When I was a lad I was working on the Sussex County Hospital new tower block in Brighton. On the day the Red Arrows came I was on the roof. I then realised that I had an atavistic desire to fly, which is what I think fear of heights is. I realised that when ever I was up high I wanted to step off. I still have it.:eek:

Just a note or two for those of you who are interested in how this works. (Well, how we think it works because we really don't know much about the brain!).
Those parts of your brain responsible for feelings and fear (specifically the amygdala and hippocampus) work on the basis of association. So rational thinking, logic, and reality are nothing for those parts. And those parts can be very specific in what it associates with fear or anxiety. That is why you can be happy and addicted to flying at 10 000 feet in a glider, or parachuting but intensily fearful and anxious of a 15 foot ladder.


fs

There must be a nerve linking the hippocampus to the sphincter :uhoh:

sorry, this isn't jetblast but a serious discussion, I'll behave.

...fascinating thread...

I was on a cliff top last weekend and had the strongest urge I've ever had in a similar situation to run and leap off. I really had to stop myself and get away from it before I plunged to a certain death on the rocks below. I love the theory about this being linked to a deep instinct to fly, and the theory that this feeling may also explain why I love flying.

Anyway - flying shrink (or any other similarly qualified person) - what is the reason for this overwhelming self destructive urge, are there any theories???

Would love to know.

- Oscar

Read about this some time ago and seem to recall its to do with maintaining balance.

Apparently the body is constantly swaying from side to side (very minutely). The eyes pick up this swaying motion, and cancel it out, so that balance can be maintained.

As the swaying is so minute the eyes can only make the necessary corrections when glancing at something relatively near by (e.g. objects ahead when standing, or the canopy, wing etc. when sitting and flying).

Hence the problem when looking over a cliff or up a ladder...there is nothing close enough for the eyes to dectect the minute swaying ...thus the uneasy feeling...

UV

This topic is really interesting.

Can someone explain to me what vertigo is and what it feels like?

If I don't fly for two weeks I get a horrible nervy feeling as the wheels leave the ground on departure. Is this it? If I fly on a regular basis I don't get this sensation.

I too hate heights. In fact, I hate them so much that I would choose to go on the bottom deck of a bus to avoid sitting upstairs! In hinsight that wasn't a very good example as I have never been on a bus.

Crossing the channel gave me an hour of emotional hell each time I did it. I vowed to never do it again until my children are old enough not to care if I join the fish. I suppose this isn't so much of a height issue, more of a "level of acceptance of risk" issue.

Interesting stuff

I cannot stand heights. Never have. As a result my wife is the person of choice to deal with anything higher than I can reach and thus needs the use of steps or ladder.

But in my case I am certain it is a fear of falling. So it never bothers me so long as I am strapped in. I did not fancy the London Eye but went and had no problem - hence I agree with those who talk about the magical (illogical) powers of a few millimetres of Perspex or metal.

Just once, literally once, in an open cockpit glider at the top of a winch launch I happened to be able to look down the cable all the way down to the ground and had a sense of being a long way up which I certainly did not enjoy. It was instantly fixed by looking away from the cable.