Seeking Treatment For A Phobia: How To Get Over A Fear Of Heights

Acrophobia is a common fear. It can be normal to feel nervous and tense when high up. One study from 1960 showed that even human infants and young animals have an innate fear of falling. However, if you have acrophobia, you may find that real-life situations with heights causes you to experience irrational thoughts and feel panicked, scared, and helpless. These feelings may be accompanied by physical sensations like dizziness, heart palpitations, and shortness of breath. If you struggle with extreme anxiety or excessive fear of heights to the point that it makes life difficult, you may be experiencing an anxiety-provoking phobia, and there are ways to treat it to improve your health and well-being.

About fear of heights 

Fear of heights, clinically known as acrophobia, is a specific phobia characterized by an intense fear of heights and it can impact daily life for those affected by anxiety disorders. 

Exposure therapy, a cornerstone of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), is often employed to treat acrophobia through gradual exposure to heights in a controlled manner. Technologies like virtual reality offer innovative tools for exposure therapy, allowing people with acrophobia to experience simulated heights in a safe and controlled environment. 

By systematically confronting their fear through exposure to heights with the guidance of a trained therapist, individuals can work towards overcoming visual height intolerance and acrophobia, ultimately improving their mental health and quality of life. 

Those experiencing an intense fear of heights can seek medical advice and support from mental health professionals trained in evidence-based interventions outlined in resources such as the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-V).

What are the symptoms of a phobia of heights?

If you have a fear of heights or acrophobia, it can be valuable to discern whether your fear response is part of a phobia, which is one of several anxiety disorders found in the DSM-V. It’s one of the most common phobias, and includes a persistent fear of high places that can be anxiety-provoking and affect your everyday life.

With this specific phobia, you may also experience panic attacks when you are at a certain height. Panic attacks may cause physical sensations like dizziness, light-headedness and rapid heartbeat, as well as a range of other physical and psychological symptoms that may accompany extreme anxiety, or an anxiety disorder.

What Causes a Fear of Heights? 

Acrophobia research has found that risk factors for developing an excessive fear of heights can include a tendency to dwell on negative outcomes, observing individuals in the family who have a fear of heights, or real-life situations involving a traumatic experience in childhood. Other possible causes of anxiety-provoking acrophobia may include vestibular or inner ear issues and genetics. Whatever the cause, the fear response linked to acrophobia can make you feel uncomfortable physical sensations such as trembling and difficulty breathing. These sensations could cause you to have irrational thoughts about the situation, triggering a vicious cycle of fear and anxiety. 

If you are experiencing trauma, support is available. Please see our Get Help Now page for more resources.

Co-occurring conditions with fear of heights or acrophobia 

A few other phobias may co-occur with fear of heights or acrophobia. These can be treated alongside your fear of heights and can include the following:

• Aerophobia: Intense fear of being in the air or of flying
• Bathmophobia: Intense fear of slopes or stairs
• Climacophobia: Intense fear of getting down from a height or climbing
• Illyngophobia: Intense fear of feeling dizzy when at a great height (vertigo)

Experiencing the symptoms of these mental health conditions (previously known as mental disorders) can be difficult. Phobias in general can cause intense anxiety and panic attacks when confronted with the feared object, but in some cases, these feared objects can be avoided. In today’s world, it is more difficult to avoid high places, for example, you may have to work in a tall building or travel long distances by plane to see your family. 

The Science Behind Acrophobia

Severe acrophobia can be both a physical and psychological response. When exposed to heights, the body’s balance system (called the vestibular system), including the inner ear, may react, causing certain physical sensations such as dizziness and brain fog. In some cases, an individual may misinterpret these sensations as signs of danger, making them anxiety-provoking and creating excessive fear. Over time, this can lead to chronic stress related to heights. 

Acrophobia can also affect the central nervous system. Specifically, researchers have found changes in brain function related to acrophobia. Brain regions affected may include the cerebellum and orbitofrontal cortex.

How Stress and Anxiety Contribute to Heightened Fear 

Excessive fear or extreme anxiety like the kind associated with acrophobia activates the body’s stress response, often referred to as “fight or flight.”When a person experiences continual emotional or physical stress, called chronic stress, it can result in over-sensitization of the fight-or-flight response, making it more easily triggered. This creates a vicious cycle, affecting a person’s emotional well-being and causing them to avoid real-life situations involving heights. 

How to cope with fear of heights or acrophobia 

Having a phobia of heights can be common. Extreme fear of high places is often instinctive. It safeguards humans from harm and can stop you from getting into potentially dangerous or life-threatening situations, like falling off a cliff or stumbling off a bridge. However, if you’re experiencing a phobia, your fear may feel terrifying and paralyzing. You may cope with the fear in these cases through the following steps. 

Be prepared

If you know you need to be in a situation requiring you to be at a certain height, take time to prepare yourself mentally in order to reduce anxiety. Take a few moments to close your eyes and visualize how safe the situation you’re putting yourself in is. Try to use your rational mind to tell yourself that you won’t fall or injure yourself. Allow these thoughts to become one with your subconscious so that when you start to feel agitated and frightened, you can call on them to help you stay calm and focused.

Take it slowly

Rather than jumping straight into a worrisome situation, confront your fears at your own pace. Begin by setting initial goals, such as standing on a chair or moving a step closer to your balcony railing each day. Work at this gradually, doing your best to tolerate uncomfortable physical sensations, and you may find that you slightly desensitize yourself to fear. Repeated exposure to heights in real-life situations can help in overcoming fear. This is the core concept of exposure therapy.

Remember to breathe

When you feel anxious, you may struggle to breathe normally. Shallow or fast breathing can worsen anxiety, so ensure you get lots of oxygen into your brain by focusing on taking deep, regular breaths. You can also practice relaxation techniques such as progressive muscle relaxation and visualization exercises. 

Don’t be too hard on yourself

If you’re experiencing a phobia, you’re not alone, and it can be normal to need time to overcome it. Phobias may not be overcome in a day, even with the best coping techniques. If you’ve panicked and fled from a challenging situation, try not to be critical of yourself. Be gentle, understanding, and kind to yourself, and take your time as you work through it. 

Treatment options for phobia of heights

If you have been living with symptoms of acrophobia for some time, you may feel that it is time to seek treatment for your height intolerance. There are a few solutions you can consider to treat acrophobia and begin reducing your symptoms, including the following. 

Exposure and response therapy (ERP) or desensitization therapy 

It’s possible to become gradually desensitized to your phobia of heights, although this method can take many months or sometimes years to be effective. It can be challenging to be continuously exposed to heights, so some therapists use virtual reality to help you while you’re in the process of facing your fears. The American Psychiatric Association discusses that virtual reality treatment can be especially effective l because it can make it easier for the rational mind to understand that there is no danger while exposing the body to the sensation. Facing a visual cliff can be less stressful than standing on an actual cliff, and yet offer the same results. 

Exposure therapy involves short periods of exposure to what you fear, which gradually increase in intensity. Each exposure is safe but can cause symptoms of phobia to occur. As you choose to remain within your fear and continue to experience the fearful stimuli, it can train your mind that you are in control of the fear and able to stay safe, even when you feel afraid. 

In therapy, your therapist may task you with height-related tasks such as climbing a steep flight of stairs and tracking your anxiety. Your therapist may also ask you to gradually increase the height while helping you reduce your fear levels. You may also work on relaxation techniques during therapy, such as deep breathing, mental visualizations, and muscle relaxation. Knowing the skills to help you control your emotions can aid you when encountering fearful situations.

Using Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy to Overcome Fear

A more modern treatment for phobias, including acrophobia, is virtual reality exposure therapy. With this approach, you can experience real-life situations involving heights without actually exposing yourself to the trigger. Instead, you’ll use VR technology to confront your fears and reduce anxiety in a simulated environment. With therapist guidance, you can gradually increase the intensity of each situation so that each is more anxiety-provoking than the last. This repeated exposure can eventually help you overcome fear of heights. 

Medications to help overcome phobia of heights

Medications are often used in the treatment of phobias. Consult with your doctor before starting, changing, or stopping any medication. 

Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT)

CBT is a type of therapy that targets the underlying concerns that have led to your phobia. You may learn to understand your fears and worries to better equip yourself with the tools you need to overcome your phobia. The therapy involves two main aspects:

• Cognitive therapy: Cognitive therapy focuses on how negative thoughts add to your anxiety

• Behavior therapy: Behavior therapy focuses on how you react and behave in anxiety-triggering situations

CBT is often successful in treating a fear of heights. The therapy focuses on pinpointing unwanted images and thoughts associated with acrophobia. Your therapist works with you on replacing these with positive ones. You can then modify your fearful reaction, so it becomes a positive one. 

Complementary therapies

As you explore your fear with the help of a therapist, complementary therapies can also be incorporated into your life to help you find a balance in your symptoms, including the following: 

• Biofeedback: Biofeedback uses sensors to track physiological functions. For example, muscle tension, heart rate, and breathing may be tracked. You can then recognize your body’s anxiety responses and learn to control them via relaxation techniques.
• Hypnosis: Hypnosis is sometimes used to help people face their worries. It can help a client re-evaluate their fear and see the cause of the fear in a unique light. 
• Relaxation Techniques: Relaxation techniques help you feel better emotionally when coping with a phobia. Visualizations, mindfulness meditation, controlled breathing, and progressive muscle relaxation are some techniques often taught in therapy.

Practical Ways to Manage Acrophobia

If you want to try self-help for acrophobia, there may be some effective coping strategies you can try. Some of these may include:

• Use deep breathing exercises. 
• Practice relaxation techniques like mindfulness. 
• Gradually expose yourself to real-life situations involving heights to reduce anxiety. 

Many people find that therapy with a licensed mental health professional helps them tolerate uncomfortable physical sensations when working to overcome acrophobia. 

Counseling options 

If you’ve tried self-help strategies to reduce anxiety related to acrophobia with little to no results, it may be time to seek support in the form of professional treatment. Therapy with a mental health professional is one of the most common treatment options for specific phobias like severe acrophobia. A therapist may use evidence-based techniques such as exposure therapy to help you in overcoming fear of heights, including repeated exposure to virtual or real-life situations. 

However, therapy can benefit you even if you’re not experiencing a phobia and want to discuss your fears or anxiety with a professional. You do not have to have a diagnosis to see a therapist. In addition, if you face barriers to treatment, such as cost, availability, or other factors, you might benefit from online therapy. 

Research shows that online treatments in clinical psychology are effective in helping clients diagnose acrophobia and overcome a fear of heights. One study published in The Journal of the American Medical Association-Psychiatry found that virtual cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) was a beneficial way for clients to confront acrophobia. This specific form of CBT involved exposing those afraid of heights to situations that mimicked fearful experiences via a virtual reality platform. Participants with this mental health condition reported fewer symptoms of acrophobia post-treatment, and researchers noted that the low cost of this mode of therapy made it a practical choice.

In addition, online therapy is a flexible and convenient modality. Without having to commute to and from an office, you can work on pinpointing the thoughts that trigger acrophobia and understanding how to better manage those situations from home. You can also book sessions around your schedule without a waiting list. If you’re interested in getting started, you can sign up with a platform like BetterHelp anytime.