“I don’t have a fear of heights. I do, however, have a fear of falling from heights.”
Comedian George Carlin

Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, South Carolina. (July 1, 2024): Acrophobia, or simply a fear of heights, is a form of anxiety disorder that causes an irrational sense of doom when one encounters high places for some people. In this photo by Lance Corporal Ayden Cassano, Marine Corps Recruit Jhevon Smith descends a 47-foot rappel tower with a look of both terror and determination on his face.

While a certain amount of fear around heights can be expected, such as the uneasy feeling one gets standing on a bridge or looking down from a tall building. This is normal as most people experience a certain amount of anxiousness around heights. But people with acrophobia experience intense and unreasonable fear when they’re faced with heights, including everyday tasks such as climbing a flight of stairs, standing near a balcony, or parking a car in a multiple-floor parking garage. Sufferers experience rapid heartbeat, dizziness, shortness of breath and a queasy feeling when encountering high places to the extent they can be life limiting.

The military teaches recruits to overcome these fears, and in the bargain, they gain confidence in the equipment and training. That is why rappelling is taught in Basic Training to instill just such confidence.

In a form of exposure therapy, Recruits don a chair that seems like nothing more than a collection of seat belts sewn together. Once they connect the rope to a D-ring, the next step is for the Recruit to back up to the edge of the tower until he is hanging sideways. The descent begins by leaping away from the safety of the tower while hurtling towards the earth with only the rope tucked against your fanny for brakes.

When they reach the bottom, recruits are exhilarated will having learned self-reliance, and greater confidence in their equipment.