Acrophobia - fear of heights: causes and treatment in adults and children. What is the use and harm of fear of heights?

Fears are a defense mechanism, but many of them carry a certain danger to the individual. Acrophobia or fear of heights is a condition that must be treated as quickly as possible.

Fear of height - one of the most common fears, but in some cases, harmless fear becomes a phobia. What is acrophobia or fear of heights, how dangerous it is and how to cope with this hypertrophied fear - read in this article.

Acrophobia - fear of heights: the causes of

Acrophobia differs from ordinary height fear in that a person suffering from it begins to experience discomfort at

, even at a negligible height, staying a priori can not do any harm. Such fear can be present from the very childhood of or be acquired in the process of vital activity.

In acrophobia, altitude causes a number of symptoms, including panic and even hysteria.

In acrophobia, stay at altitude causes:

• dizziness
• nausea
• muscle weakness( or, conversely, their hypertonicity)
• rapid breathing and heartbeat
• tremor of extremities
• panic attack
• pallor of the skin
• dilated pupils

All listed symptoms of may manifest themselves in varying degrees depending on the individual characteristics of the individual and the strength of the expression of the phobia.

It is important that the in psychiatry and psychology identifies a condition that is prudent when at high altitude, due to the instinct of self-preservation, and the pathological condition of the .

Pathological fear or phobia, manifested not only in the occurrence of the symptoms described above, but also a sudden panic at one thought to be high.

Acrofobs are afraid even of insignificant height

For a long time in scientific circles there was a version that the emergence of acrophobia is preceded by a certain negative situation related to the height of , when in the past( most likely in childhood) a person experiences a fall from height and serious injury. Later, it was found that leads to phobia, not only this reason, but also a number of others:

1. Weakness of the vestibular apparatus - in violation of its functioning, a person is in poor control of his body and orientated in space, which causes fear to fall even from a slight height
   2. Genetic predisposition of ( the presence of mental disorders in parents very often can contribute to their occurrence in children)
   3. Brain lesions ( injuries, infections)
   4. Education costs - the formation of low self-esteem with too strict upbringing that was not accompanied by encouragement and praise
   5. Long and frequent stressful situations
   6. Excessive consumption of alcohol , contributing to the development of intoxication of the body
   7. The totality of certain individualcharacteristics - anxiety, suspiciousness, shyness and heightened emotionality
   8. Developed fantasy against the backdrop of an unsuccessful experience with a highthat

Among the many causes of vertigo - a bad experience in the past

Many experts in the field of psychology believe that the fear of heights is primitive fear , which was preserved in the process of evolution and got to us from our ancestors. So, the primitive man linked the height to the danger to life, and this evoked fear, which was the main link of the instinct of self-preservation.

Confirms this theory and the fact that most animals with good eyesight are also afraid of heights, which indicates the instinctiveness of this phenomenon.

emergence of acrophobia is also characteristic of other conditions:

• aerophobia - fear of flying
• batofobiya - fear of depth, a sense of the abyss
• ilingofobiya - fear of sudden vertigo at altitudes
• climacophobia - fear to go up the stairs

often fear height is innatephenomenon , which is not due to external causes.

The use of fear of altitude

First of all, any fear is a link of the instinct of self-preservation and if the fear of height does not become pathological, then it is aimed at saving life.

A person suffering from moderate fear of height will not expose his life to the extra risks that are associated with it, which is undoubtedly a positive thing.

Moderate height fear is the protective mechanism of the

• . On the other hand, any fear is useful for the at the biochemical level. When the body experiences fear, the adrenaline is emitted into the blood, which brings a sense of pleasure to
• That's why many people like to tickle your nerves by watching horror films. is not an exception and the fear of altitude - the arrival at a significant distance from the ground brings its dose of adrenaline
• This property of fear is often used in psychotherapy: when a person is in protracted depression, the impact on him by fear makes one feel the value of life, the incorporating the instinctself-preservation
• In addition, the adrenaline thrown into the blood under the influence of fear, allows you to get excited and return a sense of reality
• Overcoming the fear of heights Sit personal growth. So, many people, afraid of heights, overpower themselves and jump from a parachute, which allows them to assert themselves, strengthens willpower, allows reaching peaks in other areas of activity.

Overcoming fear brings personal growth

Harm of fear of heights

Strong fears that turn into an obsessionbring only harm to the human psyche. This is due to the fact that a person is often in a state of stress, panic, organs and systems begin to function in a non-standard mode. This can lead the to a loss of consciousness, a heart attack, a stroke.

Wearing of the cardiovascular and nervous system in acrophobes under the influence of stress leads to the fact that they live less than .If you believe the latest research, the fear leads to early death, because acrofobs die 20 years earlier compared with the average statistical data.

Acrophobia leads to depression, obsessive compulsions and even suicide

If the phobia is not treated, then it can progress and then all the symptoms caused by staying at altitude will arise even at the thought of it .This will lead to constant stress, which will provoke more serious diseases, both somatic and mental. Often, untreated phobias lead the to insanity and suicide.

How to overcome the fear of heights?

If fear does not turn into acrophobia, then it can be easily overcome by yourself. For this, there are special techniques developed by psychologists:

1. Practice being at the height of the .At the same time, start with a small one, getting used to it, rise above the
   2. Staying at a height and feeling panic, focus on any object and carefully study it - this will help to cope with excitement and calm fear.
   3. Try to visualize your fears .When at home, in a comfortable and safe environment, close your eyes and imagine that you are at a considerable height. In the thoughts of , convince yourself that there is no danger of the , that you are on a stable surface that can not collapse, and hence a fall from the height is impossible. Do this often and the result will not wait for the
   4. When the fear of heights begins to recede, the can be fixed with fear of parachute jump. Having visited such an altitude and successfully landed, you are unlikely to be afraid to stand on the balcony of the fifth floor. It is advisable to make group jumps with people close to you

Group jump from a parachute

If you can not overcome fear yourself, then should be contacted for assistance of specialist , because you can control it for the time being and it is not known whether fearcontrol you and worsen the quality of life.

Methods and recipe for overcoming fear of height

• Every person is individual and only he has a set of certain unique characteristics that makes him an
• person. There is no possibility to say that there is a technique that can deprive any fear of absolutely everyone - the decision of eachproblems should be carried out individually. best bet here will help qualified psychologist with experience in working with phobias
• According to most psychologists and psychiatrists struggle with a strong acrophobia - extremely difficult task, that resolve on their own is virtually impossible
• Even under the guidance of experts therapeutic measures is not limited to one session, and will constitute a long process of planned and weighted exposure

Treatment of phobia - the case of the therapist

Practice shows that inHigh effectiveness in the fight against acrophobia have hypnosis sessions. By introducing a patient into a trance state, a psychotherapist with hypnosis skills can have a corrective effect, which means there is a greater chance of completely eliminating the phobia.

Video: How to overcome the fear of heights?

Tablets from the fear of height

Drug treatment can not eliminate acrophobia, so the use of any tablets can only alleviate the general condition and to eliminate the attendant symptoms.

Do not believe the psychotherapists, charlatans, who promise to give a pill of phobia - modern medicine has not yet invented it and it is unlikely to be done in the near future.

In combination with psychotherapy to facilitate the patient's condition at acrophobia used such drugs:

• antidepressants - the duration of admission, as a rule, is more than six months( can be assigned to drugs such as imipramine)
• tranquilizers - appointed for no more than two weeks(eg, phenazepam)
• nootropics - drugs that stimulate blood circulation in the brain
• vitamins ( most often Magne B6)

Drugs will help get rid of concomitanttheir symptoms of phobia

Drug treatment should in no case be performed by without the prescription of a doctor , and its effect will be inconclusive without psychotherapy.

Fear of height in children

• There is fear of height in all children - it laid down at the level of instincts. But there are cases when the fear is very pronounced and then they talk about child acrophobia
• Treatment of this condition is extremely difficult, because the therapist is much harder to work with the child than with an adult, especially if the patient is an early child
• A steady fear of heights from whichit is extremely difficult to get rid of, is formed in children after the falls of , which are accompanied by severe injuries. But specialists also refer to hyperopecia from parents as one of the common causes of acrophobia in children

Childhood height fear in children

Very important is the prevention of acrophobia in children, which includes the following activities:

• sporting activities of related to height( skateboarding, biking, climbingsports ladder)
• entertainment , allowing to develop the vestibular apparatus( lasagna on the ropes, jumping on the trampoline)
• parents should not at every step inspire the child with the thought that height is dangerous. It is necessary to soberly assess and distinguish when the height represents a real danger, and when there is no

. The child is very willing to accept upbringing, which is not produced directly but indirectly. Read your child books, tales, poems about how the heroes overcome their fears of and are not afraid of heights. This is especially effective if the child has experienced negative experience associated with height.

What does lack of height fear mean?

In the fight against one's own fears, it's important not to cross the line, because 's moderate fear is the mechanism that is designed to save life in case of danger. Therefore, to perceive being at an altitude with a sense of complete safety to some extent even is more harmful than having a phobia.

The absence of fear is no less dangerous than the presence of phobia

• According to psychologists, the total absence of fear of height is dangerous because at some point, due to its own carelessness, the can appear an irresistible desire to step into the abyss. This is the so-called reverse side of phobia, when it is overcome, there arises absolute fearlessness, pernicious for a person
• If you do not experience fear of heights and feel the desire to step into the emptiness of on the roof of a high-rise building, then this is a good reason to contact a therapist,to talk about a serious and life-threatening mental disorder
• Fears are an integral part of our lives, but if they reduce its quality and strongly bother, then from these phobias must be disposed of. The important thing is that no specialist can not help cope with the fear, if you do not want it yourself. Get rid of fears and do not let them control you

Video: Acrophobia - obsessive fear of altitude