How in the world did I get this phobia ??? confused1

I use to love rollercoasters, etc... and now to even watch my kids on them makes me nervous. Bridges are just awful for me. HIGH ONES, lower ones I'm fine with. Why can't they enclose these darn things so we don't have to know how high up we are ??? :roll:

Anyway, I don't do anything that involves extreme heights but would like to. I miss out on so many things. I don't want to say "I can't", because I KNOW I can drive over the darn bridges, I just choose not to because of the fear I have and the feelings I get with it. HELPPPPPPPPPPP !!!! scry

I have no support whatsoever at home, other than being belittled because of this fear. I hate it, and I want to be able to overcome this and enjoy flying, bridges, rollercoasters, etc... again without being an anxious mess.

Hi (again) ScorpioBliss

I had a little discussion recently with beanz76 about open spaces. Click here to read.
But essentially there are two main things I'd think about as the cause -
1. The loss of physical protection - ie an open bridge is compromising to safety on all sides and can cause anxiety for this reason.
2. (and as discussed in the linked post) There may be issues of visual perception that mean the eyes and brain cannot focus well on open spaces and make physical sense of it. This, understandably, makes the brain uneasy about the whole thing.

Just some thoughts

Thank you Mr Ian, I appreciate your response. That does make sense. NOW, I just need to figure out what I do about it... lol ;]

Well if it helps:

In case #1 - Challenge the reality of your fear. How unsafe are you really? Also accept a certain amount of 'normality' - it's not entirely unusual for someone to feel overwhelmed by being in high places and a little of the giddy-legs isn't something I would class as a clinical problem. It's a bit like being faced with a tiger - the likelihood of him eating you is less than we'd think - but really, who wants to find out??

In case #2 - Find a near-by fixed visual point to "ground" yourself on. Take a minute or two to get your eyes to focus and then practice moving your focus from fixed point to open space and back again. I have absolutely no idea if this will make any difference - but the logic says it's worth trying. This process may also work in #1 just to 'catch yourself' as you feel anxiety set in.