Understanding Illyngophobia or the Fear of Vertigo

Tokyo aerial view with Mt.Fuji, at daytime Japan

Photography by ZhangXun/Moment/Getty

Table of Contents
View All
Table of Contents

Those who suffer from illyngophobia, the fear of vertigo (dizziness), are not afraid of a height itself, but of developing vertigo when looking down. If this isn't something you struggle with personally, it may be hard to understand precisely what this phobia is or how it feels, but it can be very debilitating and anxiety-producing any time a person with this phobia has to be well-above ground level.

Overview

Illynogophobia is related to acrophobia, 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.

Most people report some level of discomfort with heights. Gibson and Walk's famous 1960 "Visual Cliff" experiments, detailed in "Acrophobia," showed that babies are reluctant to cross a thick pane of glass covering an apparent drop.

What Is Vertigo?

Vertigo is a specific type of dizziness and causes you to feel like your:

  • Spinning
  • Swaying
  • Tilting
  • In a moving room
  • Moving

There are two types of vertigo and both can be exacerbated by heights, particularly when looking down from a ledge:

  1. Subjective vertigo, the sufferer feels like he or she is moving or swaying.
  2. Objective vertigo, the sufferer feels like objects are moving around him or her.

A number of pre-existing conditions and medications can cause vertigo, including:

Contrary to what many may think, heights are not required to induce 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. These two phobias can induce many of the same symptoms, including:

  • Dizziness
  • Shaking
  • Nausea
  • Vomiting

It is possible that illyngophobia can occur alongside genuine vertigo. Your doctor can help determine the extent of your symptoms, and whether they are tied to vertigo, the phobia, or both. In order to receive a phobia diagnosis, you must meet certain criteria as laid out in the DSM, such as the following:

  • The fear significantly impacts your life, and lasts for longer than six months
  • The fear or anxiety response is immediate, and is out of proportion to the actual danger
  • The fear provokes avoidance behaviors, or extreme distress in the presence of the fear object

Causes

The cause of illyngophobia is often, although not always, a negative experience with heights experienced by you or someone else. Perhaps you fell off the sofa as a child or watched someone fall, either in person or on television. 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. Evolutionary theories of phobia suggest that certain fear responses have been passed down from early humans, who needed to be much more cognizant of a wider variety of situations or objects that could threaten their lives.

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.

Treatment

Like other specific phobias, you require treatment if the phobia interferes with your living a "normal" life.

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 as systematic 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.

In Popular Culture

The best-known example of illyngophobia in popular culture is Alfred Hitchcock's 1958 film Vertigo. In the film, a police detective develops vertigo after seeing a fellow officer fall to his death during a rooftop chase. Throughout the film, the detective's condition is shown to be psychological in nature and he is able to conquer vertigo at the end, albeit at a terrible price. This film tends to be the common association with the idea of vertigo, which can be a complicating factor for dealing with stigma related to the condition or with illyngophobia.

Sources
Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
  • Washington, DC: Author. Gibson, E. J., & Walk, R. D. "The 'visual cliff'." Scientific American. 1960. 202, 67-71.

By Lisa Fritscher
Lisa Fritscher is a freelance writer and editor with a deep interest in phobias and other mental health topics.