Batophobia/Acrophobia?

[craftyone23]

I have a 6 year old daughter that will not go anywhere with a high ceiling, wondering if there is any help for her out there at all?

[mattfromleeds]

hi everyone.

i fear tall buildings 3 stories or more and also have a fear of the horizon and things that are far away. i struggle in places like tesco with high ceilings and i recently went to wembley to watch Leeds Utd play, it turned out to be traumatic for the first 20 minutes with the loud speaker system and immense size of the structure. my anxiety and panic seemed to plateau after that and it was not too bad once i got my mind off it. i cannot watch a sunset or stare in awe at the beauty of the stars or the sky. i feel truly terrified of going to certain places. i will never see the grand canyon or new york, go to the pyramids or niagra falls. even photographs or tv footage of such places hit me with a psychological sledge hammer giving me feelings of dizziness insanity and terror. sounds dramatic i know but at the age of 22, my life has now changed forever, some of my dreams are shattered and i feel i will never be the same person again. just yesterday i collapsed in the street while running away from a block of appartments!!?? inside i cant help feel like a freek and like my life is over. i would rather have broken arms and legs than what i feel at the moment.
negative it may sound, but apart from feeding you horrible side effect riddled drugs there is not much doctors can do to give an instant fix. like all mental health problems prolonged treatment is the case. studies say that the average person with similar symptons take on average 2-3 years for an accurate diagnosis, further prolonging the right treatment.

Some professionals in USA also believe medicinal drugs can hinder natural psychologial healing processes. I believe exposure therapy is the preferred method of treatment. My fear also seems to include any vast expanse. Just THINKING about the size of a mountain, or depth of the ocean or vastness of space can send me into a psychological spiral which means i need to tap myself on the head or take deep breaths to control.

i dont see my friends anymore, i feel i will be alone with this for the rest of my life. what desirable woman wants to involve herself with a freek who cant even go to a night club or go to the cinema, or get on a plane for a holiday?
although my family are aware of it none of them show any signs of concern. my brothers have never asked me how it feels and if im getting better. ive told them sure and they are hearing me but not really listening with a genuine intrigue or passion into how they can help or how i can help myself. Im sure people dont believe me. Although it sounds cruel i wish my family and everyone else i know could have my condition for a dayso they ould know whats its like. If i was in a wheelchair i would get so much sympathy and understanding
but because people cant physically see whats parallysing me from living my life no one seems to care or believe a word i say. what im trying to say is i think this is an underestimated illness. People cant seem to grasp what its like.

Thanks for listening. Any questions or feedback welcome.

Oh an im 22 only started getting this 6 months ago.

[ladybird64]

Hi Matt

There are many things that you have mentioned in your post that have struck a chord with me.
My reations to telly adverts etc are not as severe as to make me feel I want to die but they sure as hell make me feel uncomfortable. I almost "propel" myself into the view that I'm observing be it on TV or in a book and I can feel the fear and the certain knowledge that "I could never go there".
If I go into a hospital/block of flats/something similar I'm terrified to look up or around me, if I have to go to another floor I feel an overwhelming panic that tells me I need to get back to the ground again.
I don't like looking up into the sky, when I go for a walk in the park (as I did recently) I don't feel comfortable looking at the trees in the distance, looking at the view over the large pond..the list could go on and on.
I joined here a few months ago and have had good support from others, I have chosen not to go down the "referral to mental health" route as I have been there before and feel too embarrassed to ask for another referral, I knew what I needed to do after the sessions last year (exposure) but was unable to do it.
I have also found myself with a confusion over what I DO actually have. I was under the impression that my symptoms matched those of Agoraphobia, then I saw posts like those on this thread and realised that I have those syptoms also, the terrifying episodes that I have when I'm out are Panic Attacks and it seems to be a general anxiety that sparks everything else off. Hmm.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not looking for added symtoms and labels but they are there so I can't really ignore them.
Maybe the search for an "accurate" diagnosis is difficult to find, if there is such a thing that is!
I would advise you to go to your GP though as you may want to access CBT/Exposure therapy or the others things that are available. It may not take as long as you think once you have made the initial contact.
I do understand that at 22, this is torture for you. There are so many others who are going through the same thing as you and the lack of understanding by your family is nothing unusual, although upsetting.
I think that when you have made the first move to getting some help you may actually feel some relief as you know you are facing the problem.

Good luck and keep us posted.

[mattfromleeds]

I went to a Leeds Untd game today and convinced my self i was going to overcome any anxiety and stay for the whole game. I found it difficult been around and in the stadium just because of the vastness and size of the building. everytime i tried to go out into the stand out of the corridor, i felt completely overwhelmed and unable to cope. I ended up in the first aid room but im glad i at least tried exposing my self to a situation that i feared, rather than letting my avoidance behaviour take control.

Ive been going to the doctors for a couple of months and they cant deccide on what is wrong, therefore what to do about it. Got an appointment next week so things may move forward. Thanks for your reply, Means a lot.

[corvint]

Altocelarophobia... so that is what it's called. The first time I really noticed it was on holiday in Taiwan. I visited a monument similar to the Lincoln Memorial building. I was terrified to look up at the ceiling. I was on my hands and knees having a major panic attack wondering what was wrong with me fearing that I'd fall upward.

After reading this thread I think I have a mild form of the phobia since I haven't noticed as problems for years. Cinemas and big shopping malls are fine. But this weekend I visited a friend in Canberra (Australia). There are lots of high ceiling buildings there. I can now handle being in places like that by focusing my attention on the ground. I hope you all find a way to relief this condition too. I know everybody's different and need different ways to deal with it.

As far as the initial trigger, I'm not sure if I was born with this condition or experienced something that triggered it. What does come to mind was a scene from the 1972 film Poseidon Adventure starring Gene Hackman. If you've seen that movie, you'll know which scene I'm refering to. I saw that movie when I was child.

[sebbers]

I have this very same phobia and really thought I was alone! It has happened to me my entire life. I remember days in gym class where I dreaded being there not because I hated the activities but because the height of the ceiling frightened me. I have since had panic attacks in malls, museums, and office buildings with tall ceilings. Sometimes it seems that the type of shoes I am wearing can influence this - wearing high heels makes the panic worse. Basically I will envision floating to the ceiling and then crashing to the floor. It is strange in that I have absolutely no problem with heights. I can look down from high above and have no problem. Also being outside and looking at the sky is not an issue. It is only in buildings with high ceilings. I wish I could give some advice as to how to handle this but I have absolutely no idea. Whenever I have confided this fear with others it usually results in complete lack of ability to comprehend. It's at least nice to hear I'm not alone!

[Sam 11]

I'm not totally sure what type of phobia i have now, i have had a fear of heights since i can remember, i've tried exposure - or my parents didn't give me much choice in the matter.

After a few years it developed into a fear of high ceilings, maybe because i started to have thoughts relating ceilings to heights and it spiralled out of control. After that i lost a bit of self confidence and stopped eating out and stopped going shopping. Some things have improved, i can eat out in certain places now, i can walk down the street alone, but if i feel exposed or i'm anywhere with even a slightly high ceiling i feel terrified and want to get out but don't want to move.

Any help would be greatly appreciated, it's so frustrating.

I have had a fear of high ceilings ever since I can remember. I would cling to someone next to me. It's not that I think the ceiling is going to fall I just get really scared and can't look up and I feel like I can't move. I have even had dreams of me being under a high ceiling. Even today I still have to hold someones hand when I get under them. I'm not scared of heights at all. I just recently googled this fear and found out it had a name. I feel better to know other people have it too.

[Bato]

Hello everybody, I'm new here!

My problems started right after 10th grade, when I was in Wildwood, NJ. For reasons unexplained when I was near the huge Ferris wheel, or the roller coasters I had this feeling like I was "Falling off the earth." I tried to explain it to people but no one understood. I have since grown to fear being around large buildings, bridges, or wide open spaces. In theaters I don't like seats that only go up to my neck, I get the feeling that I am going to fall backward. And while I CAN look up at the sky, night or day, there is something about the late afternoon sky that just makes me...idk it's wierd.

Longer than this I have had the fear of passing out, and I believe it has developed itself into making me feel dizzy anywhere involving heights [as they are the easiest to feel dizzy in] and that dizzy feeling reminds me of what it felt like before I passed out, and so I panic about it.

The roots of my phobia may be different from everyone elses but it still feels good that there are people out there that understand what I'm going through [my one friend make's a joke about it, he doesn't understand it at all].

I often try to take on my phobia. NYC might not be the obvious place to go with this phobia, but I went there anyway, and while I was fine on the bridges both there and back, the city still freaked me out. Even if I know I won't enjoy an event to the fullest, I usually try to have some fun, so while I do keep a decent social life, everybody still thinks i'm wierd!

btw, my name is Rob

[mamajkl]

Hi, I am new to this and like many people looking for answers... I don't know if it's altocelarophobia or not... I am ok in a large room with high ceilings, but if it's a smaller room like a washroom, the garbage room in may apartment, or the equipment room in the school's gym I start to panic... Any suggestions?

[Maddness]

I just recently discovered that i have Altocelarophobia. I am 12 almost 13 and i wanted to figure out why i always freaked out when i was i a building with a tall ceiling and a wide space. I'd always freak out in movie theaters, museums, aquariums, and more. One day my class and i went on a field trip to an aquarium and it was huge with a giant whale. It even had a enormous tank for the fish at the other side of the room of the entrance...... anyways i freaked out and i begged my best friend to at least hold my hand cause i was freaking out. she wouldn't. by the time we got to the whale on the second floor i lost it. There was a noise machine of different whales that the class had to push so i had to go to another room to keep slightly calm but i still freaked out. I dont know why i have this. I'm glad i finally figured out what it is. My friends all thought i was insane for this fear and im gald to find out that its a real phobia and others have it.




P.S.
mamajkl
I think u r claustrophobic...... its very common..... its when u freak out from small spaces. hope i helped .