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I’ve always had problems with heights, perhaps to an irrational degree. Growing up, we had a fold-down ladder that led from the garage to the attic, and for years, I hated climbing it. Once I got used to that, I found the courage to climb the big oak tree in our backyard — until I fell out of it one day, smacking my head on a few branches on the way down and landing in a big pile of spiny plants. Ouch. I figured heights weren’t for me and that was that, and for years I avoided them. Until recently, that is.
My wife joined a climbing gym, and I started to tag along. Then in New Zealand, I realized that my having any fun at all kind of depended on me facing this fear — or at least managing it — so that I could do the helicopter tours, small plane flights, paragliding, walks along rickety swing bridges and scenic drives up hair-raising, barrier-less switchbacks without having panic attacks. I succeeded to a degree — here’s proof — and it got me wondering about acrophobia, the fear of heights, and what makes it tick. Here’s some of what I learned.
Latching onto that early falling-out-of-tree episode, I grew up believing my fear was mostly associative. But I was wrong — unlike most phobias, acrophobia is one of the few that’s non-associative. Studies have shown that you’re not conditioned to be afraid of heights; it’s more of a hard-wired, Darwinian thing. An experiment called the “visual cliff” done on babies (creepy!) proved that even infants are wary of heights: when presented with a glass floor that had a clear view of a 10-foot drop beneath it, many infants, toddlers and young animals were reluctant to venture onto it.
So why the differences in people’s experiences of acrophobia? Why can my wife climb a 30-foot wall with merely a rope attached to her waist while I get the willies at half that height? Researchers have wondered this too, and some have found that a person’s balance is a key factor. It should surprise no one that people with balance disorders usually report a fear of heights, but it seems this is a two-way street; having a fear of heights may indicate that you have a balance disorder, if only a slight one. From Wikipedia’s surprisingly adept entry on the subject:
The human balance system integrates proprioceptive, vestibular and nearby visual cues to reckon position and motion. As height increases visual cues recede and balance becomes poorer even in normal people. However most people respond by shifting to more reliance on the proprioceptive and vestibular branches of the equilibrium system. An acrophobic, on the other hand, continues to overrely on visual signals whether because of inadequate vestibular function or incorrect strategy. Locomotion at a high elevation requires more than normal visual processing. The visual cortex becomes overloaded resulting in confusion. Some proponents of the alternative view of acrophobia warn that it may be ill-advised to encourage acrophobics to expose themselves to height without first resolving the vestibular issues. Research is underway at several clinics.
This phenomenon, by the way, is totally distinct from that of vertigo, a rarer disorder in which sufferers experience acute dizziness triggered by certain visual stimuli (usually peeking over the edges of tall things). In any case, the idea that my fear of heights is related to my balance makes a lot of sense to me, because let’s face it — I’ll never be a ballroom dancer. My balance sucks. My wife, on the other hand, does Pilates twice a week and spends a lot of time building up the strength in her core (ie, her center of balance), which must have something to do with it, and also — crucially, I think — she’s pretty short, and I’m pretty tall.
Here comes my crazy hypothesis, and the reader response portion of the blog. I’m 6′3. My center of gravity is higher than most people’s, and it’s common knowledge that, as in the case of some high-set, flip-prone SUVs, it’s harder to stay upright when your center of gravity is raised. (Ever see a low-rider flip over? It’s hard to do.) By extension, doesn’t it make sense that tall people are more likely to be afraid of heights than short people? I’ve certainly met more tall agoraphobics in my life than short ones, though it’s my no means a rule. But answer me this:
Are you afraid of heights?
If so, do you feel your fear is tied to a particular traumatic event you experienced, or totally non-associative?
And finally — how tall are you?
Comments (52)
Comment
Yes, I’m terrified of heights, but only when I’m standing and as long as there is no rail or something to hold me in. I won’t even climb a set of stairs unless I’m holding onto something.
Mine stems from my horrid balance (I’m horrible at pilates). This explains why I can ride in helicopters and stand at the edge of something that has a rail–I know balance doesn’t matter here.
Unlike you, Ransome, mine has nothing to do with height. I’m a measly 5′4″. My 6′4″ boyfriend, on the other hand, has no problem with heights–he’s a daredevil though.
posted by nutmeag on 4-30-2008 at 10:57 am
To start, I’m about 6′3″ tall.
I have no real problem with heights, I used to do lighting work in the theatre. It was nothing for me to climb a 50 foot vertical ladder with 50 pounds of light over my shoulder. I could have a nap on a grid catwalk suspended over the stage and occasionally work on lights while hanging over a large A/C duct in the rafters. I don’t do that any more but still have no fear of heights, hanging over ledges and such to get good photos.
posted by Mike on 4-30-2008 at 10:58 am
I don’t have any major problems with heights…I don’t go out of my way to do anything dangerous on anything far off the ground, but I’m not freaked out by being far above the ground either.
I’m 5′0″, but uncoordinated, so I’ve fallen many times in my life. You would think it would be hard to knock me over, seeing as how I’ve got a very low center of gravity (women have a lower one than men…don’t they?), but yeah…that coordination isn’t really on my side.
posted by Fruppi on 4-30-2008 at 11:02 am
I’m 5′3, and I used to never be afraid of heights at all, but then a few years back I started to get a little more nervous. I can still rock climb in a gym and all, but I get a bit scared at heights where I never used to.
And now that you mentioned it, I realize that my development of a slight fear of heights coincided with my inner ear infection that messed up my previously perfect balance (I was a gymnast for years).
posted by Leah on 4-30-2008 at 11:03 am
I’m a little under 5′4″ but I’ve always been deathly afraid of heights. It may have something to do with balance because mine is terrible - I’m always bumping into corners & furniture!
Enclosed high places don’t bother me, for example I don’t mind looking out of a airplane window, but I can’t climb a ladder without wigging out.
posted by June on 4-30-2008 at 11:07 am
My fear of heights is strange. I can stand in a high place with a barrier that seems solid. Butif the barrier seems flimsy or the glass thin, I get scared.
Just two years ago I got a panic attack when I tried to get down from the roof, which seems strange to me, since I used to jump down from the roof when I was a child.
It’s more like a fear of falling or something like that.
And I do get nervous looking at photos of that chinese path made only of chains on a cliff face
My ear canal is slighty deformed. So mine does come from bad balance.
posted by Blackthornhiei on 4-30-2008 at 11:09 am
I actually like heights. I seek out the tallest building in every city I visit (Seattle Space Needle, Sears Tower, etc). I even gotto go into the crown of the Statue of Liberty as a kid). I am 5′3″ tall. That being said - I have inner ear troubles, positional vestibular problems and balance problems. Maybe I am just an oddity (maybe????? lol)
posted by JaneM on 4-30-2008 at 11:10 am
I recently had a pe course that consisted of a ropes course set 35 feet above the ground. As I was climbing up the tree to reach the catwalk, I was feeling the teensiest bit nervous, but I stubbornly forced it down.
I reached the catwalk, and secured my tethers, and had the most wonderful feeling of euphoria.
I’m 5′3″, and that pe course was my first significant encounter with heights. I’ve decided that I love being up high!
posted by Christine on 4-30-2008 at 11:11 am
Gettin’ Down With Your Fear of Heights
I am afraid of heights. The weird thing is I grew into my fear. I remember as a kid having a blast trying to climb the tallest trees. In college I ran wire in 50 ft cellings without trouble. After college I traveled for a living flying started out a breeze but as time moved on I no longer felt comfortable. Now I no longer travel and I try to keep my feet on the ground.
I am 6 foot 1 inch tall.
posted by Rob on 4-30-2008 at 11:11 am
I am not afraid of heights - I have to tell people this over and over, because I AM afraid of JUMPING off of heights. I have no problem leaning out over nothing, but I cant even jump off a normal platform at a pool.
posted by Sarah on 4-30-2008 at 11:37 am
I also am scared witless by heights, even if they’re only 10′ off the ground. I’m 6′1″ and have pretty lousy balance (as evidenced by the fact that I can’t take my foot off the ground while trying to do tree pose in yoga). I don’t mind being at a height as long as I’m not near the edge of anything, like a window or balcony. Looking straight out is fine, but if I can see the ground and it isn’t on the horizon, I start having issues.
posted by Kate on 4-30-2008 at 12:04 pm
I am 5′9 and I am terrified of heights. I wasn’t always scared, though I haven’t gone through any traumatic experience. I remember reenacting the Michael Jordan/Larry Bird commercials (”Off the chair, down the stairs, nothin but net”) on the roof of my friends house, so it wasn’t always so intense.
posted by AJ on 4-30-2008 at 12:09 pm
I am 5′7″. I have a fear of heights that I control. I’m a rock climber. I have gotten used to being 30 feet and even 100 feet up. But above that, I have a panic attack. It is more associated with exposure than height. A 30 foot ledge surrounded by trees is not likely to upset me. A 30 foot ledge within sight of a 400 foot ravine with wind blowing is probably going to cause tears and heavy breathing.
Furthermore the fear is entirely irrational and unrelated to true danger.
Breathing exercises, facial muscle relaxation, and consciously relaxing my mind can get me though a bad spot, but I wouldn’t say these tricks ever make me completely comfortable.
posted by Nicole on 4-30-2008 at 12:09 pm
I have a form of Sensory Integration Dysfunction that affects my proprioceptive nervous system AND I suffered from many, many ear infections from infancy through my high school years (including several very serious cases of swimmer’s ear), so my balance is not good. Heights don’t bother me if there’s something to hang on to, though, and I was only scared of ladders for a couple years after I fell off one and broke my arm.
posted by Joanna on 4-30-2008 at 12:21 pm
I’m scared of heights and I’m 5′5″, while my husband is 5′10″ and rock climbs and has skydived twice. The bigger factor for him is AGE not height.
He skydived at age 20 and 21, now at 37 he’d rather be roped to a belayer, not tethered to some drunk jumpmaster. (true story)
posted by Emily on 4-30-2008 at 12:22 pm
Forgot — I’m 5′5″. I have wide hips, but I also have broad shoulders so I think my center of gravity is pretty normal for my height.
posted by Joanna on 4-30-2008 at 12:24 pm
I am 6′1
I am very afraid of certain types of heights…
airplanes, helicopters, sears tower, none of those bother me, in fact I love those things, I can spend hours on the ob deck in the Sears tower, and have worked many jobs downtown Chicago that put me well above 40 floors, loved it…
that being said…
Ladders, roofs, ledges, rock climbing and the such, can NOT do it… FREAKS me out!!! Even some bridges make ye ol liver quiver and assehole snort and quiver, if ya catch my drift.
Where I now work there is a series of catwalks above a large atrium, the highest one is about 4-7 stories high, and I walk across it, but if I go to the edge and look over, forget it… matter of fact I dont do that, it is making my heart race just thinking about it…
I do get the feeling of being off balance and sometimes dizzyish when I look down from a ladder or over a ledge…
I first went inside the St Louis Arch as a 7 year old kid, I got off the elevator all excited to check it out, and I looked around and hit the floor and crawled to the other side and begged my way on the next elevator ride down.
years later as a 23 year old man, i tried it again, determined to beat the fear, i lasted a little longer, but not much it wasn’t long before the pale face, cold sweat panic attack set in, and i got the hell out of there…
I am not known for being graceful, i tend to be a little of a “clutz” off balance? not sure…
posted by RodneyB on 4-30-2008 at 12:31 pm
I think the whole scared/not scared of heights has to do with how we each react to fear. E.g., those who turn fear into adrenaline and then euphoria feel great up high, but those like me who react badly to the fear hate it.
I’m 6′0″ and have a serious fear of falling and a touch of my father’s vertigo. I can be up high, however, as long I look up and not down.
posted by Lindsey on 4-30-2008 at 12:42 pm
Terrified of heights–this includes bridges, ladders, and oh yeah, going up inclines (like driving up a steep hill).
The only traumatic experience I can think of was when I was about 4 and I was crossing a suspension-type footbridge with my cousin and grandmother; my cousin thought it waould be hilarious to rock the bridge once I got to the middle. I immediately froze up and bawled my head off until my grandmother came and got me.
I have pretty good balance–I was good at gymnastics in high school, but then again, only the floor stuff, as the beam and bars scared the crap out of me.
I’m 5′6″.
posted by frumpiefox on 4-30-2008 at 12:51 pm
I’m 5′1″, don’t have a a fear of heights at all AND I’m a clutz. I hopped the fence at the Marin Headlands to get right to the edge of the cliff for pictures without incident, though. Thankfully.
The only traumatic falls I remember are falling off the top bunk while sleeping and waking up as I smacked the floor and wearing shoes with slippery soles and busting my butt in the hall right in front of the guy I was had a crush on. Neither of which would really create a fear of heights.
posted by nikki on 4-30-2008 at 1:11 pm
i’m 5′10″ which i understand is tall for a woman. i’m not afraid of heights (as long as i’m not in a mall) but i do tip over while just standing, but never when moving. i worked as an investigator for environmental consultants which required climbing tall buildings to take photos from the roof. usually i would have to get to the very ledge or on top of a parapet to get a good shot. i was almost blown off of a roof about 20 stories high. but that never bothered me.
but i’m afraid of malls. usually malls are quite a few stories tall with that empty abyss of a space looking down to the floors below with a weak barrier ringing them. these railings usually come up to my hip or slightly lower and i think the center of gravity must ride higher on me than my fellow females. im afraid that some crazed mall patron might bump me into the railing where i tip over and plummet to my doom.
hrm. but maybe its just me?
posted by imelda on 4-30-2008 at 1:14 pm
I’m 5′4″. I’m afraid of heights (and years of various forms of dancing–e.g. cheerleading, competitive baton twirling, etc.–have lent to me having decent balance), but what terrifies me the most about it is the idea or feeling of free-falling. I can handle being on a roller coaster because I’m strapped in on a definite course. Airplanes don’t bother me, either. But there is no way you will ever catch me bungee jumping, for example. And I get dizzy and nauseous when looking out the windows or being on top of very tall buildings (I remember specifically being scared out of my mind when I went to the top of the Empire State Building at the age of 17, for example.) So I’m not quite sure what to make of it, as I don’t recall any specific incidence causing this fear.
posted by Krie on 4-30-2008 at 1:19 pm
I have no fear of heights. I’ve been on all of the rides on the top of the stratosphere (1100+ feet up), two of which go over the side of the building.
I’m 5′4″ and have a great sense of balance.
posted by Melanie on 4-30-2008 at 2:02 pm
I’ve never been diagnosed with vertigo, but I have experienced slight dizziness watching movies and even seeing pictures looking over cliffs and things like that. I am definately acrophobic and I have had panic attacks in high places. I worked in a theater for about a year, and there was always someone else who could climb the ladders but on a slow day, I would inch up the ladders, getting higher each time. I do alot of theatre and it helps to not be afraid of heights.
I still get dizzy on second floor balconies, but if I breathe and concentrate, I can work my way yhrough it. I won’t be looking down of the top of the Empire State Building anytime soon, but I can look out the floor length window in my doctor’s office now!
I don’t think my fear of heights is associative in any way. It didn’t happen suddenly, it kind of grew as I grew. When I was a kid I climbed trees with the best of them, but as I grew taller, it got harder for me to be in high places.
And lastly, I’m 5′10″ which is pretty tall for a girl!
posted by Dana Howard on 4-30-2008 at 2:09 pm
5′2″ and not at all afraid of heights. In fact, I’d go so far as to call myself agoraphilic — I love high places. I’m a roller coaster nut, and I’ve gone (tandem) skydiving twice. (I don’t really feel the need to skydive regularly, though; I just wanted to try it.)
I’m not especially coordinated, but I don’t have any balance problems that I know of.
posted by Tina on 4-30-2008 at 2:40 pm
I’m kind of weird when it comes to heights. Standing on top of a tall building or a mountain? No problem. Roller coasters? Bring on the biggest ones.
But when it comes to low heights, like climbing on a chair to change a lightbulb, or getting on a ladder - uh uh, no way, can’t do it without my legs shaking.
And if it matters, I’m just shy of 5′5″, and have slightly less than a verage balance/coordination.
posted by Leena on 4-30-2008 at 3:23 pm
5′2″ - 115 lbs - I’m the biggest klutz you’ll ever meet - HUGE FEAR of heights. I hate roller coasters (I hold the purses for everyone else at the bottom), I don’t snow ski, Airplane seats MUST be in the aisle so I can’t see out the window. I was the top of the pyramid in Cheerleading in High School and College, and that is about as high as I can go without sweating and shaking…
posted by Christian on 4-30-2008 at 4:10 pm
I’m about 5′8″ and I am terrified of heights. Always have been. My limit is the second step of an average step-stool before I start shaking, much higher than that and I start crying. I freak out terribly on escalators (elevators,too, but too a lesser extent), and will also tense up when I see images of peering over a ledge (I avoid watching episodes of home improvement shows where they work on roofs and playing first-person/certain angles of third-person video games where one has to make leaps of faith).
posted by S on 4-30-2008 at 4:13 pm
I stand 5′4″, and have worked as a roofer and tree trimmer. I did, however have a dog who had to learn to walk on steel deck bridges, the kind found on draw bridges. This could be the cliff thing you mentioned!
posted by gus on 4-30-2008 at 4:33 pm
I’ve found as I’ve gotten older (45) that I’m becoming more afraid of heights…I don’t know why that is, exactly, as I’ve not had any traumatic experiences with it…but where I used to love to fly, now I hate the take-off portion…(the rest is fine)…I can handle being high up, but the journey up (glass elevators, etc) are what bothers me…once up high, tho, I’m fine…
I’ve found recently that when driving in the city, and having to drive over overpasses (fly overs), I have anxiety about it…I don’t like looking at just the road and sky with no sense of where the ground is…I’ve had to talk myself thru it, and once I’m up to the top, I’m ok…
what is going on? I’m 5′8″…I drive a low-slung covertible (roll over isn’t a problem)…its weird…
what freaks me out the most are those pics of the steel workers building the Empire State building…walking around those I-beams, 80 feet in the air, eating their lunch like no big deal..it makes my hands sweat just thinking about it…
posted by donner on 4-30-2008 at 4:45 pm
I’m terrified of heights- although mine apparently is also the vertigo thing. My knees turn to jelly and I find it very hard to stand up straight, literally, when I’m way up in the air somewhere. The Infinity Room at House on the Rock? The only thing that kept me from getting on my hands and knees (which felt safe) was my pride. Balconies on apartment buildings are completely out. Bridges are a nightmare.
I’m short- 5′ 1″
posted by ann on 4-30-2008 at 5:01 pm
Never have been. As a child, I never held on to whoever was carrying me-I stuck out my arms like an airplane and made others do the work. The higher, the better. Now I’m a firefighter (maneuvering on and off of ladders with full hands and big loads!) and rock climb on the side. I climb urban buildings (illegally…) when I can, all the trees I want, and I live high up!
5′5″
posted by Katie on 4-30-2008 at 5:30 pm
i DO NOT like heights. i don’t even like being in a building that is more than a few stories high. i’ve never figured out where it came from because up until a few years ago i was pretty fine with things. maybe it was dealing with earthquakes while living on the 10th floor of an apartment building in guam, but you can’t be too sure. i have terrible vertigo too. i have trouble changing light bulbs standing on a step ladder or chair. what’s funny is i’ve had pretty good balance my whole life! oh and i’m 5′3″
posted by stef on 4-30-2008 at 5:45 pm
I am 5′7′ and have poor balance and coordination. I can go to the top of the Space Needle in Seattle, no problem, but I have trouble climbing up on chairs, step-stools and ladders, even if it’s just a couple of feet off the ground. My husband is 6′2′, and can climb like a monkey. He has to use a cherry picker type lift at work to replace light bulbs in the ceiling of a school gymnasium with no sense of vertigo, while his partner can’t stand to go even half way up. I don’t know what exact bearing it has, but I also get extreme motion sickness, and my husband never gets does. He tells a story of going deep sea fishing with his grandfather when the sea was very rough. Everyone else turned green and couldn’t fish. He and his grandfather were fine, and had a grand time.
posted by Pam on 4-30-2008 at 6:17 pm
When I was 9 y/o I lived in Sarasota Fl. in the country part of it. (I went there on my last visit to the state and the country part was gone. It was wall to wall buildings.) Just down the road from me was this family that were in the circus and they were tightrope walkers. I spent many a day there watching them practice their art on the set-ups they had in the back yard. They taught me how to balance and I could even walk a rope 4 foot off the ground. We moved away and my life in the circus came to an end.
So.. I am not afraid of heights and have an excellent sense of balance. I don’t think I would try walking a tightrope again, even if sober. LOL I am 6′ 3″ and built like a defensive tackle.
posted by Owen on 4-30-2008 at 6:37 pm
I am 5′2″ and completely paralyzed by heights. I also had a loft above the garage with an awkward ladder, but the one and only time I ventured up, I was stuck for nearly six hours before I could muster the courage to come back down. I get nervous going down stairs.
The interesting thing is, I do have good balance. I have danced for years and while I am no professional, I am competent. so this high center of gravity, no balance defence isn’t really sticking with me.
But I wish you more success than I’ve had.
posted by cj on 4-30-2008 at 7:11 pm
I’m 5′3″. I think my fear of heights started out as a learned fear from my mom. She is afraid of heights, too.
Balconies, ladders, etc don’t bother me, but anything over, say, 5 stories, where you can SEE DOWN, really scares me. Even just imagining looking down can make my hands sweat.
I’m ok on airplanes because everything looks so unreal (”it doesn’t exist”). I was ok at the top of the Space Needle, but when I tried to go onto the balcony, I was frozen. I had to get a friend help me back in. Glass elevators aren’t my friends, either.
Part of my fear is the feeling that my body is going to throw itself over the edge before my brain can stop it. I get this feeling sitting at busstops, too, that I’m going to leap into traffic without thinking about it. Ack!
posted by Laura on 4-30-2008 at 7:40 pm
Weird you should ask about this because I was thinking about it just the other day. I fly a lot and have ZERO fear of being in airplanes 30,000+ feet in the air (and I always pick window seats since I love to look down), but I hate ladders over a few feet high, get antsy on really high bridges (Chesapeake Bay is one), and where I used to work, there was a walkway between two towers on the 19th floor in the open air and I would use the elevator down to the ground floor to go between them because I just didn’t care for walking between them. That makes NO sense, since in an airplane, there’s nothing between you and the ground except air, and in a building on or a bridge there’s solid ground. The only difference I can think of is that maybe the “enclosed” factor makes a difference? That’s all I can think of. For the record I’m 5′4″ and female and as far as I know I have no vestibular problems.
posted by kary on 4-30-2008 at 8:19 pm
I’m 6′ 3″, and I only get scared of heights if I’m standing near a ledge near a huge cliff (like the grand canyon… wouldn’t get 8 feet from the ledge). Other than that I’m fine.
posted by Mark on 4-30-2008 at 8:59 pm
i feel somewhat better now.
i’m about 5′10″, average for asian guys i think. i’m ok with high places as long as i’m behind a nice unbreakable glass window or something like that… i’m just extremely danger-averse - if there’s no railing/safety mechanism, i’m going nowhere near the edge.
i went rock-climbing once with a group of friends, found our way to the top of a huge rock with spectacular views over the beach and stuff, and 10 feet away from the edge, we took a photo and i was totally hunched over without even realising it. :( the uneven footing was making me nervous about my balance, and the drop was fairly fatal i think.
yep, and my sense of balance is quite poor. i’ve stumbled just walking on flat ground before.
posted by benng on 4-30-2008 at 10:23 pm
I’m 6′4″.
I’ve always been afraid of heights as long as I can remember.
During our trip to the Statue of Liberty when I was a kid, I refused to go to the top. I have never been on a plane. I don’t remember ever going higher than, say, the 20th floor in any skyscraper. I can’t attribute this fear to any particular experience.
Not only that, but when I’m on the street next to a skyscraper I’m very hesitant to look up at the building. I think that ties in to the balance issue. I don’t have great balance.
posted by Ed on 4-30-2008 at 11:03 pm
You’ve answered everything here. I’m terrified of heights, but have no problem in tall buildings, enclosed observation decks, and airplanes. I have terrible balance, and in particular can not walk without stumbling the higher I go. I’m 6′2″ and have never had a bad experience with falling.
posted by Dixon on 5-1-2008 at 7:43 am
I’m 6′6″, had a meningoencephalitis at age 4 (a complication of mumps, wrecked my balance so badly I had difficulty walking for several weeks, and it never fully recovered), and I’m afraid of heights in exactly the way the theory calls for: I’m fine in planes or inside tall buildings, but can’t step closer than 6 feet or so to any actual height drop like a rock ledge or a balcony.
posted by Max on 5-1-2008 at 8:03 am
My fear of heights, like so many others here have mentioned, is situational. While I don’t like airplanes, I can handle them. However, I get very nervous in those suspended cable cars and helicopters. I have climed Snowdon and though I was okay with it, once we hit the summit, I didn’t want to stand near the edge or climb on top of the big rock to look down. I like solid ground under my feet. I like a railing that doesn’t seem like it will break if I lean on it a little. I am only five two, but I am clumsy and have a vivid imagination. Standing too near the edge of a high place makes me think of all the ways I could slip, trip, or be accidentally pushed. Most terrifying for me, though, are bridges.
posted by MN on 5-1-2008 at 8:26 am
I am a little over 5′4″ and have a fear of heights that, at times is almost debilitating. I think it’s more of a fear of landing, though. I’m an extremely creative person and my mind goes through “What If” scenarios at lightning speed. It’s not really the height or the fall, but the sudden stop at the end that kills you. Or leaves you horribly maimed.
I was petrified that the glass floor at the CN Tower in Toronto (that has held millions of people and is several inches thick with safety devices imbedded in, etc.) was going to collapse under my weight (all of, at the time around 120 pounds) and I was going to plummet to the pavement and be a smear. I screamed at some poor kid because he was running and jumping on the thing (The floor was moving. I swear it was moving). Man, I felt like a jerk after.
I’ve done backstage work in college and I had to get used to the idea that certain areas were not going to just let me go, and as long as I (or someone) had a good grip, neither I nor the lights nor the sound equipment were going to fall out of the ports. But I could never make it up to the grid — the highest point in the theatre there. I’d get part of the way up the ladder and find I couldn’t go forward or back and had to be coaxed down.
I love to fly and (oddly) want to hanglide someday. I hate (think I’m going to die on) rollercoasters with steep drops.
I’m not sure if there’s an exact start to it. I used to love to climb trees.
My balance is notoriously for $#!7 and my mom used to call me the bump-and-bruise kid. My friends say it isn’t a real gathering until I get hurt. I did have a really bad ear infection as a kid. I don’t know if it affected my balance, but I had and still have a really acute sense of hearing (and, let me say, as an adult with sensitive hearing I HATE the idea of those audible teen repellants. And the audible mosquito repellants. Those suck). Meh.
But with all of this, my fear is transferrable. By this, I mean that I’m not just afraid for myself falling. I will be as afraid as if I were the one at the edge if a friend of mine is near (within steps of) an edge. I held on to friends’ ankles when they looked over the edge at the Cliffs of Moher. And I’m always horribly afraid of dropping things over the side (my glasses, for example). My death-grip when I’m on a rollercoaster (there are quite a few of them that I enjoy) is as much to keep me in as to keep my neighbor in.
::Shudders:: I’m going to let this drop now (bad choice of words) and get back to something else.
posted by ACute Angle on 5-1-2008 at 9:09 am
Oh. and I forgot to mention. One of the places we lived when I was a kid, I had the bedroom that came with the garage-roof balcony. I’d love to go out, but I’d never go anywhere near the edge and keep any and all objects away from the one story fall. Usually, I’d sit there to read with my back against the nice firm building wall about 4 feet from the edge.
posted by ACute Angle on 5-1-2008 at 9:58 am
I’m afraid of extremely high heights. Air travel has gotten very difficult for me and I went to the top of the Eiffel Tower, but didn’t get out of the elevator. Lower heights like ladders and catwalks don’t bother me, but I will NEVER skydive or bungee jump of my own free will. I’m 5′3″
posted by karen on 5-1-2008 at 9:59 am
Hey Acute Angle, I think I was on the CN Tower when you were yelling. :) Or maybe it was simply that your reaction is not so extreme as you thought.
I like that theory of visual stimuli. I don’t usually have trouble with heights but the more I can see the worse it gets. Case in point; I recently visited a friend who lived on the 33rd floor of her building and when I got out on the balcony the sheer overload of detail seemed to make me a bit nervous. Standing on the CN Tower (glass floor or observation deck) doesn’t bother me a bit, and I think that’s because everything is so far away it doesn’t feel real. Going up in the glass elevator is fun, coming down is a bit more nervous making because you’re plummeting into that dark hole at the end and the groud comes up reeeeal fast. Note the phraseology; the ground comes up, I’m not going down.
And finally, Ransom, you don’t ballroom dance because you have balance, you dance to get the balance. I’m so much more stable since I’ve started.
posted by Bob on 5-1-2008 at 10:26 am
I have terrible balance, I hate ladders and such, but curiously enough I am fine going up on the grid at school… Not great, but better than the rickety ladder where I work… I am 5′10″. My 6′4″ boyfriend is a daredevil as well.
posted by Kathryn on 5-1-2008 at 10:35 am
I’m scared out of my wits of heights and I’m only 4′10″!
Nope, no traumatic experience to draw on, either.
posted by Heather on 5-2-2008 at 6:22 am
5′6″ and have never had issues. I’m fairly clumsy due to flat feet but, oddly enough, when the chips are down I don’t fall.
posted by Earl on 5-3-2008 at 3:23 am
I’m fairly short, 5′5 or so, but horribly uncoordinated and klutzy. I don’t have a big problem with heights, but I am terrified of going down stairs. (yes, I realize that this is a stupid phobia) I’m also petrified of distances that I can’t gauge- such as the distance between the springboard and the vault. So this means that I have no problem (other than basic coordination issues) climbing up things, but I can’t get down. It wasn’t until I was an adult that I was clued into the fact that my astigmatisms might be at fault. To my eyes, lots of lines in rows/columns start waving and blending together. Stairs are essentially rows of lines. So, I’m sure there’s a name for my bizarre phobia, and if anyone knows or shares my affliction, I’d be interested to hear about it. :)
posted by greenstrawberries on 5-5-2008 at 12:38 am