Fear of the sky

[Speranza]

Wow, this seems like a very similar thing to a phobia I had as a child/teen and could never explain to anyone... it was when people were talking and got someone's point and said, "Aah!!" I couldn't explain why I was screaming as a little girl cos I couldn't say the word without feeling as thugh I was being engulfed by some Great Unknown... but the weird thing was, I could tell when a conversation was going that way and would beg people to stop talking. I also used to get the same feeling when thinking about deep water (vivid mental image of my tiny legs at the top of thousands of feet of sea) and once did have a panic attack watching the sky.

But I am pretty much ok now so I can offer the thought that this CAN go if you find the right way (for you) to deal with it.

[violet33]

I don't actually fear the sky, but it gives me a distinctly agoraphobic feeling. It's beautiful color but so open . Even pictures or paintings of outdoor scenes make me anxious.

[Allicloud]

I thought I was totally crazy and thought I was the only one before reading this. I experienced this feeling for the first time a few months ago randomly when I was up in the mountains and looking out at the emptiness of space and the sky and felt like there was so much empty space around me that it freaked me out and I had this random panic attack. Every since then I've been more anxious when outside or looking at the sky or realizing how vast the universe is and how small we are. Over time it's gotten better, but sometimes I think I'm going crazy thinking about the fact that we are literally floating on a rock thing in the middle of an eternity of empty space. I couldn't put in into words really until now and thought no one would understand. Have been taking transdermal magnesium for a couple months now and that has really helped, but I'm hoping this anxiety will completely go away at some point so I can live my life like normal again.

[PanchoGoz]

This is very interesting. I still suffer from fear of looking at the sky slightly since I developed existential terror. I became aware of mortality and existance and the "size" and scale of everything. It was horrible at the time.
What helped most was to become aware of the fact it wasn't the sky I was afraid of, it was the fear of my mind not being able to cope with the idea of the sky, that scared me. Does that make sense? Most fears relate to your mental handling of the problem, not the problem itself, which is why they grow. You need to teach yourself you won't go mad or blow up if you look at the sky through gradual exposure. It's hard as it's there all the time to remind you, but it can be done. Good luck!

[emily67]

when i was a lot younger, i had this really nasty helusination.. it involved plains and the sky, and i've never been able to really recover from that.

a lot of times when i'm sitting down, my head's down looking more towards the ground than the sky.

i don't mind looking at stars through a window though. that can actually relax me sometimes

[Blinkyrocket]

I've had nightmares involving being in the middle of flat open space and trying to grab onto something or spread myself flat on the ground to keep myself from falling in any direction.

[nosweat]

Hypnotherapy might help. It helps to reprogram how you react to things. It would be incredibly scary going through what you are going through. I can't even imagine. I had this feeling before for a small time, like I was going to fall upwards. :/

It was the anxiety inside of me not the actual thing (the sky). You need to change your thoughts or subconscious beliefs about what you are seeing. You might be able to reduce this problem with some type of therapy...I hope you feel better

[Ellena24]

I have been suffering with this same phobia for about two years now. I am terrified of seeing the sky, I think the thing that scares me is that it is everywhere and so open and big, sounds stupid but I never thought anybody else suffers with it. I have just passed my driving test and I had a panic attack today whilst driving, I really want to get rid of it as it is ruining my life! It has ruined holidays am now I'm scared to drive

[joycey656]

Hi Jordo, my name is Peter, I am 31 and I suffer from this fear of looking up at the sky. 2 years ago this came upon me, I am an accute anxiety sufferer and I have a lot of fear but this looking up at the sky fear is the worst I have ever experienced, it's so bad that I am even afraid to go outside, it's worse during the night.

[Tim Strange]

When I am on a plane I cannot go to sleep. I am fearful of the empty space beneath the plane. I break out in a sweat when I dwell on it, and have to commit my mind to something constructive.
Further, when standing on the ground I cannot look up vertically at the sky. I immediately feel disoriented and sick to my stomach looking at the empty void.