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Learning Experience Paper
Learning Experience Paper
Brandie Logsdon
PSY/103
January 26, 2015
Russell Sprinkle

Phobia is where a person is afraid of certain things or situations such as being or speaking in public, snakes, spiders, dogs, clowns, or open spaces. Acrophobia is an informal learning experience of being afraid of heights. This type of phobia belongs to a specific classification of phobias known as space and motion discomfort. Acrophobia can be dangerous, as victims can suffer an anxiety attack in a high place and become too anxious to get down cautiously. I suffer from a severe degree of acrophobia that prevents me from renting an apartment on any floor other than the ground floor. When I did live on the second floor of an apartment complex, I had to keep my window blinds closed causing my claustrophobia to kick in, which in turn, caused a severe anxiety attack. People with acrophobia may also experience other phobias or types of anxiety. I suffer from several phobias like being in public, spiders, closed spaces, and heights but was also diagnosed with bipolar II, PTSD, and anxiety disorder. Acrophobia can have a negative effect on a person’s life by restricting their job possibilities or where to go for vacation and one’s regular day-to-day situations such as changing a light bulb in a ceiling fan or hanging new window curtains.
One might ask, how could someone become afraid of heights? Some psychologists debate the cause of phobias claiming that they are instigated by early traumatic experiences. Fear in itself is an emotion known as anxiety that is produced by the brain when there is the presence of danger or to keep us away from a possible dangerous situation. In relation to acrophobia, these experiences might consist of a person that has suffered from falling from a high place or has seen someone else get hurt from falling from a high place. The main word in the definition is “irrational.” Being afraid of falling off a high mountain top is rational, also known as an

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