.

A person knows - he should take the wrong step to the side, and life will be finished, so he learns to appreciate every second of being. Indulging in laziness and spending time on the couch in front of the TV is no longer for him. But skydiving, overcoming mountain peaks, flying from a high springboard, long-distance hikes become attractive for him.

The harm of fear of heights

Acrophobia has the reverse side of the "medal". People with a sensitive nervous system tend to self-criticize and underestimate their own capabilities. If they suffer from an inferiority complex, they turn a small problem into a whole tragedy. Against this background, the self-regulation system is malfunctioning, and this manifests itself on the physical level in the form of:

How to stop being afraid of heights?

To overcome acrophobia, psychologists are advised to represent a possible situation with a winning party and consolidate the achieved successes (jump with a parachute or on a "tarzanka", dive from the tower into the water). With constant work on yourself, the fear of altitude loses its scale until it disappears completely. You can begin to get rid of acrophobia from the following steps:

Choose a platform of low altitude and regularly visit it until you have confidence and a feeling of solid stability on the surface. Gradually change the place of "dislocation" to what is higher.

  1. Give preference to the hills, which have protective fences (railings, double-glazed windows, hedges).
  2. With increasing dizziness, focus on one object, peer at it until fear disappears.
  3. Returning to the old place, to imagine that this time everything will be successful, and acrophobia will not prove itself.

Tablets from fear of heights

People who can not cope with acrophobia on their own, treat their problem with psychologists. How to overcome the fear of heights by using pills? To begin with, you should refer to proven means. This is the motherwort and valerian. With the permission of the doctor, drugs from acrophobia are prescribed:

They are classified as daytime sedatives - they do not have a pronounced sedative effect, but can inhibit reactions. Therefore, after using them, you can not drive. Try to cope with acrophobia yourself or go to medicine in search of an easy path - everyone decides for himself how not to be afraid of heights.