Fear of heights?

*Andrew NDB* · 10-26-2020, 04:52 AM

Do you have one? Though my question is more nuanced. When I was a kid it didn't seem to bother me at all (I had the highest tree around and would climb it to the top and see the whole city in my backyard, would even build semi tree houses in it). Yet now as a much older man... I find myself suddenly cringing in certain circumstances. Like, up on a high up bridge where cars are dots below you... do you feel the same? Can such a fear grow with age? Even illogically? And why?

*Leo656* · 10-26-2020, 04:59 AM

Kinda. I definitely avoid high places if I can help it. Sometimes in a work environment I've had to just deal with it, but I generally prefer not to. Like I'd have to be up high on the ladder or forklift in my old warehouse job. And of course for wrestling I occasionally have to jump on a guy from 8-12 feet up, but I'm not especially very good at it.

It's a lot higher than it looks once you're up there.

I remember when I was a kid my class went on a trip to the Statue of Liberty and we were all walking around on the base. That was pretty cool but looking back I don't know how I handled it so well. I don't think I'd be so calm now for some reason.

*LeotheLateBloomer* · 10-26-2020, 07:56 AM

I do actually. When it comes to climbing up thinks such as tall ladders, I sometimes get afraid I will fall and crack something. Though it never happened thankfully. Like what Leo says, for a work environment, I can put up with it because I'm always careful but would prefer not to climb one and would rather hold the ladder. Climbing the little ladders are okay but the really tall ladders, I'd rather not. Preforming tasks like reaching a ceiling light depends on how high the ceiling is.

What I'm really afraid of is super high rides like roller coasters especially the one that go really high and drop down extremely fast. I'll never go to Six Flags because that's all their rides. Never bothered to go on rides like the Superman one or Supreme Scream from Knott's.

*CyberCubed* · 10-26-2020, 08:38 AM

I wouldn't climb a ladder to go to a roof of a house, at any rate. But looking off an apartment terrace or a high skyscraper and looking down as long as there is a railing or glass protecting you from falling I'm fine.

*CylonsKlingonsDaleksOhMy* · 10-26-2020, 08:48 AM

Yes. There's a little monkey inside my brain that starts gibbering if the fall is more than I think I can survive relatively intact.

~~ABrown~~ · 10-26-2020, 08:50 AM

When I have to climb a ladder at my second job, I sometimes remind myself not to look down. I mean I don't think that have an irrantional fear of heights. But when I do look down from up there, I realize it would be quite a fall.

*CylonsKlingonsDaleksOhMy* · 10-26-2020, 09:07 AM

I went to one of those rock climbing places with my kid, and saw these tiny little girls just scrambling up the thing without a problem.

I didn't have time to sign in and strap up, but now I'm gonna give it a try.

If those elementary school girls can do it, I gotta do it. I gotta try, man. I gotta try...

*neatoman* · 10-26-2020, 09:21 AM

My mom has a fear of height to the point where she's uncomfortable looking out windows from a tall place. It can be a rational fear, like when you're standing on top of a tall but narrow hill, I actually get a little scared then. It's just that when you should rationally know you're safe (like if there's a tall fence in the way) it shouldn't bother you.

*Icebot* · 10-26-2020, 02:47 PM

I’m afraid of super high Ferris wheels and sometimes very tall bridges, other than that not so much.

~~AquaParade~~ · 10-26-2020, 02:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CylonsKlingonsDaleksOhMy

Yes. There's a little monkey inside my brain that starts gibbering if the fall is more than I think I can survive relatively intact.

Which I find perfectly understandable. I don't have a fear of heights, just a fear of death.

*IndigoErth* · 10-26-2020, 03:09 PM

Pretty much. Situations that are more enclosed don't bother me much (Airplane? No problem), but too open, like tall ladders, a lot of high rides (most roller coasters are a pass), or places where the ledge is rather low, etc... hell no.

Generally I have no issue at all with bridges, unless it's like this one... Low sides, no shoulder whatsoever, and long as heck... I will cross it (though it's been some years), but this here is horrifying, esp as I've only ever crossed it sitting on the passenger side with a good view over that low wall.

Would be so easy to die on that thing. Some poor guy driving a tracker trailer died a few years ago when high winds blew his truck off of it.

Last Ronin · 11-02-2020, 08:27 PM

I'm not afraid per se.... it's those damn go pro vids that get me. All shaky and crap like they're going to fall (some do)

~~Sumac~~ · 11-03-2020, 01:26 AM

Heights make me uncomfortable, but not to the point of panicking.
Also, I think, it's not even heights, but understanding that you are standing on the edge.

Hamato Yoshi · 11-08-2020, 03:19 AM

Disturbing to see kids climbing Golden Gate - a view to get killed indeed

(not to mention they put other peoples lifes at risk should they fall onto cars)

*Andrew NDB* · 11-08-2020, 03:28 AM

Yeah, it's weird for me. Again, as a kid... no problemo. Like, I never liked roller coasters or "extreme" rides, but I'd still ride them to not be a square. I remember once my dad offered to give me $500 to do the bungy jump at a fair and I cowered out of it. But I don't think most people would do that, either. My daughter has done far crazier stuff than me already, and she's 12.

Planes? Well, I've always been mortified. But it's a different sort of mortification. As in, I'm horrified (particularly on takeoff and landing) but I can deal. But if it's just me walking across a bridge where I can see it's like 2 miles down... I lose my ****. Like if you looked at me you wouldn't know, but inside I'm freaking out.

Maybe I should paint the picture better. I was in Tacoma area of WA. There is this bridge that is literally like 3000 feet above the freeway. Fantastic area to shoot movie stuff, which we did. But it's a narrow bridge, and we shot it early in the morning, like 3 AM. So there is like crackheads weaving around us on foot asking us what movie we're filming (and for spare change) while cars are weaving around us while I can't help but look over the low rail where it is certain death if I was to so much as trip over a can or anything, really. And as the minutes became hours the mind starts to go. As in, "Damn. If there was an earthquake like right now... jeepers... we're all worm food." And so on.

PizzaPower1985 · 11-10-2020, 06:41 PM

I survived a plane crash as a young kid/teen... fell 600 feet out of the air and shouldnt be alive... AFTER, i flew to the West Coast on an airliner pretty regularly.

Flying does not bother me! but open air heights... send me into a Vietnam-vet-like mode where I literally sweat and mentally break down. YES!

in college (about 15 years ago), my girlfriend (now wife) and i hiked a lot. We live in the Foothills of Appalachia SO... we topped a lot of mountains... I cant do it anymore! my trauma is legion and it starts with heights.

*Andrew NDB* · 06-06-2022, 10:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PizzaPower1985

I survived a plane crash as a young kid/teen... fell 600 feet out of the air and shouldnt be alive... AFTER, i flew to the West Coast on an airliner pretty regularly.

What? That's insane. How did you fall out of the airplane or you mean you fell inside the plane 600 feet?

*IndigoErth* · 06-06-2022, 02:36 PM

I read it as the plane fell 600 feet? Better than one plummeting from miles up, I suppose, but that's still going to hurt pretty bad.

Likewise, if it's enclosed it doesn't really bother me so much, but open air? Forget it. So, most roller coasters are a big no for me, there is only small select handful I've been on.

*IMJ* · 06-06-2022, 03:46 PM

You could put me up in the skydeck of the Sears Tower or in a plane and I'm fascinated by it. But up on the roof of my house and my knees feel all wobbly... lmao!

I have this fear of heights that involve those heights that I could fall from and survive, but wind up incredibly.... broken from.

*Prowler* · 06-07-2022, 08:51 PM

I've been to the top of the Eiffel Tower before. Was a good experience overall. Wasn't afraid of falling from it or anything.

10-26-2020, 04:52 AM	#1
Andrew NDB Weed Whacker Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Auburn, WA Posts: 29,279	Fear of heights? Do you have one? Though my question is more nuanced. When I was a kid it didn't seem to bother me at all (I had the highest tree around and would climb it to the top and see the whole city in my backyard, would even build semi tree houses in it). Yet now as a much older man... I find myself suddenly cringing in certain circumstances. Like, up on a high up bridge where cars are dots below you... do you feel the same? Can such a fear grow with age? Even illogically? And why? __________________ [ ODYSSEY \| ORIGIN \| THE IMAGE/VOL. 3 CONCLUSION \| THE SHELLSHOCKED PODCAST \| ON FACEBOOK ]

10-26-2020, 04:59 AM	#2
Leo656 The Franchise Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: nWo Country Posts: 27,696	Kinda. I definitely avoid high places if I can help it. Sometimes in a work environment I've had to just deal with it, but I generally prefer not to. Like I'd have to be up high on the ladder or forklift in my old warehouse job. And of course for wrestling I occasionally have to jump on a guy from 8-12 feet up, but I'm not especially very good at it. It's a lot higher than it looks once you're up there. I remember when I was a kid my class went on a trip to the Statue of Liberty and we were all walking around on the base. That was pretty cool but looking back I don't know how I handled it so well. I don't think I'd be so calm now for some reason. __________________ "I left some words quite far from here to be a short reminder... I laid them out in stone, in case they need to last forever..." "But hey... I'm not telling you anything that you don't already know." nWo Tech: The Official Thread Poison of the Technodrome Forums https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxr...awnHgDz1ceDcfA https://theroxxshow.blogspot.com/

10-26-2020, 08:48 AM	#5
CylonsKlingonsDaleksOhMy Annalist Join Date: Jul 2004 Posts: 16,435	Yes. There's a little monkey inside my brain that starts gibbering if the fall is more than I think I can survive relatively intact. __________________ *ALL THEIR DAYS ARE NUMBERED*

10-26-2020, 09:07 AM	#7
CylonsKlingonsDaleksOhMy Annalist Join Date: Jul 2004 Posts: 16,435	I went to one of those rock climbing places with my kid, and saw these tiny little girls just scrambling up the thing without a problem. I didn't have time to sign in and strap up, but now I'm gonna give it a try. If those elementary school girls can do it, I gotta do it. I gotta try, man. I gotta try... __________________ *ALL THEIR DAYS ARE NUMBERED*

11-08-2020, 03:28 AM	#15
Andrew NDB Weed Whacker Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Auburn, WA Posts: 29,279	Yeah, it's weird for me. Again, as a kid... no problemo. Like, I never liked roller coasters or "extreme" rides, but I'd still ride them to not be a square. I remember once my dad offered to give me $500 to do the bungy jump at a fair and I cowered out of it. But I don't think most people would do that, either. My daughter has done far crazier stuff than me already, and she's 12. Planes? Well, I've always been mortified. But it's a different sort of mortification. As in, I'm horrified (particularly on takeoff and landing) but I can deal. But if it's just me walking across a bridge where I can see it's like 2 miles down... I lose my ***. Like if you looked at me you wouldn't know, but inside I'm freaking out. Maybe I should paint the picture better. I was in Tacoma area of WA. There is this bridge that is literally like 3000 feet above the freeway. Fantastic area to shoot movie stuff, which we did. But it's a narrow bridge, and we shot it early in the morning, like 3 AM. So there is like crackheads weaving around us on foot asking us what movie we're filming (and for spare change) while cars are weaving around us while I can't help but look over the low rail where it is certain death if I was to so much as trip over a can or anything, really. And as the minutes became hours the mind starts to go. As in, "Damn. If there was an earthquake like right now... jeepers... we're all worm food." And so on. __________________ [ ODYSSEY \| ORIGIN \| THE IMAGE/VOL. 3 CONCLUSION \| THE SHELLSHOCKED PODCAST \| ON FACEBOOK ] Last edited by Andrew NDB; 11-08-2020 at 03:34 AM.*

10-26-2020, 07:56 AM	#3
LeotheLateBloomer Foot Elite Join Date: Aug 2013 Posts: 2,976	I do actually. When it comes to climbing up thinks such as tall ladders, I sometimes get afraid I will fall and crack something. Though it never happened thankfully. Like what Leo says, for a work environment, I can put up with it because I'm always careful but would prefer not to climb one and would rather hold the ladder. Climbing the little ladders are okay but the really tall ladders, I'd rather not. Preforming tasks like reaching a ceiling light depends on how high the ceiling is. What I'm really afraid of is super high rides like roller coasters especially the one that go really high and drop down extremely fast. I'll never go to Six Flags because that's all their rides. Never bothered to go on rides like the Superman one or Supreme Scream from Knott's.

10-26-2020, 08:38 AM	#4
CyberCubed Overlord Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 41,056	I wouldn't climb a ladder to go to a roof of a house, at any rate. But looking off an apartment terrace or a high skyscraper and looking down as long as there is a railing or glass protecting you from falling I'm fine.

10-26-2020, 08:50 AM	#6
~~ABrown~~ Banned Join Date: Sep 2010 Posts: 1,831	When I have to climb a ladder at my second job, I sometimes remind myself not to look down. I mean I don't think that have an irrantional fear of heights. But when I do look down from up there, I realize it would be quite a fall.

10-26-2020, 02:47 PM	#9
Icebot Foot Elite Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: East Coast, US Posts: 3,191	I’m afraid of super high Ferris wheels and sometimes very tall bridges, other than that not so much.

10-26-2020, 03:09 PM	#11
IndigoErth Team Blue Boy Join Date: Jun 2014 Location: U.S., East Coast Posts: 15,242	Pretty much. Situations that are more enclosed don't bother me much (Airplane? No problem), but too open, like tall ladders, a lot of high rides (most roller coasters are a pass), or places where the ledge is rather low, etc... hell no. Generally I have no issue at all with bridges, unless it's like this one... Low sides, no shoulder whatsoever, and long as heck... I will cross it (though it's been some years), but this here is horrifying, esp as I've only ever crossed it sitting on the passenger side with a good view over that low wall. Would be so easy to die on that thing. Some poor guy driving a tracker trailer died a few years ago when high winds blew his truck off of it.

11-02-2020, 08:27 PM	#12
Last Ronin Hench Mutant Join Date: Oct 2020 Posts: 415	I'm not afraid per se.... it's those damn go pro vids that get me. All shaky and crap like they're going to fall (some do)

11-03-2020, 01:26 AM	#13
~~Sumac~~ Banned Join Date: Mar 2012 Posts: 6,129	Heights make me uncomfortable, but not to the point of panicking. Also, I think, it's not even heights, but understanding that you are standing on the edge.

11-08-2020, 03:19 AM	#14
Hamato Yoshi Stone Warrior Join Date: Feb 2003 Posts: 926	Disturbing to see kids climbing Golden Gate - a view to get killed indeed (not to mention they put other peoples lifes at risk should they fall onto cars)

11-10-2020, 06:41 PM	#16
PizzaPower1985 Stone Warrior Join Date: Jun 2014 Location: United States Posts: 947	I survived a plane crash as a young kid/teen... fell 600 feet out of the air and shouldnt be alive... AFTER, i flew to the West Coast on an airliner pretty regularly. Flying does not bother me! but open air heights... send me into a Vietnam-vet-like mode where I literally sweat and mentally break down. YES! in college (about 15 years ago), my girlfriend (now wife) and i hiked a lot. We live in the Foothills of Appalachia SO... we topped a lot of mountains... I cant do it anymore! my trauma is legion and it starts with heights. Last edited by PizzaPower1985; 11-10-2020 at 06:47 PM.

06-06-2022, 02:36 PM	#18
IndigoErth Team Blue Boy Join Date: Jun 2014 Location: U.S., East Coast Posts: 15,242	I read it as the plane fell 600 feet? Better than one plummeting from miles up, I suppose, but that's still going to hurt pretty bad. Likewise, if it's enclosed it doesn't really bother me so much, but open air? Forget it. So, most roller coasters are a big no for me, there is only small select handful I've been on.

06-06-2022, 03:46 PM	#19
IMJ Emperor Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Midwest, U.S.A. Posts: 6,991	You could put me up in the skydeck of the Sears Tower or in a plane and I'm fascinated by it. But up on the roof of my house and my knees feel all wobbly... lmao! I have this fear of heights that involve those heights that I could fall from and survive, but wind up incredibly.... broken from. __________________ Wave 1 Collectibles Online Market Watch Blog Collection Photography

06-07-2022, 08:51 PM	#20
Prowler Emperor Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Portugal Posts: 8,909	I've been to the top of the Eiffel Tower before. Was a good experience overall. Wasn't afraid of falling from it or anything.