Acrophobia - What Causes It?

Regular exercise, exercise that helps in muscle relaxation, deep breathing, yoga and meditation are some of the activities that are used to treat and cope with acrophobia. Medication with D-cycloserine may also be used sometimes for alleviating symptoms. Physiotherapy and exposure to virtual reality are also used for treating the disorder.

Medications are sometimes used for managing the disorder when it becomes too unmanageable with other therapies. Medications include anti-anxiety, tranquilizers, beta blockers and anti-depressants. These medications relieve panic, nervousness and palpitations. Other treatment methods are hypnotherapy, cognitive behavioural therapy and coping mechanism.

Bathmophobia is a condition wherein the person experiences extreme fear of stairs and slopes. Whenever a bathmophobic person views stairs or a steep slope, he/she starts panicking and has all the symptoms of acrophobia. Palpitations, trembling, sweating and crying and shouting are some of the common symptoms of bathmophobia.

Feeling paralysed and terrified while at a certain height indicates that the person suffers from acrophobia- the fear of heights. This fear may cause the person to experience palpitations, sweating, tremble, yell, immediately clinging on to something, crawling on all fours or kneeling down.