Conquering Fear of Heights

OK, I have a debilitating fear of heights that really hacks me off as it prevents me doing things I’d love to do. It’s completely irrational – I’ve no problems at all in planes, helicopters, even roller coasters, but put me on a ladder and I freeze.

I’m pretty sure there’s an element of vertigo or a spacial aspect to it – being in high buildings and looking upwards gives me the heeby-jeebies.

Anyway, this year I moved into a house surrounded by trees, so I now have lots of gutters that need clearing of leaves on a regular basis. I’ve purchased a set extension ladders, I just need to conquer “The Fear”.

Is it doable? Anyone done it? Any advice?

Ta!

I just need to conquer “The Fear”.

Have a look at the recent WCA threads. You’ll never climb a ladder again.

hth 😉

don’t think you can to be honest, I force myself to do stuff up ladders ‘cos I know it needs to be done but I never feel comfortable.

Main thing I find is to be 100% sure of the ladder footings and that it’s not going to rock or tip.

‘that’ll do’ isn’t really good enough when workign at height.

And there was me assuming that you were called “Shibboleth” because you’d climbed it! 😉

I rekon so, just try and go 1 step higher each day until your comfortable, no rush

I’ve helped many people overcome their fear of heights, I used to work with aluminium towers. But I don’t think you’d respect my advice.

dont do a bungee jump to get over the fear of heights… made mine much worse

I am terrified looking off a tall bridge / cliff / building etc (kind of weird, I’ve been flying planes and gliders since I was about 11 years old….) so thought I’d start climbing to overcome the problem.
What i found is that I could scare myself in new an interesting ways every time I went. Fear is still very much with me.

I don’t think that helped!

But I don’t think you’d respect my advice.

Because you’re tattooed? Or because you have a rather camp way of standing on an aluminium tower? 😀

Last year, my builder left a scaffold up at the back of my work premises so I could repoint the stonework. It’s 4 stories high and on a hill so drops away a few hundred feet at the back.

I was fine scrambling up the inside of one of the scaffolding towers, but couldn’t use the ladder he’d left me even though the ladder was far quicker, easier and probably safer!

It’s weird.

Take up indoor climbing – I just to have a mild unease of heights but I’m not bothered at all now. Seems to transfer to outside as well quite nicely – used to get scared riding/walking/climbing along cliff edges, now I don’t.

Normally climbing centres off starter courses and there is never any forcing anyone to go higher than they want to. When i go climbing I quite often see groups of learners going 2/3s up the wall and then coming down, then the next week they get to the top etc.

That’s probably not a bad idea Ewan… There’s a leisure centre nearby that has a wall…

see, it’s not a fear of heights you have it’s a fear of falling…

I’m not sure workign on climbing wall with a safety rope will help – you’ll know you’re safe.

I don’t have a fear of heights at all, positively love them. Ladders however are a different matter, bloody dangerous things, even if you know what you are doing.

Pay someone to clear your gutters for you, they won’t use a ladder either.

Especially if you try deliberately falling off when climbing – get used to the thought that you’re not going to hit the ground.

see, it’s not a fear of heights you have it’s a fear of falling…

No it’s not, it’s a fear of landing………… hard.

Just remember falling doesn’t hurt it it’s hitting the ground that hurts

How about not using a ladder and getting scaffolding in for a day? Too expensive? (Genuine q) You could harness yourself onto a tower, no?

Looks like davidjones15 is installing something onto a window up there. Blinds? Shutters?

Take up indoor rock climbing and gradually build up to higher/longer routes. It’ll help focus your mind whilst all the up there 🙂

The only way I feel secure on ladders is to make sure I stand up vertically with my arms out straight in front. Clinging to the ladder closely makes it much worse and standing straight makes you look up more rather than down. It helps to try to lean back – there is no way you will pull the ladder away from the wall by leaning back.

If the ladder base slips back away from the wall it will likely be a slowish fall anyway. And a sideways fall is only caused by overreaching.

You could always ask this guy to clear your guttering for you 😉

Warning!

Makes me ill just watching this!

never has there been a better excuse:

I have a rational fear of heights, when I understand & can control I am fine, I can climb above gear etc but on a ladder that is not right I am completely off.

A mate fell about 60m doing winter stuff in Scotland, thought I’d cure his aversion to falling by loweringdropping him fast at the climbing wall – shows what I know……

As someone with exactly the same fears (planes OK, high ladders not), I can thoroughly recommend the climbing wall approach. When I was getting close to completing my Munros (the Scottish mountains over 3,000ft) I realised that some of those I had left were going to involve considerable exposure on steep, rocky ridges and would involve moves up and down rock walls. I joined a local climbing facility, gradually building up my comfort levels.

The one thing I would say is that the effect seems to be quite short lived – i.e. if I was going to attempt those same routes again I’d probably put in a few sessions at the climbing wall first.

Land Rover? Mechanical lifting device? All in one vehicle?

Awesome to the power of mega!!! BUT ONE NOWWWWWWW.

OP, how about a nice relaxing parachute jump? If you have no fear of flying, then the first bit should be no problem (going up) and the second bit will just be too late to worry about (coming back down). I’ll do one with you and shout encouragement at you. Or heckle and take the pi55. Or both. And film it. Then Youtube it.

Just watched the video in Ski’s post. Going for a little lie down now…

I found that climbing helped, but only if i had climbed up to that point! Was still not happy walking up to the edge of the crag etc from the top, but not an issue if i had come from the ground up.

deadlydarcy – Member

Looks like davidjones15 is installing something onto a window up there. Blinds? Shutters?

No, I think he’s just mincing up and down the Jungermanns singing Right Said Fred whilst shaking his tail feathers at some bloke inside with a satsuma gaffer taped in his mouth and a belt round his neck. Fact.

Thanks for all the advice so far, that video made me sweat… Properly, like wringing sweaty palms, pins and needles in my fingers… Terrifying!

The roof of the house is a bit complicated with lots of dormers and flat sections, so lots of gutters. And it’s surrounded by mature beech and sycamore trees, so at this time of year, they really need doing once a week, so scaffolding would be impractical.

There’s a route up where I can brace the foot of the ladders against a garage wall – so no chance of slippage, and from a spacial point of view, climbing up between 2 buildings will probably help.

Guess I’m just gonna have to give it a go and MTFU. I like the climbing wall idea though, so I’m going to explore that. It’s really something I would like to control, not just for clearing gutters!

I’m exactly the same as you Shibboleth. I once worked on a building site as a teenage labourer and made the mistake of admitting my fear. I was soon whisked up an immensely high vertical ladder to the top of an “x to the power of lots”-storey high building to “cure” my fear. I froze and could not come down. I really never thought I’d get down but eventually and to the undisguised amusement of all, I did. That was nearly 30 years ago and it still gives me the odd nightmnare, so don’t push it too hard. Little steps.

I have now built up to painting all of the exterior of my house (a few years ago) by just going a little higher each time. Didn’t help though that I did nearly fall off when the ladder suddenly shifted – yes, put it in properly…..!!

Good luck.

I don’t mind the 100 ft drop just the last inch or so.

I took up climbing indoors fine outdoors have to push past the fear. Now it’s no better than before.

@Shibboleh, I’d definitely be interested in sharing anything you find out. What I’d say is it’s definitely got worse, had it in my teens if not before and much worse now I’m circa 50. So doing something about it is a good plan.

It does affect me, this year on the Alps bike holiday there were quite a few places where I was very uncomfortable, eg on narrow exposed footpaths. Likewise when hiking or skiing off-piste/touring. Its a vicious circle as the fear reduces your motor skills and you are actually more likely to fall.

@druidh – very interesting, I have found this year doing a few hikes a number of places “beyond” my comfort level like Striding Edge to Helvelyn. Last weekend I could hardly even watch people on Crib Goch on the way up Snowdon and I wasn’t comfortable climbing to the trig point on the summit given the wind and the fact it was crowded.

Jambalaya, that sounds similar – I didn’t suffer as badly as a youngster, although it’s always been a problem.

Things like North Shore are a problem for me, The Fear seems to pull me towards the edge!

Guess I’m just gonna have to give it a go and MTFU. I like the climbing wall idea though, so I’m going to explore that. It’s really something I would like to control, not just for clearing gutters!

I’ve been a rock climber/mountaineer for more than 20 years. I can happily tiptoe unroped along narrow ledges and have confidently soloed 500ft climbs.

And I’m still not completely comfortable on high ladders, and climbing out of a velux onto the roof to tweak my tv aerial was bloody terrifying, even with a rope slung around the chimney stack.

Shibb – This manly prancing around on ladders and playing lumberjack up tall trees is just to impress cushion girl, isn’t it?!

I love heights but have an almost paralysing fear that I might jump off when I’m up high.

I think that the best way forward might be some sort of neurolinguistic programming thing.

I’d certainly try the climbing wall thing, if it feels ‘too safe’ try a bit of (indoor) lead climbing. Still perfectly safe (once above the first couple of clips) but doesn’t feel like it!

If the ladder base slips back away from the wall it will likely be a slowish fall anyway

It really isn’t slow in any way.

It’s very fast, and it hurts.

A LOT.

I unexpectedly started to suffer the same and had hypnosis, which didn’t fully work but it allowed me to help deal with the anxiety element. I was invited to a meeting at the top of city tower in Manchester which was 24 floors and I shit out at the lift. I sent someone else up but the embarrassment of making twelve people come down to meet me in a ground floor meeting room made me push myself to resolve it.

The next time I went to a large hospital in sheffield I decided to walk up the stairs which had windows at the side of them, this way I could ‘acclimatise’ on the way up, getting used to the accent and by the time I’d got to the 26th floor I was buzzing. I went back to the tower in Manchester and strolled into the office to a rapture of applause…..

A lot of phobia’s need a change of association in your brain and my association of heights in now a memory of conquering a fear…

you need to walk the Kings Way at El Chorro in spain. It starts OK but then handrials missing, walls missing then floor missing. I got frozen part way across a gap but the current Mrs ChrisE was able to cross and flash her xxxxxx’s at me which made me cross! I kid you not.

C

Big, long gutter clearing stick.

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