Written by Bedirhan Atabay
As many of you might have experienced, some people can sometimes experience scary moments when they are above the surface level. Those people are suffering from acrophobia, a type of phobia that is quite common. Acrophobia exists in approximately 3-6% of the world's population (1). Since this phobia is pretty common, it is considered one of the most widespread ones. The reason behind the fact that some people are suffering from acrophobia actually varies. Some of the defined reasons are:
1-Experiencing a tremendously devastating event: Obviously one of the reasons can be expected to be a devastating and tragic event, and in this case, this event can be losing a close person, relative, or friend due to such an accident or being extremely scared of falling in such a deadly and dangerous case (1).
2-Experiencing a greatly damaging health issue while in a high place: Many health issues can create traumas that lead to the appearance of this type of phobia, an example of this can be a panic attack (1).
(Image Credit: Photo by Hugo Sykes: https://www.pexels.com/photo/wood-landscape-mountains-water-13700626/.)
3-Having the disease in your family roots for ages: If your relatives are really keen on having this phobia, then there is a great possibility for you to have it too. This is also seen as a reason to have this phobia (1).
Some of the negative effects that can be caused by this phobia are (3):
-Sweating when looking down to the ground from a considerably high point.
-Chest Pain and Tightness
-Shaking and Trembling
- Working hard to avoid situations that can force them to be in high places, even if the attitude has a considerable negative impact on the person.
We have already mentioned that this phobia is really common. This of course shows us that finding a solution and a treatment to cure this issue was necessary. This necessity is obviously met, as there are various methods to treat this now. The treatment methods are the following:
Exposure Therapy: This therapy is a therapy where you are exposed to the thing that you fear. In this case, the person with the issue is exposed to heights so that he can actually manage to overcome it. According to the experts, approximately 3 to 4 treatments will work properly and be pretty effective to overcome the fear (2).
In addition, it is important to mention that virtual reality is expected to be a pretty good method to execute this treatment, with higher efficiency and lower danger rates in the process of execution (2).
(Image Credit: Photo by cottonbro studio: https://www.pexels.com/photo/bionic-hand-and-human-hand-finger-pointing-6153354/.)
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT): This therapy is another method that is used to cure this phobia. This therapy is about expressing and defining your fear in front of a professional psychologist. This therapy can differentiate according to the preference of the person with the phobia, it can either be occurring as an alone therapy or a group therapy (2).
Hypnotherapy: This therapy includes the usage of many methods, such as guided imagery. In Hypnotherapy, the patient will be helped via the aforementioned guided imagery method and suggestive techniques (2). The main goal of this therapy is to help the person enter into a deeply relaxed and relieved state.
Anecdotal evidence is proving to us that this method of therapy and the usage of Hypnotism can be pretty effective to solve the issues that were created by the phobia.
Such phobias can damage relationships and damage the tranquil situation of people in many cases. However, it is important to fight back against such phobias and act cautiously in order to reduce and minimize their effects. As the effects of this phobia minimize and the process of incorporating artificial intelligence into exposure therapy continues, it will be safe to assume that a bright future is awaiting us.
References:
professional, C. C. medical. (n.d.). Acrophobia (fear of heights): Symptoms & treatment. Cleveland Clinic. https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/21956-acrophobia-fear-of-heights.
MediLexicon International. (n.d.). Acrophobia: Causes, symptoms, and treatment. Medical News Today. https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/acrophobia#treatment.
Raypole, C. (2019, March 27). Acrophobia, or fear of heights: Symptoms, causes, and treatment. Healthline. https://www.healthline.com/health/acrophobia-or-fear-of-heights-symptoms-causes-and-treatment.
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