How to Overcome Fear of Roofs
A fear of roofs is actually a fear of getting on top of a roof, or acrophobia, a morbid fear of heights. Acrophobia is a common fear that many believe stems from a normal fear of death or injury from falling. There are several ways to treat a fear of being atop the roof of a building: hypnosis, drugs or a slow and steady desensitizing of the fear by taking small steps to overcome it. According to Martin M. Antony, Ph.D., and author of "Overcoming Fear of Heights," "Fortunately, you can usually treat it on your own." The key is exposure based cognitive therapy: building slowly from easy to difficult challenges and visualizing your success.
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Instructions
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Expose yourself to the least frightening task you can stand. Start off small. Walk to a tall building and look at the roof and imagine yourself standing on top of it. Enter the building the following day and walk up one flight of stairs.
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Increase the number of flights you walk up each day or every other day. Be vigilant about taking deep breaths in from the bottom of your abdomen and exhaling slowly. This should minimize any queasiness or dizziness.
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Walk to the top floor and step out on to the roof. Breathe yourself back down to a composed state by eradicating any nerves. Take a deep breath in while counting to five, at five exhale, and continue exhaling until you count to six. Repeat for at least two minutes.
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Activate your "thinking brain" and try to distract yourself from your fear. Ask yourself: "On a scale on 1 to 10, with 10 being complete panic, what number do I feel right now?" Asking yourself this should divert your attention and help you realize that you're not experiencing a "10" in level of fear.
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Make a new mental association between roofs and emotion, one that is not connected by fear, but rather, remembering the positive. Mentally replay the event of you walking onto the roof and being unafraid. You want to remember roofs without an element of fearfulness but instead with images of a blue sky or a magnificent skyline in your mind.
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Tips & Warnings
Consider seeking professional help. While this method is effective for many, some may benefit from speaking with a psychologist or receiving hypnotherapy.
Virtual reality therapy is another option as it is a proven and effective method for curing acrophobia.
Certain drugs such as D- cycloserine, a drug used to treat tuberculosis, affect the area of the brain that controls fear response. This drug is effective in combating a fear of heights in combination with psychotherapy.
