Vertigo in unexpected places
Okay, so I'm not very good with heights. The funny thing is that I can stand on the top of some of the highest mountains (Pike's Peak, Zugspitze...) and have no problem looking at the world below... but if you put me on the 20th floor of a high rise I get all kinds of disoriented (and I swear that wind causes buildings to sway when you are up that high... I can feel the floor moving). So when I'm up in a tall building I get that kind of tingly sensation that lets me know I'm not where I should be and could I please find the nearest elevator that will take me to some nice firm ground.
The other day matt and I were watching a Simpsons episode. At one point Homer is at the top of a VERY tall building, and he looks over the edge at the street below. And as he did, I got that familiar tingly feeling letting me know that scary things could happen to me at any moment. Which I thought was weird, since I was just watching TV... I mean, it was a cartoon, not even close to a real life situation. I asked matt if the scene made him feel nervous, and he said that it did. Interesting... I guess that's one of those classical conditioning reactions... our bodies just can't tell the difference between the real thing and a fantasy world.
The same thing happens when I see someone getting a shot on tv. Only shots dont make me tingly, they make me go into shock and pass out. So that's why I turn away from the tv whenever someone pulls out a needle. I dont want to find out just how classically conditioned my body is.
But if there are any psych majors out there, it might make an interesting study.
The other day matt and I were watching a Simpsons episode. At one point Homer is at the top of a VERY tall building, and he looks over the edge at the street below. And as he did, I got that familiar tingly feeling letting me know that scary things could happen to me at any moment. Which I thought was weird, since I was just watching TV... I mean, it was a cartoon, not even close to a real life situation. I asked matt if the scene made him feel nervous, and he said that it did. Interesting... I guess that's one of those classical conditioning reactions... our bodies just can't tell the difference between the real thing and a fantasy world.
The same thing happens when I see someone getting a shot on tv. Only shots dont make me tingly, they make me go into shock and pass out. So that's why I turn away from the tv whenever someone pulls out a needle. I dont want to find out just how classically conditioned my body is.
But if there are any psych majors out there, it might make an interesting study.
Comments