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Default Oct 22, 2019 at 03:40 PM
  #1
Greetings, all. I am wondering if any of you have experienced a fear of heights and if so, how you dealt with it. Mine has really just cropped up in the last few years. It seems weird to me, because I have no problem flying and sitting by the window. It's no problem. And I can ski off a cliff and it doesn't scare me at all. Skiing is somehow different. But buildings are a nightmare. Bridges, too.

Where this really comes up these days is when I'm on my bike. We have a number of small volcanoes in my city and they are great fun and a terrific workout to ride up. The problem is when I get to the top. I can't bear to look at the beautiful views. It makes me want to pass out. And riding down? OMG. I can't look. I have to just stay focused on the pavement right in front of me, or I will totally freak out. If there's a drop-off to my right, it's literally all I can do to keep going. Last week, it got so bad, I had to stop, get off my bike, and kneel down for a few minutes. I just practiced my breathing and somehow got ahold of myself and then made it on down to the bottom.

Anyhow, just wondering if anyone else has experienced this and if so, what advice you might have for me. Thanks in advance!

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Trig Oct 22, 2019 at 06:11 PM
  #2
I can't say as I've had a fear of heights exactly. But for as far back as I can remember I have always felt an almost irresistible urge to JUMP! Even thinking about it as I write this makes me feel sort-of light-headed & dizzy. I've even had a similar, if somewhat milder, feeling come over me when I was watching a TV program if there was a scene looking down from a great height.

I'm afraid I don't really have any particularly useful suggestions for coping with something like this. I presume some type of exposure therapy would be the professional approach. Nowadays I don't even leave home that often. So I don't have the need to confront these types of concerns. When I have in the past, though, I have simply striven to meet my urges with mindfulness & compassionate abiding.

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Default Oct 22, 2019 at 06:35 PM
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This is something that is recent in me too. I used to love heights but now, it's not fear exactly, it's that I get dizzy and feel like I'll pass out. I too have no problem with airplanes and always get a window seat. But bridges and tall buildings make me dizzy and lightheaded. I used to love carnival rides, but no more.

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Default Oct 23, 2019 at 12:19 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Nammu View Post
This is something that is recent in me too. I used to love heights but now, it's not fear exactly, it's that I get dizzy and feel like I'll pass out. I too have no problem with airplanes and always get a window seat. But bridges and tall buildings make me dizzy and lightheaded. I used to love carnival rides, but no more.
So then, what do you do?

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Default Oct 23, 2019 at 12:40 PM
  #5
I mainly avoid those places and when it's unavoidable I tell myself it's a false fear, that everything is fine and breathe deep. I don't know what else there is to do. It's not logical.

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Default Oct 23, 2019 at 01:32 PM
  #6
Sounds like Vertigo.
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Default Oct 23, 2019 at 05:13 PM
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You know, I actually have vertigo. And this crazy sensation we're referring to is actually quite similar at times to like a mild attack of vertigo. Real vertigo puts me straight to the ground, that's how incapacitating it is. But this heights thing is kinda similar. Hadn't really thought of that--thank you, @lightly toasted!

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