At 656 feet bridge, head look down fear of height. How overcome?

[toomuchgrief]

I was at a bridge height 656 feet clearance below early this week on Monday Columbus holiday. Tip my head over the railing and look straight down and OMG, it was HIGH. I must have a fear of height because my legs started trembling.
No, this bridge is not my ideal bridge, since I aim higher, my goal is the tallest bridge in the US height of 1,000 feet clearance below.

But how can I jump off a 1,000 feet bridge when a bridge of half that height (656 feet) already got my legs trembling while looking down? "HOW" to overcome the fear of height?

I guess next time don't look down but look straight or head tilt up instead? Or would this fear of height of mine only leave me an option of a shotgun to my head? I can get a shotgun easily, it just I still think the chance of make sure I will be dead is free fall off a 1,000 feet bridge.

eta: add pic of the bridge, and this is the bridge, it only 656 feet height, doesn't look high in pictures, but holly batman, it look HIGH in person when you there and look down.

 

[blackflag1]

500 to 1,000 feet. Pretty much guaranteed death. Think of it as a 50 to 100 story building.

 

[toomuchgrief]

And this bridge it not a tourist bridge, and there no security. Anyone can walk foot on there or drive by there. I rent a car drove there (due to I not from that area), got out of the car and tilt my head over the railing and look down, and holly batman, it HIGH! When you there, it actually look higher than in pictures. My legs started trembling, this show that I'm scare of height. Got back in my car and drove back. Wasted money to go there, but at least now I know I have fear of height.

I don't know how to overcome this, I think next time NOT look down? So climb and close my eyes, or keep my head look straight and jump?
I still don't trust a gun, I still think this jump is a more safe bet than a gun, where I might survive and my face will be disfigure like how all those people who tried gun but survive.
I KNOW at least if I free fall down this bridge, if I not die right away, I will at least die from loss of blood. Still better bet than gun.

eta: add bridge pic above in OP.

 

[Itsalmosttime]

I don't think you could completely overcome having fear at that height.

Looking down and thinking about jumping off would be scary as fuck, its perfectly normal to be nervous.

I doubt I could do it, SI would be going crazy.

 

[Kira]

I have a terrible fear of heights as well and I wish I could offer advice but honestly I have no clue. I will say that anyone who jumps has some serious balls though.

 

[Science Is Scary]

What about trying some treatments beforehand for acrophobia (fear of heights)?

A meta-analysis of treatments for acrophobia (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28359010) found some of them possibly effective in the short term.

If you can get access to a virtual reality setup, virtual reality exposure (VRE) might be an option. It looks something like this: .

Another option is exposing yourself to heights and trying to control your anxiety. That's called in vivo exposure (IVE).

You can read about the rest of the treatment options in the paper. Sci-hub has the paper if you can't find it elsewhere.

The meta-analysis also mentions that some drugs might speed up the process of overcoming fear:

"Finally, the use of medications to enhance the process of fear extinction is becoming more common, and has shown promising results when coupled with [Virtual Reality Exposure]. D-Cycloserine...is thought to enhance the learning process underlying the extinction of fear, and corticosteroid hydrocortisone is also thought to speed the fear extinction process."

But I'm not a medical professional. You'd probably get better advice or treatment from a real one.

 

[Yoffi]

you know how you should practice with an unloaded gun before you shoot yourself? you know, put the gun against your head, pull the trigger and the gun goes *click*, at that moment your SI thinks that putting the gun against your head is "perfectly fine" and surely next time this happens you'll also be fine.
you can do the same with actually safely jumping from a bridge, so if you have money to spare you can go bungee jumping, that's what I would do to ease the SI.
oh and also alcohol and drugs, lots of them.

 

[Avery Jordan]

I know the perfect tip to overcome your SI. Choose a dignified painless method. There are plenty of them.

 

[Cook]

I know the perfect tip to overcome your SI. Choose a dignified painless method. There are plenty of them.

Like????
Exit bag, SN, N ... all the same

 

[Avery Jordan]

Like????
Exit bag, SN, N ... all the same

There's even more than that. But those are some of the main ones

A shotgun suicide.
There definitely won't be an open casket for that one. Jumping from high places is just as messy as well.

Damn if that picture isn't enought to stop someone in their tracks from commiting suicide via undignified method something is really wrong with them.

 

[toomuchgrief]

@peacefullpainless

That bridge is the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge, in the state of New Mexico. The thing I like about this bridge is it high enough, and it not a tourist bridge, so there not like there security around.
You can rent a car and drive there, park your rent car and just jump off, or pretend like you taking scenery pics and jump off. When I was there, not much people around, just some cars drive by here and there (I guess also depend on the time). But for sure unlike tourist bridge where there pedestrian tourist to stop you. Pretend like you taking pictures and enjoy the scenery and jump off. I was gonna jump until I have my head look down and it was too high, my legs started trembling and I chicken out.

There quite alot of death on this bridge, somewhere around 121 deaths I think, just Google "Rio Grande Gorge Bridge suicide".

Anyways, I need to practice more with height, if I can't get over my fear of height, I guess a shotgun to my head it is.

 

[passenger27]

I'd just go to the railing, close my eyes, think of why I want to do this in the 1st place, and dive.

 

[Rachel74]

A shotgun suicide.
There definitely won't be an open casket for that one. Jumping from high places is just as messy as well.

Again? Do I need to see this?

 

[pthnrdnojvsc]

@peacefullpainless

That bridge is the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge, in the state of New Mexico. The thing I like about this bridge is it high enough, and it not a tourist bridge, so there not like there security around.
You can rent a car and drive there, park your rent car and just jump off, or pretend like you taking scenery pics and jump off. When I was there, not much people around, just some cars drive by here and there (I guess also depend on the time). But for sure unlike tourist bridge where there pedestrian tourist to stop you. Pretend like you taking pictures and enjoy the scenery and jump off. I was gonna jump until I have my head look down and it was too high, my legs started trembling and I chicken out.

There quite alot of death on this bridge, somewhere around 121 deaths I think, just Google "Rio Gorge Bridge suicide".

Anyways, I need to practice more with height, if I can't get over my fear of height, I guess a shotgun to my head it is.

Thanks. Could you see the landing spot? Was the landing spot rocks? I need to get some binoculars so I can see things like landing spots or to see if there are any people nearby that could interfere with my plans. And, Like others said use Virtual reality to get over your fear of heights. Also I believe just visualizing yourself repeatedly over and over again doing an act successfully will do it too. Just make a movie in your mind, picture yourself facing your fear , being there etc. and doing the steps of the act to completion in your mind. The trick is to do this every day at least twice a day but more is better. Your subconscious mind can't tell the difference between an imagined act and reality. So If you keep visualizing something your subconscious mind will eventually think this is what I do this is natural and it will be successful. Athletes use visualization a lot.

 

[toomuchgrief]

@peacefullpainless

Yeah, you can see the landing spot. It just rocks, there a shallow river down there but then the rivers also has rocks in it, it like water run on the rocks make it a river. It very shallow water, chances are you hit the rock first and then fall to the water.

They have like 10 helpline phones along the bridge, this is due to they had like 121 death suicide on this bridge already, so they install those phone, if you ever chance your mind you press the red button and someone will come to help you.
.......
Those phone is like evenly distribute throughout the bridge. So pick the 5th phone, that will lead you to the middle of the bridge. You want to jump down at the middle as possible, as that will be the highest height. Once you jump, I don't think you can steer yourself, so rather you go straight down the shallow river, or you hit the rocks and continue fall down.

But at 656 feet, with that height blunt force, chances are you be dead. If not you be laying down there in pool of your own blood and die of blood loss.

And there won't be much pedestrians to stop you, this place is in the middle of no where, it NOT a tourist place. As you can see from the pic, it lifeless, there nothing around, nobody there. You might see few cars drive by now and then, but that about it.

Anyways, peacefullpainless, so why you delete your above reply? You post a graph of breathing oxygen or something method, can to share to us all more about it?