How to get over a fear of heights

BigSur

New Member
Messages
75
Points
0
Hey folks, I used to have a really bad fear of heights and I just wanted to post this to help others who might have this problem. I used the "gradual desensitization" method and eventually I built up momentum to power through it!

wikihow(dot)com/Overcome-Fear
 

Newanderthal

Member
Messages
903
Points
18
I've been terrified of heights since I was a kid and nothing I've ever tried has helped me in the slightest. My solution is to just ignore my fear and do what brings me joy. If I find myself terrified, that's just part of the fun.
 

ppine

Forester
Messages
3,931
Points
113
Location
Minden, NV
New,
Being terrified has never been my idea of fun. I was a commercial electrician once for 4 years during a bad recession in the early 1980s. I was on exposed extension ladders and scaffolding all the time, sometimes working hot electrical circuits, and high voltage. I learned all about fear. In the beginning my knees were knocking, but I got used to it. Gradual desensitization works.
 

Pathfinder1

Well-Known Member
Messages
3,716
Points
48
Location
Liberty, N.Y. Lower Catskill Mountains.
Hi...


I'm not at all uncomfortable on a plane of any size in the air.

Yet, if I am standing on the ground high in the air (a sharp precipice or a tall cliff, for examples), I'm not at all enthused about that...!!

Still, going up and down the Washington Monument didn't bother me at all, as I recollect. Same with the old fire towers in the Catskills. Go figure...!!
 

Grandpa

Well-Known Member
Messages
5,904
Points
113
Location
SE Idaho
I sometimes freak out on heights, but other times I can control my fear. An example, I choked like a chicken 50 ft from the top of clouds rest in Yosemite, but the next day I went up half dome without a problem.
 

CaverGroupie

New Member
Messages
102
Points
0
It's not about being high up for me. I'm like Pathfinder, it's being exposed, or in danger of falling. As long as I'm "clipped in" to a rope, or in a plane I'm fine. I did not care for the edge of the Grand Canyon.
 
Messages
76
Points
8
Location
SC
I've never been able to successfully cure myself of my fear of heights. I just force myself to power through it. I managed to cross the mile-high swinging bridge on Grandfather Mountain by myself, and while I was terrified the entire time, it was actually kind of fun. Weird how that works.
 

Marlowe

New Member
Messages
81
Points
0
It varies for me. High mountains and cliffs are okay and I enjoy it. But tall buildings, no way. Driving over high bridges, okay, but not walking. I opted against zip-lining when I had the chance. Flying in airplanes I'm okay, but I am most religious during takeoffs and landings.
 

dinosaur

troublemaker
Messages
3,956
Points
83
Location
Indiana
Yeah, jumping out of a perfectly good aircraft does seem to be an insane act. If you are in this position and about to commit the unutterable, it seems so crazy that it becomes enticing. This has something to do with the unknown you haven't explored and a few other syndromes psychologists use to keep you coming back for more sessions at $250 per hour while they listen to your interminable bulls**t and tell you that you're making progress.

Take the plunge. What do you have to lose? Everybody dies. If you want to wait to see your grandchildren grow up, wait. Take the dive when everybody grows up.

I promised my father I would take care of my mother when he died. I did so. I stayed away from everything she thought was dangerous until she died. She's been dead for over a year. Within a month I had a motorcycle, something she did not approve of but I had been riding for thirty years.

I am in the process of creating a landing strip on my land for an ultralight aircraft and plan on flying over any area I can reach. My commitments are over. I've got nothing to lose. I have to do it. If you don't live, you die. Live. Really live.
 

Campfire Girl

New Member
Messages
25
Points
0
As long as my feet are planted on solid ground I'm fine. I know mountains are solid but you won't find me doing any mountain climbing or walking across swinging bridges.
 
Messages
76
Points
8
Location
SC
I've pushed myself to do a lot of things I wouldn't have otherwise done, simply to see if I could handle it. Despite my fear of heights, I'd love to go zip lining one day. It seems like a lot of fun!
 

Woodland

Member
Messages
51
Points
8
Hi...


Get hold of a skydiving instructer...strap on your two 'chutes...get up to altitude...and have him push you out...!!
Well, Pathfinder1, that would be a quick way to get over your fears!

I'm not afraid of heights but like others on here, there are certain situations that scare me. The edge of a high cliff or a high roof make me feel nervous and dizzy when I look down. I need some type of railing to feel comfortable about not accidentally falling over the side.
 

Grandpa

Well-Known Member
Messages
5,904
Points
113
Location
SE Idaho
When in high places, I find myself looking at the structure and wondering. Did the guy who welded this railing know what he was doing, as I inspect his welds? On top of the Stratisphere in Vegas, where the windows slope outwards, I saw people with their hands on the windows so they could look straight down. All I could think of was "will that glass hold?". When I ride a carnival thrill ride, I'm looking at the anchors and contemplating how much torque or stress is being put on them.

But fear or no fear, I'm going to keep pushing myself to the limit. Like Dino says, it's time to live. So I am celebrating my fear of heights this March. Going to Africa and climb Mt. Kilimanjaro. I'm already to old to die young. I already know how my kids turned out. I'm even now watching my 4th generation getting a start, so it's time to live. Which is what I've been doing the past 15 years.
 

ppine

Forester
Messages
3,931
Points
113
Location
Minden, NV
I know a two guys that packed mules in the Grand Canyon for the NPS. They talk about the amount of fear mules have at first in the Canyon and how some can never overcome it. They are pack mules the first couple of years, before ever being ridden under those conditions. One of the hardest parts of the trail is at the bottom, where there is a tunnel that is completely dark. It makes a sharp right hand turn right before the swinging suspension bridge that goes to Phantom Ranch. yikes.
 

HardyC

New Member
Messages
25
Points
3
Location
Tuper Lake, NY
When I was younger I used to be afraid of heights. Even trying to jump off the high dive at our local pool would send me into a cold sweat. But, when I hit my teen years, I spent my time slowly rock-climbing at different levels and now I am proud to say that I just recently climbed my 42nd high peak on Seward Mountain in under 9 hours!
 
Top