What is Acrophobia?

Acrophobia is the fear of heights. People who have this fear may avoid climbing
ladders, being on roofs of buildings, driving over mountains or bridges, and sometimes
stairwells and railings. The origin of the word acro is Greek (meaning high, highest,
highest point, top or tip end) and phobia is Greek (meaning fear). Acrophobia is
considered to be a specific phobia, which is discussed on the home page. Acrophobia is
also known as Altophobia and related to Aeroacrophobia (Fear of open high places).
What are the causes?
It is generally accepted that phobias arise from a combination of external events (i.e.
traumatic events) and internal predispositions (i.e. heredity or genetics). Many specific
phobias can be traced back to a specific triggering event, usually a traumatic experience
at an early age. Social phobias and agoraphobia have more complex causes that are not
entirely known at this time. It is believed that heredity, genetics, and brain chemistry
combine with life-experiences to play a major role in the development of phobias.
What are the symptoms?
As with any phobia, the symptoms vary by person depending on their level of fear. The
symptoms typically include extreme anxiety, dread and anything associated with panic
such as shortness of breath, rapid breathing, irregular heartbeat, sweating, excessive
sweating, nausea, dry mouth, nausea, inability to articulate words or sentences, dry
mouth and shaking. .
Treatments.
Medicine can be prescribed, but please note that these medications can have side effects
and/or withdrawal systems that can be severe. It is also important to note that medicines
do not cure phobias, at best they only temporarily suppress the systems. However, there
are treatments for phobias, which include counseling, hypnotherapy, psychotherapy, and
Neuro-Linguistic programming. It also can be treated using Virtual reality which is a
computer-simulated environment that can simulate physical presence in places in the
real world or imagined worlds. The primary use of VR in a therapeutic role is its
application to various forms of exposure therapy, ranging from phobia treatments to
newer approaches to treating PTSD. A very basic VR simulation with simple sight and
sound models has been shown to be invaluable in phobia treatment, like zoophobia, and
acrophobia, as a step between basic exposure therapy such as the use of simulacra and
true exposure. A much more recent application is being piloted by the U.S. Navy to use
a much more complex simulation to immerse veterans suffering from PTSD in
simulations of urban combat settings. Much as in phobia treatment, exposure to the
subject of the trauma or fear leads to desensitization, and a significant reduction in
symptoms.
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