Some people remember the first time a height felt frightening. Others describe a feeling that seems to have become familiar gradually. Both are possible.

A relevant past experience can provide useful context, but the current response tells us what needs attention now. What catches your eye? What do you imagine? Which physical sensations become important? And what do you find yourself avoiding or doing to feel safer? Those details give treatment a practical starting point even when the beginning is unclear.

Describing that sensation accurately matters. Feeling light-headed, physically unsteady or as though the environment is spinning are not necessarily the same experience.

Somebody can know that a balcony is secure and still feel their body preparing to move away. They can understand the barrier, trust the engineering and recognise that other people are standing there comfortably. The facts have been understood. The automatic response simply does not feel the same way yet.

Anticipation can produce that mismatch before you arrive. The viewpoint you imagine may become more vivid than the outing you are actually planning.

The worried prediction and the eventual experience are different information. Keeping that distinction clear helps prevent a feeling beforehand from becoming proof that you will not cope when you get there.

For a broader explanation of the response, read our guide to why fear feels automatic.

Leaving a balcony, taking the stairs instead of the escalator or choosing a different route can immediately reduce discomfort.

Again, the issue is not that you should never make those choices. It is whether they are freely chosen or beginning to feel essential.

These stages can overlap. This illustrates one way the fear can keep going, rather than a sequence everyone experiences.

For more on avoidance and short-term relief, see NHS: Facing your fears.

Our guide to avoidance and phobias explores how protective routines can gradually narrow everyday choices.

You do not need to prove anything by standing at an unsafe edge or seeking increasingly extreme heights. A more useful outcome is being able to use the elevated places that matter in ordinary life.

You can cross a bridge and remain part of the conversation. Use an escalator without monitoring every metre. Stand at a protected viewpoint and have attention available for the view.

Understanding the current pattern helps identify what needs to change so those experiences become more available. A remembered event can matter. So can imagery, balance sensations, exposure to the view and the expectation of becoming overwhelmed.

The explanation is useful because it points towards a different experience. Once it has done that, you do not need to keep analysing the fear indefinitely.