What is Acrophobia?
Acrophobia is a mental health condition in which a person experiences an intense fear of heights. This condition is a type of anxiety disorder.
A person with acrophobia experiences intense fear and anxiety when they think about heights or are faced with heights. That is why people with acrophobia often avoid high places or situations.
Symptoms of Acrophobia
Emotionally and physically, the response to acrophobia is similar to other phobias. Some common symptoms associated with acrophobia include:
1. Emotional symptoms
The sufferer may feel panic when they feel that they are far from the ground. They may instinctively start looking for something to hold on to or have difficulty maintaining their balance.
2. Physical symptoms
The physical symptoms of acrophobia are similar to other specific phobias, and may include:
1. Chest pain.
2. Dizzy.
3. Nauseous.
4. Rapid heartbeat.
5. Hard to breathe.
6. Trembling.
3. Anxiety and avoidance
People with acrophobia are likely to start to fear situations in high places. For example, they may feel anxious about staying in a hotel on a high floor or having to work in a building on a high floor.
This avoidance can interfere with your ability to function in everyday life. For example, you may not be able to go to school, go to work, visit friends, or leave the house because of your fear.
Causes of Acrophobia
Acrophobia usually develops in childhood. There is no single cause, as researchers have developed several theories as to why this fear can develop.
1. Evolutionary
The evolutionary theory of phobias suggests that people tend to fear certain things that may be dangerous. In this case, falling from a height is life-threatening. For this reason, evolutionary theorists believe that the fear of heights may be innate.
2. Behaviorist theory
Behaviorist theories related to phobias suggest that people develop fears through interactions with their environment.
For example:
Observation: A child who observes a parent or caregiver experiencing fear around heights, may develop the same fear.
Trauma: A person who has had or witnessed someone else having a bad experience with heights, can also develop acrophobia.
Conditioning or experience: If a person has a bad experience such as falling from a tree, they may associate that experience with heights. The person then learns to associate heights with falling, making them fearful the next time they encounter a similar situation.
3. Navigation Theory
A navigational theory may also explain how and why acrophobia develops in individuals. According to this theory, certain processes in humans, such as the perception of height, are adapted through natural selection.
Perceiving something as higher than it actually is can reduce the risk of dangerous falls. In addition, people with acrophobia can live more comfortably without excessive fear of heights.
Risk Factors for Acrophobia
In addition to the possible causes above, so far there are also risk factors that can develop acrophobia, namely:
1. Falling from a significant height or seeing someone else fall from a height.
2. Experiencing negative events, such as panic attacks, while at high altitudes.
3. Having a family history of anxiety disorders.
In addition, the risk factors for someone having acrophobia increase if they have the following conditions:
1. Vertigo. A medical condition that causes a sensation of spinning and dizziness. People with vertigo often feel dizzy when they are at a height.
2. Bathophobia. A condition where someone has a fear of seeing slopes and stairs. People with bathophobia may feel panic when they see steep slopes, even though they do not climb them. Although most people with bathophobia experience acrophobia, not all people with acrophobia also experience bathophobia.
3. Climacophobia. This fear is also related to bathmophobia. Climacophobia can occur together with acrophobia.
4. Aerophobia. It is the fear of flying. However, aerophobia has levels of severity. Some people are afraid of airports and airplanes, while others may only be afraid of being in the air. Aerophobia can sometimes occur together with acrophobia.
Diagnosis of Acrophobia
Phobias, including acrophobia, can only be diagnosed by a health professional.
mental health or psychologist. They can help diagnose. The psychologist or psychiatrist will ask the sufferer to explain what happens when they are in a high-altitude situation.
In addition, sufferers need to tell a psychologist or psychiatrist about what symptoms they are experiencing, and how long they have had this fear.
Generally, acrophobia is diagnosed if:
1. Always avoid heights.
2. Always worried about facing heights.
3. Fear of heights begins to affect daily life.
4. React with immediate fear and anxiety when faced with heights.
5. Having these symptoms for more than six months.
Acrophobia Treatment
Phobias don’t always require treatment. For some people, avoiding the object they fear is relatively easy and doesn’t have a major impact on their daily activities. However, if you find that your fear is holding you back from doing things you want or need to do, treatment may be helpful.
1. Exposure therapy
Exposure therapy is considered to be one of the most effective treatments for specific phobias.
In this type of therapy, you will be treated by a therapist to slowly expose yourself to what you fear. For acrophobia, you can start by looking at pictures from someone’s perspective inside a tall building, and watching videos of people walking on ropes, climbing, or crossing narrow bridges.
After that, you will be asked to go to the balcony or use the stairs. At this point, you have learned relaxation techniques to help conquer your fear of heights.
2. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT)
CBT can help if you don’t feel ready to try exposure therapy. In CBT, a therapist will teach you to challenge and reframe negative thoughts about heights. This approach may still involve some exposure to heights, but it’s usually done in the safe setting of a therapy session.
3. Treatment
There is currently no medication designed to treat phobias. However, some medications can help with symptoms of panic and anxiety, such as:
Beta-blockers. Medications to keep blood pressure and heart rate stable and reduce other physical symptoms of anxiety.
Benzodiazepines. Sedatives to reduce symptoms of anxiety.
D-cycloserine. This medication may increase the benefits of exposure therapy.
4. Relaxation
There are a variety of lifestyle modifications and relaxation techniques that can relieve the symptoms of acrophobia.
For example, by doing yoga, doing deep breathing, meditation, or progressive muscle relaxation. These methods can help overcome stress and anxiety. In addition, you will also be helped by doing regular exercise.
Acrophobia Prevention
There is nothing that can be done to prevent acrophobia. However, people who already have acrophobia should avoid heights, so that anxiety symptoms do not appear.
If you are at a high altitude, there are several things you can do to reduce your anxiety. Try doing one of the following:
1. Improve your sight or vision.
2. Try to look at still objects around you.
3. Take a sitting or lying position.
4. Stop the movement that triggers the symptoms.
Complications of Acrophobia
Until now there are no serious complications caused by acrophobia. However, someone who has this phobia can have obstacles in daily activities, such as:
Cannot work or go to school in tall buildings.
1. Cannot work in jobs that require activities at high altitudes.
2. Limited space for movement.