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Fear of Heights

I've done a little bit of rock climbing and rappelling, including several rappels off of a bridge that was probably a good 100 feet or more high where I was just dangling with nothing at all within reach except the rope I was hanging from. Had a little nervousness climbing over the rail the first time, but otherwise no problem. I've flown in several airplanes. . . A couple of cessnas, and open cockpit biplane, and a couple of C-130s (I was in an Air Force Jr ROTC program in high school and one of our instructors was a retired C-130 pilot). I've loved every moment of flying. I think roller coasters are a blast. Climbing trees? Great fun! I think I would be extremely nervous on that rock fin though. I have to crawl if I want to get close to the edge of a cliff without a harness and rope attached to me. I've seen some people just kind of stroll right up to the edge of a cliff and look over, then turn around and walk away but I just can't come closer than a couple of yards from the edge without either having something to hold on to or having to get down and crawl.

Also, ladders make me rather nervous. . . Not to the point where I can't make myself go up and down them, but I really don't like to.
 
LeeCQC said:
Foolish? I think that's a bit harsh, actually. Just not everyone shares your particular phobia. Some people are afraid of water, some people fear heights, or snakes, or knives. Personally, I dont fear heights, and I dont consider myself a fool. Dont be so quick to throw the first stone, is all I'm saying.
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Lee, I am telling you, if someone doesnt have a fear, or good honest RESPECT for heights , that person is a fool. I work up off the ground ALOT..and I know that all it takes is ONE mistake....thats all she wrote. IF someone has actual acrophobia..that causes vertigo..then I wouldnt want to be near you up high...I know guys that get nervous up high..and it is contagious.:D I also have a coworker that seems quite fearless off the ground...and personally, I find him to be a liability, that will end in a splat.:eek:


I believe that the fobia of water and snakes is a bit different. They are controlable situations,...falling is a constant.
 
I was stationed on a sub-tender (AS-11 USS Fulton) in New London, CT '69-'72. One winter night, after 'Butch Cassidy' had played in the mess decks, I was with a few guys on the sail of a fast attack - actually, out on the bow planes on the sail. I started shivering - one guy asked why - another said I was scared of height - I said no, it wasn't just that - I couldn't swim. He replied, "What do you care? The fall will probably kill you!" Yeah, I had seen the movie. The cold Thames River - not to mention the waste in it - was actually more dangerous.

I'll hit sixty next month - and I still shake on even a step ladder. Years of wet-mooring a sailboat later, and I still can't swim. I respect knives, wood & metal working tools, and firearms. I avoid upsetting women... unless I reside in another time zone. It must be in the genes - my thirty-eight year old son is afraid of ladders, roofs, etc - yet he has been a commercial jet pilot for years.

Stainz, careful where he hikes!
 
Mine was cured by going to jump school at Ft. Benning. I still respect heights, but don't get the sweaty, clammy feeling that I used to. I had friends at jump school who both still were afraid after jumping, and some who were like me - go figure. Either way, it definitely should be respected!
 
gunknifenut said:
Lee, I am telling you, if someone doesnt have a fear, or good honest RESPECT for heights , that person is a fool. I work up off the ground ALOT..and I know that all it takes is ONE mistake....thats all she wrote. IF someone has actual acrophobia..that causes vertigo..then I wouldnt want to be near you up high...I know guys that get nervous up high..and it is contagious.:D I also have a coworker that seems quite fearless off the ground...and personally, I find him to be a liability, that will end in a splat.:eek:


I believe that the fobia of water and snakes is a bit different. They are controlable situations,...falling is a constant.
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Do I respect heights? Yes. I am fully aware of the risks involved with heights. But, respect and fear are not the same thing. I respect heights, and I try to be -careful- while high up, but that's not really the same thing as being afraid. Semantics aside, it's still not nice to call people a fool. :p
 
3wolves said:
I have a really wierd kinda fear of heights. I will climb a tree or whatever for hundred of feet, no problem there but if I am on a ledge on a mountain, I become terrified. It is probably because I have nothing to hold on to on a mountain to stop me from falling but I can keep a firm grip on tree branches. I love rollercoasters though, I used to be scared of them breaking or something but I have sorta lost that fear now.
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Im the same way. I cant stand at the edge of a building. I have no problem climbing a ladder to get there.

When I was a teenager I had no fear of heights and did some really foolish things , like climbing limestone bluffs. Like the wizard told the lion, "youre confusing cowardice with intellegence" or something similar.
 
It's always interesting to consider your fears, it's worth trying to overcome them too but sometimes this just won't work! I don't like heights at all and having bad eyesight only increases the fear of falling, I always marvel at construction workers who can go up high and they don't seem to mind it at all.But, you can be sure there's something that unnerves them too. Everybody in my family seemed to be horrified by spiders and it was my task aged 4 onwards to capture them and take them out of the house,insects,scorpions,spiders don't bother me at all-although I'm wary of venomous types. Snakes are OK in tanks but encountering them in the wild gets me disgusted and afraid....a neighbour's pit-bull fills me with loathing and hate but that's logical, it's a violent dangerous dog owned by an idiot. But heights? it's not a fear I can overcome,maybe if I were a monkey with a tail that'd be different?
 
I used to have a significant fear of heights, now it's just a good respect for them. The thing that "cured" me was abseiling. Something I would never have done or thought I could do but I was invited to go by a girl I really liked so of course I wasn't going to say no. Got through it and actually enjoyed it and have been a few times since and best of all, my fear of heights is mostly gone.
 
sodak said:
Mine was cured by going to jump school at Ft. Benning. I still respect heights, but don't get the sweaty, clammy feeling that I used to. I had friends at jump school who both still were afraid after jumping, and some who were like me - go figure. Either way, it definitely should be respected!
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Feet and knees together!

It didn't help me any. I'm still afraid of heights. I don't get silly if I look down or anything, but it definitely still makes me antsy. I always had that butterfly feeling when jumping or rappelling. It's just part of being an intelligent being, in my opinion.
 
When I was stationed at Ft. Bragg, there was a saying that the day you realize you are not afraid to jump (airborne) anymore, you are dangerous to not only yourself but to the guy behind you. The reason being, is that if you are not afraid, you can become too confident and perhaps get sloppy.

Once, when I was traversing a seemingly modest cliff hanging, a friend of mine and his girlfriend started laughing at me... The reason? I instinctively started to crawl LOL. The drop was well over 5 stories but for some reason in the back of my mind I knew that if someone (or some "thing") pushed me, I was doomed, so my body got down on all fours LOL. Whatever. I am just glad they didn't take a picture.
 
I recall my Mom telling a story about me climbing onto the roof of our two story house when I was about 5 years old. Some repair guys were up there doing work and I apparently followed them out the upstairs windows. I do recall standing on the roofs edge and looking over. This caused the guys to go inside and tell my Mom to come get me.
I don't ever recall fearing heights , so maybe some are born that way. I always climbed trees as a little kid and gave up my skydiving passion at 18 when my wife agreed to stop smoking if i retired my parachutes. Bad mistake on my part as i look back. It may be an "in control" kinda thing where the fear is concerned. Guess I am never out of control??
 
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