Help to overcome fear of heights

Being afraid of heights is a very common phobia affecting a large proportion of the population, this height related aversion is known as acrophobia. They experience uncomfortable levels of anxiety or even panic attacks when in high places and these uncontrollable emotional  responses can be overwhelming and freightening.

In the extreme, the feeling that they might throw themselves over the edge is possible and this fear of falling can be very distressing. It’s not just tall buildings that can trigger these feelings, escalators, stairs, cable cars, ski lifts, balconies, ladders etc. can all trigger a response that can overwhelm an individual, perhaps instigating panic attacks.

The term vertigo is often confused with a fear of heights, however, vertigo is a sensation of spinning even when you are standing still at any elevation.

Like most phobias, the fear of heights is often caused by an event from the past that was perhaps traumatic or very sudden, frequently occurring during  childhood, in many instances this event has long since been forgotten about.

In reaction to these events (which our unconscious mind registers as a threat to our life) we unknowingly setup defence mechanisms and automatic behaviour responses to keep us away from those perceived dangers. For example, if you go near an edge of a building, your automatic anxiety feeling will trigger, you move back, your unconscious has done its job.

The reality is that these automatic behaviour responses can be ‘out of date’ especially if they were setup when you were a child and your view of the world was so different. What was a great safety strategy in the past, now becomes an uncomfortable emotional reaction that may stop you from fully living your life.

Overcoming acrophobia

Hypnosis for fear of heights and other therapeutic interventions, such as, hypnotherapy and NLP are safe and effective techniques for treating phobias, they allow you to re-access your unconscious mind and update any old behavioural responses with a new and more fitting reaction for this time in your life.

I think it is appropriate that as we reduce your fear, we do acknowledge that it is right for us to have a certain amount of anxiety when in a potentially dangerous situation (unless you are an extreme sport fanatic) but that you remain in control of your emotions and anxiety even when in an elevated situation.

Hypnosis to cure fear of heights phobia

Treating phobias with hypnosis and hypnotherapy has been effective for many thousands of people across the UK. As a professional clinical hypnotherapist  I can help by taking you through visualisation, desensitisation and relaxation strategies that will help you to manage your anxiety let go of these unhelpful fears.

I can work with you to control your anxiety and phobic responses allowing you to release the past tensions that often stimulate and trigger fearful responses – Call me and we can explore your situation and see what is possible.