That sudden urge to jump from a high place? It has a name: the call of the void
See how the urge to leap likely served an evolutionary purpose - and how it is connected to a larger group of strange musings, called intrusive thoughts.
“You know that feeling you get when you’re standing in a high place? The sudden urge to jump… I don’t have it,” Jack Sparrow, always unpredictable, says, in Pirates of the Caribbean 4: On Stranger Tides (2011).
He’s standing at the edge of a cliff at the time, and probably lying. Because what he’s referring to is rather universal.
It’s called the High Place Phenomenon (HPP). In French, it is the rather lyrical L’appel du Vide, or Call of the Void. This is the sudden inexplicable urge to veer off a bridge, lean dangerously out of a balcony, or indeed jump from a high place.
So where does it come from, this odd inner call to leap?
One theory has it that the call of the void is a way for the mind to test our fear and its boundaries. The discomfort caused by the thought of “Go on, jump” is itself the spark that activates our most fundamental instinct: self-preservation.
According to this theory, HPP is an evolutionary trait with roots in the fact that we shot so fast to the top of the food chain that there soon enough came a time when we were not “scared enough”, at least not in the way that most wild animals are. We were controlling our surroundings, decoding the weather, building our own habitats.
This call to jump was a reminder that we did still need to actively protect ourselves.
People who experience HPP are often shaken by the idea that they might be suicidal, adds psychotherapist Tobias Teismann of the department of clinical psychology and psychotherapy at Ruhr University Bochum in Germany. He began researching HPP, in fact, as part of his research into suicidal ideation, in 2020.
All three of his studies, however, indicate that most people who report call-of-the-void thoughts have no desire to die at all. (The rooftop thought is, in fact, often followed by a deep breath; at least a small step back; and a sense of deep relief.)
“HPP is not a sign of a subconscious desire for self-harm. Instead, it appears to be a universal human experience that transcends cultures yet remains poorly understood,” Teismann says.
If “Go on, jump” seems like a twisted way for the mind to remind the self that the body is fragile and easily destroyed, it fits right in with that larger group of odd, twisted tangents: those collectively called “intrusive thoughts”.
These are the thoughts that go: What if I just pulled that fire alarm right now? Or reached across and took a few chips from that stranger’s packet?
Intrusive thoughts are a common phenomenon, with about 90% of the general population known to experience them, Teismann says. As with HPP, they typically run counter to the specific individual’s nature. In this way, they are fundamentally different from sudden impulses.
A sudden impulse often reflects a buried or conflicted desire that one feels somehow freed to act upon. Alcohol is the most common catalyst, lowering the inhibitions that keep the impulse in check; certain narcotics, a near-death experience, or the loss of a loved one can provide that final push too. In such instances, the individual may get a tattoo or an extreme haircut, delete all their apps, marry in Vegas, or quit their job.
HPP and other forms of intrusive thought, says Teismann, are typically the kinds of things the given individual would never act upon.
So there you have it. Stay sober to stay out of real trouble. And the next time you’re tempted to lean over, jump or let go, just step back and take a breath. We’ve likely been playing this game with ourselves for millions of years.
