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I have a fear of heights. What can I do about it?
Since childhood I have had a strange fear of heights. Now as I am growing older, I realize this is preventing me from things I want to do, like travel. What can I do about it?
9 Answers
Gradually expose yourself to a bit of height that created anxiety but is not overwhelming. Keep it up until the anxiety decreases a lot; then more height. In a step wise fashion, you can gradually reduce your anxiety to tolerable levels.
Psychotherapy will help
Gradually increase your exposure to heights.
I would suggest that you see a trained psychotherapist in the area of cognitive psychotherapy.
Since this has been a long-term problem for you and is causing you difficulties, I would recommend that you see a professional. I can’t really tell you who would be best, but I would guess it will take some time. I would see it as highly treatable, however.
Good luck.
There is a type of therapy that is called CBT (cognitive-behavioral therapy) that can help you with that. You need to slowly desensitize yourself in order to be able to not be fearful anymore. See a therapist that can provide this type of therapy for you.
The best treatment for any kind of fear and/or phobia is systemic and gradual exposure in a controlled environment. In my opinion, you probably will be better off talking to a therapist to implement this strategy.
You may need to see a therapist who can help you overcome this fear through behavioral/desensitization therapy.
Psychotherapy with any of the following modalities is helpful:
1. Exposure treatment
2. Flooding or
3. Counter-conditioning (Watson, 1924)
4. Relaxation techniques
5. Counter-conditioning by systematic desensitization, (Wolpe 1958).
6. Modeling
The above therapies can be done in conjunction with biofeedback instrumentation to ensure that the patient is truly well-relaxed before going the next higher item in the anxiety hierarchy. Several indexes have been used in this adjunctive approach, including pulse rate, respiration rate, and electrodermal responses.