Batophobia- Fear of heights or being close to high buildings
The irrational, overwhelming and continued fear heights or being close to tall buildings is called batophobia and is different from bathophobia which as previously discussed is the fear of depth.
The exact cause of this fear is unknown, however it may be caused by an obsessive behaviour which causes an individual to fear heights or being close to high buildings. Some sufferers may have been up a tall building and looked down from a great height and found themselves suddenly paralysed and extremely frightened that he or she might fall down and die. Individuals who fear being close to high buildings may have developed this fear because of seeing a building collapse by demolition for instance or an earthquake or some other natural disaster and having people trapped under the structure thus triggering the fear. 9/11 caused several cases of this debilitating anxiety.
Individuals with this fear tend to live in single-storey houses, without stairs or elevations, and may even get scared of being on top of a chair putting something away. These individuals will exhibit symptoms of anxiety when they are in a city with tall buildings and they might feel trapped or suffocated (this of course is different than claustrophobia) even though it might manifest itself in a similar fashion.
Treatment includes behavioural hypnotherapy and psychotherapy.
