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This is quite a common phobia and it can cause very great inconvenience and even danger to health. Due to fear of heights some people will actually avoid a medical appointment if the clinic is on an upper floor of a hospital building. Guy’s Hospital in London where I used to work includes one building which is thirty floors in height! Other people might have to live in substandard accommodation because the better flats available are in a tower block. Some people might turn down a good job if it involves working in or visiting a high building.
Fear of heights also limits travel, if the road or railway crosses a high bridge or is adjacent to a steep cliff. In the Southwest we have the Tamar Bridge, the Avon Bridge, and the Severn Bridge. These can be all the more intimidating because you can see them from a long way off. Some people take long detours to avoid bridges, wasting huge amounts of time and petrol.
Fear of heights also cuts down on recreational activities. Not everyone fancies bungie jumping, but there are many tourist attractions which involve heights, such as ski lifts, mountains, towers, castles, and cliffs. My own favourite is the Golden Gallery at St Paul’s Cathedral. This is not so high as the Shard but it feels higher because it’s outdoors and you go up on a spiral staircase. Plus which there’s a whole Cathedral to see- much better value for money!
For more about how hypnotherapy can help to overcome phobias, click HERE.
Cost of therapy for fear of heights
Therapy sessions are £60 per session, which is about the average going rate in this area. How many sessions are needed varies from person to person, as no two people are the same. However in my experience it’s normally between three and eight sessions. We will be aiming for a permanent change in this time. This is not like seeing a hairdresser where you keep on going back on a regular basis. Once you get over a phobia there is normally no reason why you would get it back.
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WANT TO GET STARTED NOW?
To make a start on overcoming this phobia, call me on 01392574669 or use the contact form below. Remember to tick the “consent” box or else the form won’t send. I see clients at Holmedale Health, near Magdalene Road in Exeter.
How fear of heights begins
I discuss HERE about how phobias generally develop. Fear of heights could be caused by a traumatic experience in childhood such as falling from a tree while playing. But in many cases the client cannot clearly remember how the phobia started. A powerful cause for fear of heights is that when looking over the edge, the person may think how easy it would be to jump off. In reality this never happens unless the person is already suicidal. However such random thoughts can seem very real when you are in the grip of extreme terror.
You can read more HERE about how I help my clients to overcome phobias.
I should mention here that vertigo is an entirely different thing to fear of heights. Vertigo is
“the sensation of moving or of surrounding objects moving when they are not. Often it feels like a spinning or swaying movement. People with vertigo may experience nausea, vomiting, sweating, or difficulties walking.”
Vertigo is caused by a malfunction of the balance mechanism in the inner ears. This is normally due to a physical illness which will require medical treatment. Of course a person who has vertigo will also probably have a fear of heights but in their case the fear is justified as they are more at risk of falling.
