Wobbly with heights
Discussion
Hi,
I'm after a bit of advice, or thoughts before I book myself in with a GP.
I seem to have developed a bit of an issue with regards to heights, a bit of back ground...
I used to be an absolute monkey when I was a kid and into my teens where I would happily climb to the top of trees and swing around on ropes and branches etc. In my early 20's I trekked in the Himalaya along some pretty dicey tracks and had no problem, my father likening me to a mountain goat!
Then in my late twenties I had a car crash and from what I can remember since then I have started to have a bit of a problem with heights, it can be a flight of stairs and I sometimes hesitate and I usually find myself needing a handrail to hold onto and since buying a house recently I have found it really hard to even climb a step ladder without me feeling wobbly. I don't think it is vertigo, more sense of loss of balance. I even climbed Sydney Harbour Bridge at night in the last few months and had no mental problem with doing it but on certain points, I felt really needed to hold onto something.
Anyone have any idea at what I might be looking at?
It seems I sort of lose cordination of my legs and feet and feel out of balance when I doing steps or stairs.
I'm after a bit of advice, or thoughts before I book myself in with a GP.
I seem to have developed a bit of an issue with regards to heights, a bit of back ground...
I used to be an absolute monkey when I was a kid and into my teens where I would happily climb to the top of trees and swing around on ropes and branches etc. In my early 20's I trekked in the Himalaya along some pretty dicey tracks and had no problem, my father likening me to a mountain goat!
Then in my late twenties I had a car crash and from what I can remember since then I have started to have a bit of a problem with heights, it can be a flight of stairs and I sometimes hesitate and I usually find myself needing a handrail to hold onto and since buying a house recently I have found it really hard to even climb a step ladder without me feeling wobbly. I don't think it is vertigo, more sense of loss of balance. I even climbed Sydney Harbour Bridge at night in the last few months and had no mental problem with doing it but on certain points, I felt really needed to hold onto something.
Anyone have any idea at what I might be looking at?
It seems I sort of lose cordination of my legs and feet and feel out of balance when I doing steps or stairs.
Vertigo. It is a loss of balance, not heights.
I suffer from the same. I have no problem with heights, only when I could fall - or feel compelled to go towards the very edge (or beyond).
The good news is that it is not life threatening (if you stay at ground level!).
It is not nice, but you can live around it with ease.
Take care.
I suffer from the same. I have no problem with heights, only when I could fall - or feel compelled to go towards the very edge (or beyond).
The good news is that it is not life threatening (if you stay at ground level!).
It is not nice, but you can live around it with ease.
Take care.
Just to join in, I've never had a big problem with heights, admittedly not quite the mountain goat levels you were at as I was always a bit of a 'what if' sort of kid, but in the last few years (I'm now 30) I've found out that my body really doesn't like heights all of a sudden!
Mentally I'm fine with them, but as you say, things like climbing to the top of a ladder, once up there my body is very reluctant to move and feels very stiff (oo-er misses).
This really hit home when I went up the Peterskirche tower in Münich. I'd gone up with my partner and she got a bit claustrophobic and headed down half way up. I was absolutely fine and trotted on up to the top no problem. Stepped out on to the balcony area (which is wooden floored and fully enclosed by a metal cage) and I almost froze. Obviously I'd gone up there to see the view and the Rathaus-Glockenspiel chime, so I managed to walk myself to the edge and film it, but it was a huge fight with my body, despite mentally knowing there was zero risk at all!
Mentally I'm fine with them, but as you say, things like climbing to the top of a ladder, once up there my body is very reluctant to move and feels very stiff (oo-er misses).
This really hit home when I went up the Peterskirche tower in Münich. I'd gone up with my partner and she got a bit claustrophobic and headed down half way up. I was absolutely fine and trotted on up to the top no problem. Stepped out on to the balcony area (which is wooden floored and fully enclosed by a metal cage) and I almost froze. Obviously I'd gone up there to see the view and the Rathaus-Glockenspiel chime, so I managed to walk myself to the edge and film it, but it was a huge fight with my body, despite mentally knowing there was zero risk at all!
Vertigo is nothing to do with heights. That bloody Hitchcock film! 
Vertigo can be experienced underground or in space or underwater or in bed - it's a vestibular problem not a height problem.
You've developed a phobia. It can be overcome by something like hypnotism or simply exposure - going up more high places until you get used to it.
Vertigo can be experienced underground or in space or underwater or in bed - it's a vestibular problem not a height problem.You've developed a phobia. It can be overcome by something like hypnotism or simply exposure - going up more high places until you get used to it.
It sounds like a mild version of acrophobia but one with added logic. Phobias usually involve a totally irrational fear but in this instance, the vertigo is probably adding a level of 'rationality' so to speak.
Armed with this information, graded exposure is the most likely key to sucess.
All the best with it.
Armed with this information, graded exposure is the most likely key to sucess.
All the best with it.
How does a vestibular issue do this?davhill said:
It sounds like a mild version of acrophobia but one with added logic. Phobias usually involve a totally irrational fear but in this instance, the vertigo is probably adding a level of 'rationality' so to speak.
Armed with this information, graded exposure is the most likely key to sucess.
All the best with it.
Isn't the definition of a phobia an irrational fear? All phobias are irrational. Acrophobia is an irrational fear of heights (ie. being scared of a 500ft drop off a cliff is a rational fear, fear of a 3ft drop off a stepladder is irrational.Armed with this information, graded exposure is the most likely key to sucess.
All the best with it.
I went up the sky tower in Auckland (well worth it)
However my body went into some sort of rigormortis when I happened to walk over one of the glass panels in the floor....
https://www.travelblog.org/Photos/414374
(not my picture - a google one instead)
However my body went into some sort of rigormortis when I happened to walk over one of the glass panels in the floor....
https://www.travelblog.org/Photos/414374
(not my picture - a google one instead)
I had an inner ear infection a few years ago which gave me extreme dizziness.
While the dizziness went, a small % of instability remained. My brain compensated and in everyday life I've adjusted to it 99.9%, but heights are a no-no now as small movements now feel amplified. Perhaps you had a similar thing as part of your car accident?
While the dizziness went, a small % of instability remained. My brain compensated and in everyday life I've adjusted to it 99.9%, but heights are a no-no now as small movements now feel amplified. Perhaps you had a similar thing as part of your car accident?
I am the same as you and just put it down to getting a bit older! As a kid I couldn't understand my parents being nervous of big wheel rides and stuff like that. In my mid 20's I went to the Himalayas and trekked some mad stuff, I jumped off bridges in Argentina, went rock climbing, and generally paid no attention to heights at all.
Now a couple of decades later, my vision goes weird around edges, my legs shake, my hands sweat and I literally have to crawl along the floor in extreme circumstances. No idea why !!!!! I'm fine on a ski lift but - for example - while sitting on a ski lift last week (mountain biking) I looked at a big jump (those ones which are a big wooden ramp to a massive gap - properly massive) and I nearly fell off the lift. Whilst sitting down !
Now a couple of decades later, my vision goes weird around edges, my legs shake, my hands sweat and I literally have to crawl along the floor in extreme circumstances. No idea why !!!!! I'm fine on a ski lift but - for example - while sitting on a ski lift last week (mountain biking) I looked at a big jump (those ones which are a big wooden ramp to a massive gap - properly massive) and I nearly fell off the lift. Whilst sitting down !
boyse7en said:
Isn't the definition of a phobia an irrational fear? All phobias are irrational. Acrophobia is an irrational fear of heights (ie. being scared of a 500ft drop off a cliff is a rational fear, fear of a 3ft drop off a stepladder is irrational.
That's quite right. For example, I might say I have a phobia of tigers. If I was in a situation where a tiger is extremely unlikely to appear, what I describe would be a typical phobia, being utterly irrational. However, were I in a tiger enclosure, I would experience a whollly rational fear of tigers and could fear a tiger's attacking me and biting my neck until I died. Again, this is completely rational, we know what a tiger is most likely to do. The point I was making before Hoofy shot me down is that the OP could be perceiving feelings associated with extreme anxiety as a phobic reaction.
Vertigo is indeed an event associated with the vestibular system and the nerves within it.
I quote NHS choices (http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/vertigo/Pages/Introduction.aspx)...
'Vertigo is a symptom, rather than a condition itself. It's the sensation that you, or the environment around you, is moving or spinning.
This feeling may be barely noticeable, or it may be so severe that you find it difficult to keep your balance and do everyday tasks.'
The strong association between extreme anxitey and balance issues is well known, I quote calm clinic (http://www.calmclinic.com/anxiety/signs/vertigo)
('...or your vertigo tends to come and go with intense anxiety, it may be a sign of panic disorder or a related anxiety problem.')
This is why I suggested graded exposure.
Sorry, davhill, bit rude of me. It's a bugbear as I've suffered from vestibular problems in the past.
If anxiety is affecting the patient, it's because blood pressure increases which will cause inner ear problems.
My BiL is a classic example. He works in the financial services, does 12 hour days plus sometimes the weekend. The more stressed he gets at work, the deafer he gets. Two weeks on a beach in the sun and his ear problems have miraculously gone.
If anxiety is affecting the patient, it's because blood pressure increases which will cause inner ear problems.
My BiL is a classic example. He works in the financial services, does 12 hour days plus sometimes the weekend. The more stressed he gets at work, the deafer he gets. Two weeks on a beach in the sun and his ear problems have miraculously gone.
Hoofy said:
Sorry, davhill, bit rude of me. It's a bugbear as I've suffered from vestibular problems in the past.
If anxiety is affecting the patient, it's because blood pressure increases which will cause inner ear problems.
My BiL is a classic example. He works in the financial services, does 12 hour days plus sometimes the weekend. The more stressed he gets at work, the deafer he gets. Two weeks on a beach in the sun and his ear problems have miraculously gone.
Apology accepted H. I've worked a lot with anxiety and phobia sufferers and this work ultimately led to my getting my psych MSc. The If anxiety is affecting the patient, it's because blood pressure increases which will cause inner ear problems.
My BiL is a classic example. He works in the financial services, does 12 hour days plus sometimes the weekend. The more stressed he gets at work, the deafer he gets. Two weeks on a beach in the sun and his ear problems have miraculously gone.
challenges are staggeringly diverse but treatment is slowly catching up.
Edited by davhill on Wednesday 23 August 12:36
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