Overview
Illynogophobia is related toacrophobia, the fear of heights, but is not the same.
Those with acrophobia are literally afraid of being at a significant height.
The difference is subtle, and a trained clinician can make a proper diagnosis.
Photography by ZhangXun/Moment/Getty
Most people report some level of discomfort with heights.
What Is Vertigo?
It can have a significant impact on your well-being, and not just when facing heights.
Symptoms
If you suffer from illyngophobia, it is not unusual to believe that you have vertigo.
Many phobias are connected to some kind of trauma such as this.
Evolutionary psychologists believe illyngophobia may be an extreme variation on a normal evolutionary survival mechanism.
Complications
Many occupations require employees to work at significant heights.
Those with severe illyngophobia may be unable to work even inside an office on a high floor.
City dwellers may limit their choice of apartments as they are unwilling to live above the first floor.
If you suffer from illyngophobia, you may develop the symptoms of medical vertigo.
This can further increase your anxiety as you now believe that you have the disorder you feared.
Cognitive-behavioral therapy is one of the most common and most effective treatments for illyngophobia and other specific phobias.
The therapist teaches you how to replace your negative thoughts about being at heights with positive ones.
You will learn to relax as you confront progressively more challenging heights through a process known assystematic desensitization.
This kind of exposure has shown to be very effective in treating phobias.
Although the fear of vertigo can be life-limiting, treatment is successful in the vast majority of cases.
