The life of common people is full of challenges and daily anxiety, but they can be coped with, while the phobias have more physiological basis and to manage them is much more difficult. Analyzing the fears I have in my everyday life, I consider the fear of height, the so-called acrophobia, to be the strongest and limiting my opportunities. My aim is to overcome this fear and leaving it in the past plan my future not taking into consideration this obstacle.
It is natural that people are afraid of falling looking down from the height; the instinct for the self-preservation makes the heart beat quickly and the breathing hurries. My fear has reasonable limits, I mean, I can look through the window and feel no panic. But when I get into the unknown situation, such as climbing the mountains I can not admire the landscape and the fresh air and can not stop thinking of returning to the earth.
My hands start trembling, I look for something to cling on and my natural reaction is to close my eyes tight and sit without stirring. Acrophobia causes no trouble in every day life as it is not obligatory to climb the mountains daily and nobody can induce me to go in for parachuting. But preventing me from flying in the planes it limits my opportunities. Though the planes are the fastest means of transport, the stress I experience during the flight makes me choose train or bus. In other words, previously I preferred escaping my fears but realizing the disadvantages of being managed by them, I would rather find out the reasons and roots of this fear and consequently choose the ways to overcome it.
The fears are usually based on our previous experience or somebody’s views of certain events. I remember that I was not afraid of height in my early childhood, my parents say that I had courage for climbing the chairs and falling from them time after time. Perhaps some of the falls appeared to be especially traumatic and resulted in the development of acrophobia in the future. I remember one special occasion when I unexpectedly fell from the tree as its branch was broken. Fortunately, the occasion had no serious consequences but the stress and shock I experienced influenced my personality.
The fear of height is predetermined by the fear of losing the foothold and control of the situation consequently. Subconscious attempts to gain the foothold are based on the human desire to plan the future and rule one’s destiny. The falls and accidents are not arranged and it makes the person try to prevent them at all means. As to my fear of flying in the planes it was caused by the numerous stories concerning the accidents in the air.
My discomfort looking through the illuminator at the picturesque landscapes in miniature is not an only pre-condition for my preference of other means of transport. The news reports daily inform us on the occasions of the terrorist acts, falls of the defective planes as well as the statistics of the planes shot down by mistake during the maneuvers. The reports on the events of the eleventh of September intensified my phobia and the remains of the planes and buildings leap into my mind every time I stand in the queue to the ticket office. As a rule, these doubts make me leave before the tickets are bought.
The assurance of the passengers and the safety policy of the present day air companies are not weighty arguments compared to the historical facts and statistics. Thus, my acrophobia is the consequence of my personal mistakes and the influence of the reports on the accidents taking place in the air and caused by the flights.
It is necessary not only to be aware of one’s weak and strong sides but try to minimize one’s limitations caused by the irrational fears. Analyzing the pre-conditions of my fear of height and my personal reactions and previous choices in the situations it should be admitted that the reaction of closing my eyes tight and escaping the problem instead of looking for the solutions is characteristic of me. That is why realizing the necessity of facing the challenges with dignity would be a significant part of the solution. Overcoming the fear of height I could gradually learn to control my physiological reactions.
Shifting the emphasis on the aesthetic and moral aspects would be useful for controlling the physiological processes. Inducing me to open my eyes and admire the aesthetic beauty of the landscape would help to get pleasure from the victories over my fear and reduce the stress. Concentration on the foothold, the safety and my personal control of the situation would gradually prevent the hurried breathing and heartbeat.
One more point is hardening my will and receiving the experience of success, as the satisfaction from overcoming the fear will be reflected on my motivation for further self-management. As to the influence of the statistics, it is necessary to research the statistics on the accidents occurring in other means of transport or caused by other daily challenges. In fact, every day life is full of dangers and one can get into trouble going to work in the morning. Shift of the emphasis, viewing the situations from the other angles and experience of success would be useful for overcoming the fear of height.
Not allowing the fears to limit my opportunities, meeting the challenges with dignity is preferable to escaping the situations of stress and may broaden the life perspectives in general.