Feeling unsettled 4: Vertigo

From the outset I'm pleased to say that I don't suffer from vertigo. I have, without fear, been able to climb to the top of tall towers and look out across dizzying vistas; I have skipped close to the edges of perilous cliffs. I might say that I have balanced precariously atop a wobbly tightrope suspended high up but that would be a lie. I have however recently para-glided down from a mountain to the sea. But, having had a chat recently with a friend, he described the almost paralysing fear that comes to someone suffering from vertigo.

Unsettling – yes. He described how recently he was left almost unable to move whilst walking across London's Millenium Bridge. He was with friends, so he had support on both sides, he thought he was going to be ok. Looking forward he couldn't really see the hand rails left and right. He definitely couldn't see the drop down into the Thames from the edge. His concentration was solely on St Paul's ahead of him on the other side. But this great fear welled up in him. He was only able to slowly, almost crawling, make it across the bridge to the other side. Cold sweat and fear completely took a hold and no amount a rational persuasion was able to calm him down. For him the experience was terrifying.

So I'm beginning to understand how irrational these feelings of being unsettled are and that however bizarre the fear of something may be, it's how it manifests in a person and creates a physical reaction that's interesting.