Acrophobia, or a fear of heights, is a mental disorder that creates tremendous fear and anxiety in people. Somewhere around 1 in 20 people face this fear in their daily lives, with twice as many women as men falling victim. Unfortunately, since so many amazing things in life require you to be up in the air, acrophobia victims miss out on a lot of amazing experiences.
Since the generally accepted method of fighting acrophobia is to face your fears, a zipline trip is an amazing way for victims to treat their disorder. However, it's not as simple as just closing your eyes and taking the plunge. Preparation is the key to being successful in dealing with acrophobia.
Step 1--Begin With Logic
In your daily life, you don't likely walk around in constant fear of falling down at work or at home. That's because the chances of you falling down are so astronomically slim that they're irrelevant. You've probably become quite proficient at walking without injuring yourself, so there's nothing to worry about. Simply raising your elevation doesn't change that fact.
Your first step to overcoming your acrophobia is to think through that reasoning on a daily basis. Do so multiple times a day--whenever there is a break in your day or a quiet moment. Think of it as training your brain to understand, at a subconscious level, that being off the ground doesn't make an accident more likely.
Step 2--Look At Pictures
After you've spent a month or so training your brain to understand heights properly, the next step is to respond to imagery and visual inputs. Most acrophobia victims feel uneasy even when looking at photos of people in high places. Spending time with photos that make you uneasy is a good way to train up your tolerance.
Start by finding photos of high elevations without any people in the picture. Imagine yourself in these locations and pay special attention to your emotional response. Then, after you can control your response consciously, move up to photos with people in them. Once you can look at photos like this without initiating a panic attack, it's time for the next step.
Step 3--Move On Up
Now, it's time for you to start experiencing elevation yourself. Repeatedly spend time in places that trigger mild acrophobia responses. The trick is to find places that aren't so high that they cause you to have a complete breakdown. You'll have to start with low elevations.
The following general locations are found in most residential areas. They are also completely safe. Consider this list a guide for progressing from low to high in a slow, methodical way:
Visit the highest location you can tolerate a few times each week. If it becomes comfortable, move to the next tolerable, if slightly uncomfortable, location on the list.
Step #4--Zipline Tour
By the time you can comfortably ride in a glass elevator, you can likely handle a zipline tour. If you've set the tour as a goal for yourself at the beginning, your trip can serve as a type of mental "final exam." By completing the tour, you'll know that you've faced your acrophobia head on.
Zipline tours are perfectly suited for this because of what they are. You'll be seated and secured properly, and there are no dramatic twists or climbs/dips as with a roller coaster. Just be sure to choose one that provides an uncomfortable, but tolerable, elevation to deal with.
Once you can handle a zipline tour provided by a company like Sky Valley Zip Tours without an anxiety attack, you'll have effectively dealt with your acrophobia. You'll be able to handle any elevations that you're likely to find in your everyday life, and you'll have had a breathtaking zipline experience that you otherwise could not have had.
Share20 May 2015
When I was a child, I remember the time I shared with a special uncle fondly. During the summer, he would take me fishing at my family’s pond. Sometimes, we would fish quietly at the dock. He would occasionally steer me around the pond in a little boat. A few days ago, I found out that I will inherit the family pond. I’m extremely excited about the possibility of purchasing a boat to ride around in with my future kids. On this blog, you will learn how to shop for the perfect pleasure boat for a small body of water. Enjoy!