• Question: I have acrophobia, what can I do to get over my fear?

    Asked by anon-186919 to Stewart, Miriam, Marton, Laura, Kathryn, David on 9 Nov 2018.
    • Photo: David Ho

      David Ho answered on 9 Nov 2018: last edited 9 Nov 2018 4:39 pm

      This is a really difficult question to answer because this kind of thing is very personal and different things work for different people with regards to approaching their fears. I’ll start by saying that I’m definitely not an expert in this area!

      Some people can overcome their fears by challenging them — deliberately putting themselves into (controlled) scary situations and realising that what they fear might happen actually doesn’t. But that can make things worse for other people. Sometimes when people are very afraid of something they need help from a doctor to overcome their fears — if it’s troubling you a lot that’s one option you could look into.

      I’m sorry if this wasn’t the answer you hoped for. All I would say is that being scared of heights is definitely not something to be ashamed of — many people have exactly the same fears — and that if you feel able to, trying new things is often helpful. Best of luck!

    • Photo: Miriam Hogg

      Miriam Hogg answered on 9 Nov 2018:

      I think David answered this very thoroughly. You can help get over your fear by slowly challenging it. For example, standing on a chair until you feel comfortable, and then a ladder. But make sure you have someone with you in case you fall (You should always have someone with you when confronting any fear for safety reasons).

      I don’t think a fear is something you need to get over unless its interfering with your daily life. People have these fears for a good reason. Spiders and snakes are a common fear but those animals can sometimes be venomous so being wary of them makes perfect sense! It’s the same with heights, a fall from a height can be dangerous so being scared of heights keeps you safe in a way. But if its getting in the way of your life then you can take steps to help your fear, a doctor might be able to help with the specifics though.
      I hope that helps a bit!

    • Photo: Stewart Martin-Haugh

      Stewart Martin-Haugh answered on 10 Nov 2018:

      I didn’t know what acrophobia was until I just looked it up! I think Miriam and David gave really good answers.

      While looking it up I discovered that people are using virtual reality to treat acrophobia:
      https://www.theguardian.com/science/2018/jul/11/automated-virtual-reality-therapy-helps-people-overcome-phobia-of-heights
      which looks really cool!

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