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Diagnose my weird phobia


Harry136
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Hi, please diagnose my weird height related phobia.

i am fine flying, even flown with myself at the controls including aerobatics.

i am fine parachuting, I am fine abseiling or when high up hill walking on dodgy routes.

if I go up a 6ft ladder my legs turn to jelly, I can’t go further than 6 ft up a climbing wall.

when I was in the army I couldn’t walk across the cat walk on the assault course, I crawled, but I was ok going over the cargo net. 

My ex dragged me on to the tower of terror at Disney world, hated it! But really enjoyed the other roller coasters there.

i can’t go in glass elevators or walk across high gantries and hate open stairs that you can see through.

Any help would be good

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To do with having your feet on solid ground or being in something controlled. My wife's roughly the same. She can climb most scrambles and ridge walks but certain ones she gets crag fast. Step Ladders it's took her years to climb up to five or six foot high but no more. Forget ladders or rope bridges, yet likes zip lines so long as not too high up.

Wife can't walk on Kennedy gratings if she can see the floor through them.

Not a wierd phobia as others suffer same or similar. 

Edited by figgy
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When younger, I worked on power stations even going to the top of the chimneys with no problem , but walking on opening gratings (Kennedy gratings) was most unnerving, so I can relate to this as a phobia. I think that it is the feeling of walking on air with nothing underneath as the grating tends to disappear.

These days, going up ladders (double extenders) isn't too much of a problem, but getting from the roof (2 storey flat roof) back onto the ladder is my nemesis. I suppose at my age 71, I should let someone else do such stuff, remembering how Rod Hull met his demise adjusting his TV aerial, but to me, age is just a number and in my head I can still do such things and pride won't give in to paying for someone to do such work.

OB

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Worst one I had was on a oil refinery working nights. We were way up over 100 feet on some fin fans, the gratings had drop protection put down to stop bolts and nuts etc from dropping through. The matting was black rubberised fireblanket over coir mats. After so many hours you forgot about the height etc then you'd step onto the matting without realising your heart would leap and you'd grab the handrail in a fast death grip, you couldn't move that fast conciously. We used to laugh at eachother when it happened. Some part of your brain thought you'd stepped out into nothing. Very weird feeling and you couldn't stop it.

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I can’t even watch videos of other people up high, like these young idiots who climb extremely tall structures and balance/dangle at the top and video it. Yet, I am ok on ladders up to two storey gutter height.

It’s not the fear of falling, it’s the fear of the impact when you splatter yourself all over the ground.

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12 hours ago, JohnfromUK said:

When I was young, I had little or no problem with heights.  Now (62), I am not good at heights - I can (reluctantly) do gutter level (normal house), but not with the ease I used to.  A number of friends also report that height tolerance reduces with age ........

I'm with you John. I'm 62 as well and can just about tolerate gutter height - beyond that, bloody useless. Painted my  dormer garage the other week and was bricking it at the top of the ladder.

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I'm the same although ladders are ok if I set them up. It's knowing if it's safe or not that bothers me. 

Parachuted and high wired just fine, flying no problem, rollacoaster sure, gone up to the chimney on wobbly wooden ladders older than me etc, but if I am asked to go up something that I'm in a any way unsure of I get shaky.

Recently had a "team building" day at work, before it opened to the public. High wire stuff. Went along as you do and even went to the top tier however was very unsure about it all. They asked me why "scared of heights etc" and I said trust. I can't trust the kit, it's not mine, it's untested (first use), I didn't set it up and for that reason I'm not happy.

It's not a phobia, it's sensible. 

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Am ok with ladders,although I now get twitchy on the treble if its got the ladder stand off fitted.

30 years ago I used to run round the outside of scaffolding on the putlock poles and slide down the wooden ladder,we used to have races along the ridge from chimney pot to pot,think its what you get used to.

Laying bricks whilst on scaffold and being the one going backwards,your heart would be in your mouth as you stepped off the overlapping boards.

Have flown a microlite plane which I loved and was fine till instructor made it wobble,could smell the fear,he said I wasn't a natural pilot.

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