Anne tackled her terrifying fear of heights with homeopathy
“I can remember exactly when I first experienced acrophobia. I had taken my daughter to the ballet at Sadler’s Wells and booked my favourite seats – first row dress circle. What I hadn’t bargained for was the steepness of the tiering. I sat down and couldn’t move for fear that I would topple over the balcony. Although I knew intellectually that this was totally improbable, I couldn’t stop the feelings.
That day was a turning point. I went from someone who loved high and scary fairground rides to being riveted to the spot through fear. At these times, my insides felt as though they were going to fall out – not a very pleasant feeling. On holidays, high balconies were a misery and sight-seeing was often curtailed. Going down a steep escalator on the underground was a torment. And I became increasingly worried about falling downstairs.
I was clinging to the walls
Over the next few years, my acrophobia increased in severity. The Eiffel Tower and Notre Dame left me clinging to walls. Sitting in the upper circle at the theatre, I knew that if someone had placed a million pounds in front of me, I would not have been able to pick it up for fear of toppling over. During the interval, I was only able to leave my seat when a kind man, seeing my terror, held me as I made my way along the row. I didn’t return for the second act.
Acrophobia isn’t a debilitating disease, but it was having a major effect on my social life. I decided the time had come to contact an expert and reached out to Dr Keith Souter. He suggested taking one 30c Lac Felinum half an hour before going into a theatre (or anywhere where I had problems) and then one as needed throughout the performance.
During my next theatre trip, I had to take the remedy several times during the performance, but the fact that I’d managed to stay in my seat meant it was working. A few weeks later I was absolutely fine, even though I was sitting in the gods!
I felt the most amazing sense of calm
My acrophobia is so much better now that I rarely take the remedy and although I might feel a bit wobbly, it is nothing compared to the horrible feelings I once had.
On a press trip to Switzerland, I was surprised that three journalists also suffered with acrophobia. We were very high up in the mountains and had to cross a bridge over an extremely deep ravine. I managed to peer over the wall, having taken one Lac Felinum before leaving the hotel. That was the only time I took the remedy throughout the trip.
On our second day the weather was very bad. As we were descending the mountain, our cable car came to an abrupt stop, swinging in mid-air. I saw the ski instructor turn white and a woman in our party turned green. I – on the other hand – felt the most amazing sense of calm and peace with no symptoms of acrophobia at all.”
Anne Coates is the author of the Hannah Weybridge crimes thrillers, Dancers in the Wind, Death’s Silent Judgement, Songs of Innocents, Perdition’s Child and Stage Call all available on Amazon and from bookshops.