People who are afraid of heights....?!
Question: It's called a phobia because it's an 'irrational' fear, but I want to understand the mindset of it. If you're on top of a building and there's a railing in front of you, what exactly do you think is going to happen? Try to rationalize it for me, please.
Thank you.
Answers: It's called a phobia because it's an 'irrational' fear, but I want to understand the mindset of it. If you're on top of a building and there's a railing in front of you, what exactly do you think is going to happen? Try to rationalize it for me, please.
Thank you.
I'm not afraid of heights, but my brother is terrified of them. He says that he knows, logically, that nothing will happen. He knows that the building is safe, the railing is screwed in tight, the floor is solid, etc. He knows that nothing will happen but a panic response flows through him automatically. He says it makes him feel crazy because mentally he's not *afraid*, but the physical response happens anyway. He gets light headed, feels nauseous sometimes, and feels that flight or fight response kick in, the urge to back away from the edge.
Sometimes when he looks off, he says it's like tunnel vision. The ground rushes up towards him and he feels sick, not from fear but from the physical reaction to the mental movement.
It's looking down that causes the fear. The minute you look down it's like you feel yourself in the air falling. You can't separate looking from falling, I guess, that's it.
It is just an intense feeling that comes over me and makes me afraid to move. It is not like I am thinking I am going to fall or anything. I am not having a rational or irrational thought in my head, it is just a feeling. It is just a fear instinct.
Well I'm certainly afraid. I'm scared that I'll fall. You feel like you're falling the minute you look down, its just a "BAM!" feeling. Like, you can't look down without feeling like you're in mid air.
Also, I'm scared that whatever is keeping me up so high will make me fall suddenly, because it breaks or whatever.
I've found that my fear of heights is really a fear of edges.
I can go in tall buildings and look out windows, but if I get too close to the edge I get really nervous. I think it's the "what if" scenarios that go on in my head....what if i get bumped by somebody?....what if the rail breaks when I'm leaning over it?...what if the edge crumbles beneath me?
when i look down i fell like im going to die it freaks me out
You feel like your going to fall, or somebody is going to push you from behind. You might also fear that the building is going to fall over. It's all about the fear of death and thinking what is the worst that can happen to me if I go on top of this building. You don't care that theirs a railing because that railing can break as well lol! Hope I helped:)
Phobias are just that -- irrational fear. I agree with the person who said fear of "edges" -- I totally agree. I can be on a very tall or high area as long as I don't think I'm on the edge.
It doesn't have to make sense... it's simply a part of your irrational fear-center taking control of your logical thinking.
Well, for me, I'm afraid the railing is going to break and I'll fall. Sometimes if I look down, it looks so high and that's what freaks me out.