Fears and Phobias

Originally Posted by Identity Crisis

Everybody has something that they fear. What do you fear the most, and, if you can remember, how was the fear first instigated? Do you have any idea why you fear the thing that you do, or is it primarily based on a self-preservation reflex? Do you think that this fear can be overcome?

I'll start off the discussion by stating that I have acrophobia -- the fear of heights. I don't know what caused the fear at first, per se, but every single time I've looked down at the ground from a height of six feet or more, I get a little nervous. The thought of impacting the ground painfully startles me.

Also, there's a list of phobias at www.phobialist.com for further discussion.

In AP Psychology, we learned that people who are born vaginally are more proned to be fearful of heights compared to those babies born C-section. My teacher's son who was a C-section baby sky dives for fun and my teacher, born vaginally, wouldn't think of it and hates flying.

But on topic, I'm afraid of flying in planes. I'm not afraid of the height, but the crashing or the possible hijacking. It's been like this forever. I've never been on a flight so I guess if I were forced to fly I'd overcome it.

How ya doing, buddy?

Originally Posted by Identity Crisis

Interesting, that wasn't even covered in my psychology class. My birth was vaginal, so this sort of makes sense. I'd like to know the correlation between vaginal births and acrophobia, though.

Also, I've been on a plane twice. Both times I had to close the window otherwise I'd get a little panicky. As long as I'm under the delusion that I'm not several thousand feet in the air, I'll be fine. Also, sleeping in the middle of the flight helps.

I believe my teacher said it was because vaginal births the baby is pushed it and hopefully someone has a hand on it, unlike in c-sections when the doctor pulls it out. I'm not sure, I should visit him and ask about it again.

There's nowhere I can't reach.