Acrophobia occurs when a person feels anxious or panicked in high places.
What You Need to Know About Acrophobia
For individuals with acrophobia, crossing a bridge or even seeing a photo of a mountain and its surrounding valley can trigger feelings of fear and anxiety, significantly impacting their lives.
Symptoms
The primary symptom is an intense fear of heights, manifesting as panic and anxiety. Some individuals only experience this feeling in extremely high places, while others are afraid of any height, including climbing a small ladder or sitting in a high chair.
Some individuals only experience this feeling in extremely high places.
Other symptoms may include:
- Increased sweating, chest pain or tightness, and a racing heart when seeing or thinking about high places.
- Feeling nauseous or dizzy when seeing or thinking about heights.
- Intense fear of being trapped somewhere high.
- Trembling when faced with heights.
- Dizziness or a sensation of falling or losing balance when looking up at a height or down from a high place.
- A strong desire to avoid high places.
Causes
Acrophobia can sometimes develop due to a traumatic experience related to heights, such as falling from a height, witnessing someone else fall, panic attacks, or other negative experiences while at a height.
Phobias, including acrophobia, can also develop without a clear cause, often due to genetic or environmental factors. For instance, you may be more likely to fear heights if someone else in your family has the same condition.
Diagnosis
A psychiatrist may ask the patient to describe their symptoms when faced with heights to make a diagnosis.
Treatment
Exposure Therapy
Exposure therapy is considered one of the effective treatments for specific phobias. In this type of therapy, patients learn to confront their fear by viewing images or videos of people crossing ropes, climbing, or navigating tall buildings.
Once they become psychologically accustomed, patients can go onto balconies or stairs to practice relaxation techniques to help conquer their fears.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) can be beneficial for individuals who do not feel ready to try exposure therapy. The therapist teaches patients how to reframe negative thoughts about heights.
Medication
There is no specific medication for treating phobias. However, certain medications may help reduce panic and anxiety symptoms, such as beta-blockers or sedatives.
Virtual Reality Experience
Instead of confronting real-life fears in high places like buildings or staircases, patients can experience them in a virtual reality (VR) setting on a computer screen, in a safe environment. The software application allows users to stop the experience immediately if it becomes overwhelming, minimizing risk to their safety.
