Quote:
Originally Posted by Superman
HardDrive mentioned fear of heights. I am not afraid of many things, but I do NOT like heights. Even looking at a photograph looking down from a height makes me queazy. I do not go to the edge of a height like a roof and, candidly, weirdly, it's because I think I might jump off. I don't have a suicidal impulse. If I jump, it will be "just because." Hard to explain. Like turning a car into oncoming traffic at speed. It's an impulse I have, and it scares me.
Okay, enough of that. I am very afraid of heights. The carnival ride I avoid is the Ferris Wheel. But here's the thing: My favorite carnival ride is the Zipper. I am totally fine with heights as long as I am enclosed. I love to fly in airplanes.
I don't love spiders or snakes.
What are you afraid of?
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Your fear of jumping off is not unusual, believe it or not. Lots of people, if not all, have impulsive thoughts. The difference is some don’t have sound impulse control. Impulse control is learned, usually at a very young age.
Interestingly, that learned impulse control is diminished with alcohol consumption (along with impaired judgement). The ‘Hold My Beer!’ phenomenon. One theory is that impulse control is a common reason for people to have a fear of firearms. They don’t trust themselves with one and subsequent to the phenomenon of projection, don’t trust anyone else with one, either.