Acrophobia is an extreme fear of heights. It falls under the category of “specific phobias,” as it is a marked fear relating to a particular situation. The Diagnostic ...WhattoknowaboutacrophobiaMedicallyreviewedbyAlexKlein,PsyD—WrittenbyLouiseMorales-BrownonJuly27,2020WhatitisCausesSymptomsTreatmentSummaryAcrophobiaisanintensefearofheights.Ifapersonhasacrophobia,beinghighuporthinkingaboutheightsmaycausethemtohaveapanicattack.Forthisreason,apersonwithacrophobiawillactivelyavoidsituationsthatinvolvebeinghighupofftheground.Keepreadingtolearnmoreaboutthecausesandsymptomsofacrophobiaandthetreatmentoptions.Whatisacrophobia?ShareonPinterestExposuretherapyandCBTarepossibletreatmentsforacrophobia.Acrophobiaisanextremefearofheights.Itfallsunderthecategoryof“specificphobias,”asitisamarkedfearrelatingtoaparticularsituation.TheDiagnosticandStatisticalManualofMentalDisorders(DSM-5)includesheightasa“naturalenvironmenttype”ofphobia.Acrophobiaisoneofthemostcommonfears.Anolderstudystatesthatupto1in20peoplemayexperienceacrophobia.Althoughadislikeorslightfearofheightsisnormal,peoplewithacrophobiahaveanintense,irrationalfearofheights.Apersondoesnotneedtobeespeciallyhighupforthissevereanxietytoarise,andeventhethoughtofbeinghighupmaytriggerapanicattack.Apersonwithacrophobiawillavoidsituationsinwhichtheymaybehighup.Forexample,theymayrefusetostepontoaladder,plane,bridge,orbalcony.Thefearcanhaveaprofoundeffectonaperson’slife,asitmaylimitwheretheychoosetogoandwhattheycando.CausesPhobiastypicallydevelopinchildhood.Thereisnosinglecauseofacrophobia,butresearchershavedevelopedseveraltheoriesastowhythisfearmightdevelop:EvolutionaryEvolutionarytheoriesofphobiassuggestthatpeoplearepredisposedtofearcertainthingsthatmightbedangerous.Inthisinstance,fallingfromaheightthreatenssurvival.Forthisreason,evolutionarytheoristsbelievethatthefearofheightsmaybeinnate.BehavioristtheoriesBehavioristtheoriesrelatingtophobiassuggestthatpeopledevelopafearthroughinteractionswiththeirenvironment.Forinstance:Observation