If clipping above your head is 'expected/mandatory', its a badly bolted route. It happens tho...bad bolting I mean.
Gyms are are actually potentially very dangerous, because the walls might feel high, but compared to most outdoor venues, its actually a very short fall to the ground - as in you might end up on the floor sooner than expected...
As for all lead climbing, higher is better for many reasons like: there's more rope that can absorb your fall, the higher you get, the more unlikely it gets for you to hit the ground(assuming you are clipping pro regularly), and yet it feels more dangerous. Funny how our minds work. Its those short, tight little falls that actually shocks the system(rope, anchors, your spine, belayer).
Hence the term: brave clipping - better to clip at waist to shoulder level than pealing off slack and clenching it in the teef... enter potential passion-gap...
If you're afraid to fall, try this once: lead a route, and fall off after every qd clipped - you might lose your fear of falling by the end of the route. And it might also decrease the belayer's fears of being able to catch your fat butt...(thinking of my own here, no offense...).
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