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Acrophobia is described as an extreme, paralyzing fear of heights. This is one of the most common phobias which cause an intense, irrational fear of objects or situations
Causes Acrophobia may occur as a result of a traumatic experience from your past, or a normal fear of falling along with fear of loud noises that causes injury or death. When the fear becomes so extreme it turns into a phobia. Dysfunction in maintaining balance & Inadequate vestibular function are also the contributing factors. Unconscious mind uses acrophobia to protect the body from fearful situations. In other words, the situation is perceived more dangerous than it actually is and the body reacts with a fight or flight response. Most of the persons may feel uncomfortable mildly when they go to high places, and this experience is not limited to humans. Other animals shown discomfort if they reach certain heights too. Usually, the term acrophobia is used only when the person or animal can be said to be extremely uncomfortable, and does go into a panic state when confronted with being in a high place. Main theories used to explain this phenomenon suggest that like all phobias, the fear became uncontrollable after a traumatic incident in early childhood. Most of the animals on experiments has shown to exhibit some sort of signs of fear of heights, many researchers are now positing that the cause for the fear may have relation with the way internal sense of balance works, controlled by cerebellum. The people with acrophobia may not be able to rely on natural sense of balance and continues to rely on what they see as high place. The feeling of being unbalanced condition may lead to panic, nausea, and vertigo or dizziness in some cases and also in the most of the cases commonly seen is the sense of vomiting and giddiness, because it pulls against the natural tendency for the body to remain balanced. Above explained suggest that people might be able to overcome the fear by shutting their eyes and relying on natural balance to stabilize themselves, but this may not work. Usually though, acrophobics have so many incidences of this feeling, that this may not be enough alone, since the fear of heights may be associated with mental trauma. Though the fear itself might not be irrational from a physical perspective, repeated instances of emotional trauma associated with heights create irrational fear. Diagnosing Acrophobia The common symptoms and signs of acrophobia include:
• Shortness of breath or rapid breathing
• Heart palpitations or irregular heartbeat
• Sweating
• Dizziness
• Nausea
• Trembling and shaking
• Feeling faint
• Feelings of panic and dread Treatment: Acrophobia is most commonly treated with a range of therapies such as Cognitive behavior therapy: This exposes the person to staged situations involving high places and slowly helps them to develop coping skills, increases confidence and change thought patterns to manage fear and anxiety. Hypnotherapy Guided mental imagery or muscle relaxation training
Certain anti-anxiety medications Natural remedies and treatments
Dr Guptha, Director for the medical coding services and medical coding training
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