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Posted: 8/10/2011 2:41:26 PM EDT
I have such a fear of heights it's getting sickening. I went to valley fair last weekend and staying on the ground sucked as did hearing the constant bitching from my family about not going on any big boy rides. I finally went on a roller coaster and about had the big one. Anyone here ever beat their fear and if you did how?. I will literally start uncontrollably start shaking and feel like  falling if I'm anywhere up in the air.  
Link Posted: 8/10/2011 2:58:34 PM EDT
[#1]
I bungee jumped off of a crane and it still didn't cure me!
Link Posted: 8/10/2011 2:59:34 PM EDT
[#2]
Just grit your teeth and do it anyway.  Mastery of fear is more important than being too stupid to be scared of something dangerous.
Link Posted: 8/10/2011 3:00:06 PM EDT
[#3]



Quoted:


I bungee jumped off of a crane and it still didn't cure me!

Ya no thanks.





 
Link Posted: 8/10/2011 3:00:23 PM EDT
[#4]
My wife (mostly) cured her fear of heights by climbing the Sydney Harbor Bridge with me on the second day of our honeymoon, she still freaks a little occasionally when up high with little visible support but she is 10x better than she used to be.



Face your fears, preferably in the most outrageous over the top way possible.
Link Posted: 8/10/2011 3:00:50 PM EDT
[#5]
Wouldn't say I've beat it, but the older I get the less I care.  When I was real young I wouldn't ride rollercoasters, etc.  Then in high school I realized I would be missing times with my friends and girls.  Now at 39 I'm the one telling my wife and kid not to worry about rides let's go.  Ladders still make me uneasy, but getting things done around the house makes the wife happy, so usually I just think, "fuck it" and get up the ladder.
Link Posted: 8/10/2011 3:01:25 PM EDT
[#6]
Are you kidding?? There could be snakes up there.....
Link Posted: 8/10/2011 3:02:59 PM EDT
[#7]



Quoted:


My wife (mostly) cured her fear of heights by climbing the Sydney Harbor Bridge with me on the second day of our honeymoon, she still freaks a little occasionally when up high with little visible support but she is 10x better than she used to be.



Face your fears, preferably in the most outrageous over the top way possible.


For me that's what I tried to do. The roller coaster was 120 ft high and I didn't close my eyes through any of it. Scared the ever loving shit out of me and it didn't seem to cure anything. I get sick looking at the power tower.



 
Link Posted: 8/10/2011 3:03:08 PM EDT
[#8]
I used to not like heights.  I didn't like going up ladders or onto the roof.  I started skydiving and have about 40 jumps now.  Heights don't bother me any more.
Link Posted: 8/10/2011 3:05:02 PM EDT
[#9]



Quoted:


I used to not like heights.  I didn't like going up ladders or onto the roof.  I started skydiving and have about 40 jumps now.  Heights don't bother me any more.


Ok, how did you get from point A (scared of heights) to point B (crazy enough to jump out of a plane)?



 
Link Posted: 8/10/2011 3:05:05 PM EDT
[#10]
I controlled them by learning how to rockclimb. I still get kind of a weak feeling in my hands and feet, but at least I'm not obviously afraid anymore.
Link Posted: 8/10/2011 3:05:41 PM EDT
[#11]
My sister can't even drive over a freeway overpass anymore, she has to take side streets around any interchange, which in CA is a giant PITA.  She can't look out the windows on one if someone else is driving either, it literally brings her to tears.  It is getting worse and worse as she gets older, wish I knew some way to fix it.
Link Posted: 8/10/2011 3:08:00 PM EDT
[#12]
I'd suggest going to a zip-line course.

Why? Because once you step out off the blocks, you realize you're not going to fall.  You have no ground beneath your feet but you're not falling.
Link Posted: 8/10/2011 3:08:11 PM EDT
[#13]
I don't mind being up high, but I can't stand being on the edge of something up high. As long as I can stay away from the edge then I'm fine.

This doesn't stop me from doing anything even though I might be scared to death. I've repelled down cliffs, climbed up in some rickety tree stand that was 30' off the ground and didn't think I'd be able to get down and all kinds of stuff like that.

Being on the edge of something up high is literally the only thing I'm afraid of so I push myself through it.
Link Posted: 8/10/2011 3:09:39 PM EDT
[#14]
Quoted:

Quoted:
I used to not like heights.  I didn't like going up ladders or onto the roof.  I started skydiving and have about 40 jumps now.  Heights don't bother me any more.

Ok, how did you get from point A (scared of heights) to point B (crazy enough to jump out of a plane)?
 


Well I had just gotten dumped (not in my right mindset) and was at the gym and saw a thing on tv about skydiving and thought it looked cool.  Went home had a couple beers (felt some fake confidence) and put a reservation for the next day to do a tandem.  I was pretty scared but when I landed safely I realized the heights weren't bad and that it was a lot of fun.
Link Posted: 8/10/2011 3:14:35 PM EDT
[#15]
Link Posted: 8/10/2011 3:16:11 PM EDT
[#16]
I hate being up high if there is no structure around me.  Usually I find myself concentrating really hard to not look down or out far, and lots of cussing and singing to myself.
Link Posted: 8/10/2011 3:21:57 PM EDT
[#17]
I went to the grand canyon and when I got to the edge I felt like falling over into it. My leg was shaking uncontrollably. Tall bridges are a no go for me. I have forced myself up ladders and on top of roofs but anything over 2 stories are a no go and even looking at anything above 3 or 4 stories will set me off in a panic. I've thought about going to the doc and getting a bottle of tranquilizers and going anywhere there is heights involved. Don't even talk to me about flying, right now it's a no way no how, which sucks because the wife wants to go to Hawaii. I told her not unless we swim.    
Link Posted: 8/10/2011 3:21:59 PM EDT
[#18]
Quoted:
I hate being up high if there is no structure around me.  Usually I find myself concentrating really hard to not look down or out far, and lots of cussing and singing to myself.


I'll be dangling from the New River Gorge bridge on an 11mm rope this year on Bridge Day. Heights don't bother me, but that's gonna pucker my butt...

Link Posted: 8/10/2011 3:23:17 PM EDT
[#19]
Never had a fear of heights, but i know there are ways to get over them out there.Maybe repetition of getting on a ladder would help? I don't know.
Link Posted: 8/10/2011 3:24:10 PM EDT
[#20]
I don't mind heights, but widths make me very scared. . . .
Link Posted: 8/10/2011 3:29:53 PM EDT
[#21]
Quoted:
I went to the grand canyon and when I got to the edge I felt like falling over into it. My leg was shaking uncontrollably. Tall bridges are a no go for me. I have forced myself up ladders and on top of roofs but anything over 2 stories are a no go and even looking at anything above 3 or 4 stories will set me off in a panic. I've thought about going to the doc and getting a bottle of tranquilizers and going anywhere there is heights involved. Don't even talk to me about flying, right now it's a no way no how, which sucks because the wife wants to go to Hawaii. I told her not unless we swim.    



When I was little and we went to the grand canyon I crawled on my belly to look over the edge.

I don't like railings that are waist high or lower because I feel like I can just fall over them. I don't mind flying or riding roller coasters except for the ride up the first hill on the big ones. 0-20' doesn't really bother me but over 20' and my hands start to sweat and I get very nervous.

I'm pretty sure it's from when I was little and my mom always telling me to stay away from the edge of stuff because I'd fall off.

I just force myself to overcome my fear. I make myself go to the edge. It still doesn't help me get any less nervous though.

Link Posted: 8/10/2011 3:31:56 PM EDT
[#22]
I have it bad too. I was terrified to get on a plane but did 2 months ago for the first time. I hate being in tall buildings also but a little liquid courage got me outside the top of the stratosphere in Vegas. I'm working on it slowly
Link Posted: 8/10/2011 3:32:02 PM EDT
[#23]
Yes, I did.  I had a fear of heights so bad I had trouble going past the third step on a ladder.  When I was about 25 I got offered a job with a construction company that I really wanted even though I knew it would mean ladders and being up at heights that scared me shitless.  That or humiliation if I took it and failed.  I got pissed, because sometimes you have to get mad to keep going, and I took the job.

I just forced myself to keep moving, going up the ladder, crawling on beams and even walking on them, despite my fear.  I used anger to fuel my movement.

In one week the fear started fading, and in a month it was almost gone completely.  In 6 months I was made a jobsite foreman. I told the foreman who trained me about my fear and he said "I didn't know it, you seemed fine".  I could have kissed the ugly fucker.

After that I'd see guys freeze halfway up a ladder, or on a beam.  Freeze and not be able to move at all.  I'd tell them "Get mad, get angry and keep going".  Some could do it, a few we had to use a bucket truck to get them down.  Most those left with their tails between their legs and never came back.

Synopsis for the TLDR people.  You're a man goddamit, don't get scared, get angry and use that to beat it!
Link Posted: 8/10/2011 3:35:36 PM EDT
[#24]
Watch this, then whatever you have to do will seem like a piece of cake!





Link Posted: 8/10/2011 3:38:00 PM EDT
[#25]
Getting exposure to heights and not falling might be a step in the right direction.

Otherwise keep your arms and legs inside the ride at all times!
Link Posted: 8/10/2011 3:39:45 PM EDT
[#26]
i dont have a fear of height, i have a fear of depth.  
actually i dont like heights but can deal with them, it was a needed for the job thing.
Link Posted: 8/10/2011 3:43:00 PM EDT
[#27]
Have a bear chase you up a tree. You have to keep climbing to get away from the bear.



Unfortunately some bears can climb just fine, so you might still die. Either way you won't worry about heights as much.
Link Posted: 8/10/2011 3:43:41 PM EDT
[#28]
I started pissing off objects, little things at first. I started at the school play ground when kids were on lunch break, I got arrested. Now I do it off radio towers.
Link Posted: 8/10/2011 3:44:24 PM EDT
[#29]
No.

I don't have a problem with planes, just heights I know I'll fall from, live and feel pain from the fall.
Link Posted: 8/10/2011 3:44:47 PM EDT
[#30]
Whats the magic number the military uses to weed out the airborne candidates? IIRC on a show they said that a certain height will bring out the fear in some that didn't know they had it.
Link Posted: 8/10/2011 3:52:56 PM EDT
[#31]
Quoted:
Just grit your teeth and do it anyway.  Mastery of fear is more important than being too stupid to be scared of something dangerous.



This is true.
I used to be terrified of heights. I would sweat and shake on 8ft ladders. These days I'm on ladders and 10 story rooftops for work every day. Make yourself face your fear at EVERY opportunity and you will eventually be cured.
Link Posted: 8/10/2011 3:54:14 PM EDT
[#32]
Heights is my Big One.  I hate 'em.  

Kinda sucked because I worked on large aircraft in the AF.  The top of the tail of a C-141 is 40 feet.  The C-17?  55 feet.  To get on top of the fuselage you come out a hatch aft of the flight deck.  Then there is a walkway about 18" wide going down the spine of the fuselage.  Sometimes it almost felt like I was being pulled to one side.

The AF built a wash rack hangar here.  It has a balcony suspended from the ceiling, above the height of the C-17 tail.  When towing an airplane into the hangar we needed a spotter up there to watch clearances.  Since I would be sending airmen up there, I decided I needed to do it at least one time.  I won't tell people to do something I won't do myself.  I climbed the ladder, walked out the catwalk, and made it to the balcony.  Felt like I was going to pee my pants, but I did it.  Once.

I faced it and overcame, but it didn't cure me.

Now that heights are not part of my job, I avoid them.  The highest I get is a tree stand in deer season.
Link Posted: 8/10/2011 3:54:19 PM EDT
[#33]
Completely overcome? No.  But I am a certified BSA Climbing Director and can do a 90ft free rappel without much worry. It's all about trusting the gear in that case.
Link Posted: 8/10/2011 3:57:34 PM EDT
[#34]
Is it a Fear of Heights or a Fear of Falling

Yes there is a differance
Link Posted: 8/10/2011 3:57:35 PM EDT
[#35]
I got a job hangin iron in construction. Problem solved.
Link Posted: 8/10/2011 4:01:29 PM EDT
[#36]
I have no fear of heights. I fear falling from high places. I'm a lot better than I used to be.
Link Posted: 8/10/2011 4:02:24 PM EDT
[#37]



Quoted:


Is it a Fear of Heights or a Fear of Falling



Yes there is a differance


It's a fear the edge will collapse, the roller coaster will go off the tracks, the ladder will break, the plane will crash, etc.



 
Link Posted: 8/10/2011 4:03:58 PM EDT
[#38]

i used to freeze up, i did a zip line and got the guts to just close my eyes and jump. that helped.

sat in the front on griffon and busch gardens. (had my eyes closed for the first few seconds and thought quit being a panzy your gonna drop soon anyways might as well enjoy the view)

started working as a welder in a shipyard... i like my job and get paid fairly well... fixed ladders and staging took some getting used to but i got over it. today was my first time in a JLG... thats gonna take a few more trips...
Link Posted: 8/10/2011 4:04:06 PM EDT
[#39]
I was scared of heights as a kid from walking over the pier at the beach.

Roller coasters and planes never bothered me.

I was bored one day and decided to go skydiving. That completely killed my fear of heights.


You just have to face your fears. A lot of people do it. You can too.







Besides you gotta die sometime.
Link Posted: 8/10/2011 4:05:04 PM EDT
[#40]
I took up rock climbing.  Seriously; it worked pretty well.

I still have a healthy respect for heights.
Link Posted: 8/10/2011 4:05:54 PM EDT
[#41]
Quoted:
I got a job hangin iron in construction. Problem solved.


Walking across an I-beam way up in the sky has always been something I wonder if I could do.
Link Posted: 8/10/2011 4:06:28 PM EDT
[#42]
Like anything else, it takes practice and conditioning.
Link Posted: 8/10/2011 4:10:09 PM EDT
[#43]
I have no fear of Heights;  I have no fear of Falling; I have a great fear of the Sudden Stop at the bottom.
Link Posted: 8/10/2011 4:11:37 PM EDT
[#44]



Quoted:



Quoted:

I got a job hangin iron in construction. Problem solved.




Walking across an I-beam way up in the sky has always been something I wonder if I could do.


Like these guys? The guy on the right with the burbon bottle is the only way you'd get me up there!

 





Link Posted: 8/10/2011 4:13:15 PM EDT
[#45]
Link Posted: 8/10/2011 4:14:27 PM EDT
[#46]



Quoted:


I know of so many lawsuits and incidents where people got hurt on rides. Stay on the ground at the fair.



I only just hike in the mountains but sometimes I go along some pretty steep trails, it's just a matter of discipline and not letting your fear get the best of you. I don't know how else to describe it
REEEAAAALLLLYYY didn't need to hear that.





 
Link Posted: 8/10/2011 4:16:37 PM EDT
[#47]
Try this ride:




Link Posted: 8/10/2011 4:17:19 PM EDT
[#48]
Quoted:
I don't mind being up high, but I can't stand being on the edge of something up high. As long as I can stay away from the edge then I'm fine.

This doesn't stop me from doing anything even though I might be scared to death. I've repelled down cliffs, climbed up in some rickety tree stand that was 30' off the ground and didn't think I'd be able to get down and all kinds of stuff like that.

Being on the edge of something up high is literally the only thing I'm afraid of so I push myself through it.


That's me.  As a kid couldn't stand looking over the edge of the Royal Gorge Bridge.  Really don't like the lookout on the North Rim of the GC that's got posts and a wire rope.  Have sky-dived and jumped off 20-30 heights into water.

Link Posted: 8/10/2011 4:17:32 PM EDT
[#49]
Jumping out of airplanes helped me.  It's the most fun you'll ever have with your pants on.  I've got five jumps to my credit (then I ran out of money).
Link Posted: 8/10/2011 4:24:00 PM EDT
[#50]




Quoted:

I went to the grand canyon and when I got to the edge I felt like falling over into it. My leg was shaking uncontrollably. Tall bridges are a no go for me. I have forced myself up ladders and on top of roofs but anything over 2 stories are a no go and even looking at anything above 3 or 4 stories will set me off in a panic. I've thought about going to the doc and getting a bottle of tranquilizers and going anywhere there is heights involved. Don't even talk to me about flying, right now it's a no way no how, which sucks because the wife wants to go to Hawaii. I told her not unless we swim.




There is a big difference between getting in an airplane and flying, and climbing on a high ladder or looking over the side of a tall bridge or building.



30' high bugs me, airplanes don't.

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