Alkam 1
Diah Alkam
Professor Simões
English 100 – TTh
10 October 2016
Don’t Look Down
DON’T LOOK DOWN! WHY DID I LOOK DOWN? I first realized that I was afraid of
heights when I was ten years old and went on a vacation to Chicago. We decided to take at tour
of the Series Tower with my uncle’s family and my family. They wanted to go to the 103rd floor
of the building and I didn’t have any problem with it at the time. We went inside the elevator and
it began to rise. I thought I was fine until the elevator stopped on the 103rd floor. When I went
towards the glass and looked down I went running back to my mom because I was terrified. My
mom tried to calm me down but nothing worked; she then took me back to the ground floor until
everyone was ready to leave. To this day I still think about what could have happened if I had
fallen out of the building. After that fateful I haven’t stepped into that building because of that
reoccurring nightmare. Even though I don’t show that I am afraid of heights, on the inside I’m a
wreck.
I believe this topic is important because there are many people that suffer from the fear of
heights. I believe that the people who are most affected by this are children and, believe it or not,
tall people. My brother and I, who are tall, have an extreme fear of heights. Everyone, whether
they themselves or know someone who fears heights, needs to be informed and understand what
others feel suffering from this phobia. I believe this because as everyone can tell this problem is
Alkam 2
not going away anytime soon. People all around the world have different types of phobias and
being afraid of something is normal no matter your age.
I would like to know what exactly Acrophobia is. Acrophobia is not a common phobia,
knowing this I would like to know how many people suffer from this fear. I want to know what
the symptoms of Acrophobia and what happens when you do get afraid. Finally, I would like to
know what can someone that has this phobia do to cure it. For example, is there drugs that one
can take or if there are expert phycologists that deals with this exact topic. I have had this phobia
since I can remember and I think if I do find a way to get it out of my head that I would be a lot
happier and less scared all the time. Acrophobia isn’t bad to have, but I would rather not be
afraid and get to go to the places my friends and family go to.
Acrophobia is fear of heights in an extreme way. Someone with Acrophobia would not
