People with height phobia In addition, a person with acrophobia experiences feelings of fear and anxiety, and avoids going to places that involve heights.

Like other phobias, acrophobia can affect anyone of any age, but height phobia is more likely to develop in children, adolescents, and young adults, so for more details, read on and check out the causes, symptoms, and treatments for fear of heights.

What is Acrophobia?

The phobia of heights. This is a mental health condition in which a person experiences unpleasant feelings upon encountering a high place. It is worth pointing out that feeling concern about heights is normal for all people.

However, people with Aacrophobia experience sensations of disproportionate and irrational fear when they stand in front of a height. This includes everyday tasks such as climbing a flight of stairs, standing near a balcony, or parking a car in a multi-story garage.

Symptoms of height phobia

The symptoms of height phobia are typical of an anxiety crisis. In milder forms, the person suffers from tachycardia, trembling, and excessive sweating when faced with a tall view.

Moreover, people with Acrophobia feel agitated not only when they are in very high places, but also when they only imagine or anticipate the situation they fear the most, which is the fear of heights. Therefore, v here are the main physical and psychological symptoms that acrophobia provides:

Physical Symptoms

• feeling nauseous or dizzy when seeing or thinking about height;
• increased sweating, chest pain or tightness, and increased heart rate when seeing or thinking about high places;
• feeling of trembling and paralysis ;
• feeling dizzy or like you are falling or losing your balance when looking up or down from a height;

Psychological symptoms may include:

• Panic when faced with high places;
• feelings of extreme anxiety and nervousness;
• A feeling of fear and the urge to cry when climbing stairs, looking out the window, or driving on an overpass;
• excessive worry about the future.

Causes of height phobia

According to experts, to some degree fear of heights can result from our natural fear of falling and injuring ourselves. However, thinking about the pain or consequences that can be caused by falling from a high place can contribute to the development of Acrophobia.

In general, researchers do not rule out the idea that a negative or traumatic childhood experience has an influence on the phobia, that is, traumatic situations experienced as a child may be the main factor in the development of Acrophobia.

How is height phobia diagnosed?

The diagnosis of height phobia is made by a health professional, psychiatrist or psychologist. During the consultation, the professional will evaluate whether the patient's fear interferes with his personal life and tasks that need to be performed, preventing him from leading a normal life.

Furthermore, through a series of questions, the doctor will be able to identify the patient's problem in order to interpret whether the patient's symptoms and behavior are just a normal fear or a phobia. For this reason, behavior-related questions and questionnaires will be investigated in detail to aid the diagnosis.

Once the doctor comes to the conclusion that the patient presents with behaviors favorable for the phobia, treatment options will be suggested to treat the patient's fears of heights.

Treatments for height phobia

Height phobia can be treated in a similar way to other phobic or anxiety disorders. Treatment consists of a wide range of different techniques. These include cognitive-behavioral therapy, exposure therapy, use of medication, and relaxation techniques.

In any case, the process for overcoming fear of heights is based on the assumption that Acrophobia is an inappropriate response to a normal situation in everyday life. For this reason, the most commonly used therapies for overcoming fear of heights are:

Cognitive behavioral therapy:

Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is a form of psychotherapy that is considered effective in treating phobias. CBT consists of focusing on the patient's present life, such as thoughts and behaviors. So instead of focusing on past experiences and childhood situations.

Thus, the main goal of this therapy is to eliminate the symptoms of the illness in order to modify the patient's distorted thoughts. In addition, dysfunctional emotions and non-adaptive behaviors are also addressed in CBT.

Exposed therapy

Exposure therapy is considered to be one of the most effective resources for treating specific phobias. In exposure therapy, slowly and progressively the treatment consists of placing the patient facing a certain high place.

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On the other hand, we have virtual reality exposure therapy, which is a type of psychological treatment that uses technology to its advantage. In this type of therapy, the patient wears a type of goggle that is able to take him or her anywhere.

In this way, the patient experiences crossing bridges and climbing stairs through virtual reality, safely and calmly.

Medications

People with height phobia may take medication to relieve the symptoms of fear and anxiety that acrophobia causes. The main medications used to treat this type of fear include:

• Beta-blockers: Some beta-blockers are used to treat or prevent physical symptoms of anxiety, such as increased heart rate. In other words, they serve as "medicine".
• Relaxants (benzodiazepines): medications such as benzodiazepines, used to help you relax, can reduce the anxiety you feel for a while.

In addition to medications and therapies, there are also relaxation techniques that the patient can try. For example:

• practice yoga;
• deep breathing;
• meditation;
• or progressive muscle relaxation

All of these can help you deal with the stress and anxiety due to acrophobia.

Final remarks about height phobia

As we have seen, the height phobia While avoiding heights may provide short-term relief, it does not resolve the underlying cause of your fear and anxiety.

For this reason, it is important to talk to your doctor and seek appropriate treatment for your Acrophobia. So, if you like the text above, and want to deepen your knowledge about other phobias, enroll in our online course on clinical psychoanalysis.

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