Heights

[Phillip Hathaway]

Anyone have a tips to calm nerves while dealing with Heights?

 

[Darren Best]

Don't look down.

I have inner ear problems and get vertigo really bad and heights make it worse, especially if footing is questionable.

Don't look down, find something close in front of you or slightly above you to focus on.

Hang onto something and or use trekking poles.

Don't move your head quickly.

 

[Phillip Hathaway]

Ya I have a shunt due to spina bifida and 70% loss of hearing in my left ear and hunting in Colorado messed with me bad . I love hunting out there I just got really nervous with the heights

 

[mAv]

Drink heavily. Stay away from ledges post drinks.

I can't offer a ton, I have only legitimately been scared of heights once- on the big shot ride in Vegas, only took riding it once to calm the nerves, but I was scared to hell before I got on it.

 

[pacific-23]

Find a large animal to focus on instead. I hate heights but if I'm after something its not so bad.

 

[Phillip Hathaway]

I think my whole unsteadiness is relating to my hearing loss

 

[wapitibob]

I have to hold on to something. If looking over a ledge I have to crawl to look over. It's pretty messed up.
I'm OK in my treestand because it has a front bar. Without it, I can't function up there.

 

[Phillip Hathaway]

I hear ya there!! I am the same way. My balance would never let me walk towards a ledge.

 

[littlebuf]

Don't fall. I've been dealing with heights most of my life, started in construction when I was fifteen. I just never had the fear of them so I don't really understand it to much. But I still think the best advice is just don't fall. I've fallen a few times trust me, it's not cool

 

[fulldraw1972]

I used to be an iron worker before I started running cranes. The highest structure I have been on was 500' up but heights never have bothered me. I can see how not looking down and concentrating on what's in front of you would help.

 

[Beastmode]

Don't fall. I've been dealing with heights most of my life, started in construction when I was fifteen. I just never had the fear of them so I don't really understand it to much. But I still think the best advice is just don't fall. I've fallen a few times trust me, it's not cool

From my understanding its not the fall that hurts you. Its the sudden stop at the end of the fall.

In all seriousness back to the OP I would do whatever you can to get your mind off of it. I know this can be very difficult but fear of heights is strictly mental. Start thinking about your hunt or whatever it is you are doing.

 

[Becca]

I love being in the mountains, but I hate super steep terrain when the footing is loose. If i have to walk a narrow spine where the ground drops away on both sides, I get nervous and sometimes even paralyzed. I will be the first to admit I have cried through many scree fields and over many spines and rock scrambles. The empowered feeling I get when I cross something successfully makes the next time easier, and I am amazed now at the places I can go that I would have thought once were impossible for me. Some things that help me are going slowly, and taking it one step at a time. Put one foot in front of the other instead of agonizing about how far it is across. I sometimes even count my steps for a bit, as it gives me something to focus on. Trekking poles can help, but they can also sometimes be a hindrance. There have been times when I have been better off stowing them so I have both hands free to hold onto things. Use your judgement, but don't over think it.

 

[60x]

I love being in the mountains, but I hate super steep terrain when the footing is loose. If i have to walk a narrow spine where the ground drops away on both sides, I get nervous and sometimes even paralyzed. I will be the first to admit I have cried through many scree fields and over many spines and rock scrambles. The empowered feeling I get when I cross something successfully makes the next time easier, and I am amazed now at the places I can go that I would have thought once were impossible for me. Some things that help me are going slowly, and taking it one step at a time. Put one foot in front of the other instead of agonizing about how far it is across. I sometimes even count my steps for a bit, as it gives me something to focus on. Trekking poles can help, but they can also sometimes be a hindrance. There have been times when I have been better off stowing them so I have both hands free to hold onto things. Use your judgement, but don't over think it.

this^^^^
if we are talking mountains then the best way is to get in the mountains and take baby steps meaning push a little more each time to build your confidence level.. I will be honest. I spent a long time as a sheep guide in one of the worst ranges in Alaska and yet after a layoff from the mountains then going back some things made me nervous.. But I just take my time and concentrate on footing and never make the next step till I am sure my other foot is planted and I have a hand hold or my axe firmly planted.. I prefer to have several points of contact vs just my feet.. Set small goals...like to that next rock or tree or something.. dwell on whats ahead..

and yes its the sudden stop that hurts.. my overconfidence years ago led me to fall off a rock face and get broken and bloody and roll to a cliff before I came to...not fun

 

[Mike7]

I completely agree with 60x. You can desensitize yourself with repeated exposure, but for me at least, enough time away from heights and I'm back near square one.

Some fear of heights is a natural life preserving mechanism. If your balance is already altered then listen to this mechanism, without letting it keep you from doing things that you know inherently possess very little risk. I hate big exposure even if my footing is fairly stable! Like many somewhat afraid of heights, I have climbed some fairly steep stuff if there is a safe run-out below it...because in the back of my mind, I know that a fall which I can't stop will not lead to me sliding over a large cliff and certain death. If I think the risk is acceptable, I use 60x's technique of setting small short goals which are not overwhelming, and keep 2-5 points of contact with the ground at all times as needed (yes the butt and belly have been contact points for me when climbing before even though I know they're not supposed to be).

 

[weaver]

I also work construction and have no fear of heights. There's a fine line between being confident and becoming careless.

 

[kodiakfly]

For me, it's if I'm "secured" or not. I don't like heights either, but if I'm secured via harness, rope, whatever...I'm good to go at any height, any angle, whatever. I used to work timber and occasionally had to top a tree. If I'm up there in a harness and tied in, I'm golden running a chainsaw 60 or 80' up. But put me on a limb or ledge 30' up where I'm just sitting there and I get uneasy. My job, I hang out the door of a helicopter and since I'm on a gunner's belt, I'm fine at any altitude flying around sitting in the door with one leg hanging out.

I guess my point would be if there's something you can do to get your mind feeling safe, that may be all that's needed for you to do what you gotta do. It's a mental thing; you're physically capable of doing it, it's your mind that's saying you can't. I'm not talking about psyching yourself up, I'm just saying for me, it's getting my head in a safe place, and then my body follows.

 

[William Hanson (live2hunt)]

Its important to realize that its all in your head as beastmode said. We all face fears daily to more or less degrees but we train ourselves to handle those appropriately. For example driving, its not natural for a human to travel at speeds of 60-70 mph yet we condition ourselves to be so tolerant of these speeds that it seems normal. The same thing can be done for most fears, just look at para troopers that jump from planes regularly. Desensitization works in most cases as was mentioned. However if you do have an abnormally severe fear of heights don't push yourself to hard or it can lead to making dangerous mistakes out of fear that would not be made if you have it under control. I have no real fear of heights, I do however get irrationally nervous on cliffs because there is always this underlying thought that the piece I'm standing on is going to give way with me on it, apparently I've watched to many looney toons.

 

[jmez]

I'm scared of heights, always have been. My little brother is the complete opposite. I've never gotten over it and don't think I ever will. Mine is pretty severe. I'm not even comfortable in a 15 foot treestand without a safety tether.

 

[MesaHorseCo.]

My wife has issues with it, alot of times for here, if she squats down a bit getting a little closer to the ground, she can then resume function.

 

[RosinBag]

We climb and rappel off things like these and it gets you over any heights fairly quickly...

One of these pictures is looking up inside the tower of the Transamerica building in downtown San Francisco. And the other is looking un along the outside of the of decommissioned nuclear reactor just east of Lodi, CA.