Common symptoms of fear of heights
If you have a fear of heights, you usually know that being up high is not necessarily dangerous. Still, your body may react with intense fear when you are at height, or even when you anticipate it.
Common symptoms of fear of heights include:
Intense fear
Rapid heartbeat
Sweating
Feeling unsteady
Urge to step back
Shaky legs
What people regain after treatment
After successful treatment, people experience the following benefits of living without fear of heights:
- No more intense fear at heights
- Feeling more relaxed on balconies, stairs or viewpoints
- Greater freedom in travel, work and leisure
- Increased confidence and independence
The science behind the treatment: targeting the fear response directly
Research into memory reconsolidation – first demonstrated by Karim Nader (Nature, 2000) – suggests that under specific conditions fear memories can become open to change.
Prof. dr. Merel Kindt (Professor in Clinical Psychology at the University of Amsterdam) translated this research to human fear and phobias. Her work forms the scientific basis of the Memrec method, a specialised form of cognitive behavioural therapy.
The treatment is a combination of briefly facing the fear in a safe, guided way and a single dose of a beta blocker, preventing the fear from being stored again in the same way.
The treatment in three steps
The treatment is delivered in a structured three-step process. An introductory call helps determine whether the approach is appropriate for your situation.
Intake session
During the intake session (often online), we discuss your fear in more detail and agree on a treatment plan. We also do a brief medical screening to ensure the treatment can be carried out safely.
Day 1 – Treatment
During the treatment session, we briefly activate the fear once. You then take a single dose of a beta-blocker, which does its work while you relax.
Day 2 – Test
You return the next day and face the same situation again. For many people, the contrast is striking: panic is absent and avoidance has reduced substantially.
More than 3,000 people have overcome their phobia at Kindt Clinics
Paula’s experience:
Through the Memrec treatment I was cured of my fear of heights in one day! I can still hardly believe it myself.
Read more
Over the past 45 years, I have denied myself (and my family) many enjoyable things because my fear of heights increasingly got in the way. To prevent anxiety and panic attacks, over the years I started avoiding more and more situations. In 2022 I decided I no longer wanted this. Via Google I discovered Kindt Clinics.
The contact throughout the entire process — from the first phone call to the follow-up check by phone — was very pleasant. They took all the time needed to give explanations and answer questions.
The treatment session itself was intense and demanding; a panic attack was deliberately triggered. But Sophie guided me through it wonderfully. I was very tired for the rest of the day. After a week the check took place. During this, without feelings of panic, I climbed from the balcony onto the roof of the building using a kitchen step ladder.
In the two weeks afterwards, in my private life I practised by consciously seeking out heights. The “highlight” was a glass balcony at 60 metres high that I simply dared to step onto. That had previously been completely unthinkable.
I will probably never go skydiving or bungee jumping. But when I now look into a depth or drive on a mountain road, I can enjoy my surroundings without panic. At most I feel somewhat uncomfortable. This opens up a new world for me, and what previously was only a dream has now finally become possible: together with my husband I am going to visit the Grand Canyon.
Frequently asked questions
Twice. The intake session is often done online, via video. For the treatment itself, you then come to our clinic twice — usually on two consecutive days.
Everyone experiences fear of heights a little differently. Some people fear falling, others worry that the structure they are standing on might collapse, or that they might panic, jump, or make a misstep. For others, the fear is mainly visual, seeing the drop itself triggers the fear. That’s why we tailor the treatment specifically to your fear.
Sometimes there has been a distressing experience in the past, but often this isn’t the case. During the intake, we explore together what lies at the core of your fear of heights and how we can treat it in a way that is both effective and manageable for you. Together, we choose the most suitable location for your treatment.
Nine out of ten treatments are successful in one go. If not, we try it again.