Sensory overload

[SSQ 0]

Hi, im a new skydiving student and have done 2 tandems (2 years ago) and just this past sunday i did 2 solo instructor assisted deployment jumps. On every jump i have done i have gone into sensory overload and have no recollection of the first 5 seconds of the jump. Has anyone else experienced this and how did you overcome it? Will it just take a few jumps to naturally overcome it or is there something i can do about it??

[johnny1488 1]

Its called skydiving. Enjoy it. People pump a lot of shit into their veins to lose a couple seconds of their lives.

But yes, it goes away pretty soon.

Johnny
--"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!"
Mike Rome

[CanuckInUSA 0]

Why is skydiving intense to some?

1) In skydiving, we fall through the sky very fast.

2) Because we fall fast, we generate a lot of relative wind against our bodies and faces.

3) Because of this relative wind, it's very loud and our skin feels the intensity of the wind.

If you can learn to turn off the loudness (or manage it), all of a sudden skydiving goes from an intense activity to dancing in the skies. Of course it will take a little time for you to really get what I'm talking about, but it's really important to relax up there and think rationally. Skydiving is not natural and it sure isn't for everyone. But learning to relax is the key to a successful jump.

Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

[Hawkins121 0]

its cool man... On my first 2 AFF jumps I couldnt read my altimeter... Everyone goes through what you are unless they are medicated.

[bob.dino 1]

It's normal. More jumps will make it diminish.

[BDashe 0]

"If you can learn to turn off the loudness (or manage it), all of a sudden skydiving goes from an intense activity to dancing in the skies"

I never thought about that but as i get more jumps i dont notice the noise at all anymore. I assume that must be destracting to us new guys. I suppose we also learn to focus on the more "important" parts of the skydive. Good point Canuck!!!

So there I was...

Making friends and playing nice since 1983

[tombuch 0]

What you have experienced isn't a big deal, and is normal.

This is the way I've always thought about and explained sensory overload...

When we skydive we are exposed to amazing new sights, sounds, and physical feelings, including wind speed, noise, extreme pressure changes, increases in visual field, no physical contact with earth, horizontal body orientation, and many others. The brain is a remarkable organ, but it can't deal with so much new information at one time. So, the brain shuts down reception of everything that isn't needed until it figures out what is happening. Initially the brain makes sure the heart is still beating, lungs working, and all other core body functions are OK. Once the brain is satisfied that core functions are working it slowly adds the senses back onto the grid. With experience the brain begins to recognize the new environment as normal, and overload diminishes with each jump.

I'll share one of my favorite overload stories...

Years ago I was teaching a static line program at a DZ that used square mains and round reserves. Our students were all given ground instruction that included intense emergency drills, and the difference between rounds and squares.

I had female student who left the airplane and had an immediate line over malfunction. I watched from the JM position as she looked, reached looked, pulled, pulled. It was text book perfect, and real fast. Damn was I impressed.

When I landed next to her she was pissed off. She said we had advertised square parachutes, but we gave her a round. I explained she had a malfunction and had cutaway, but she refused to believe me until I took the rig off and showed her the empty main container, and even then she wasn't convinced until we found her main parachute. She had no recall of the emergency or her picture-perfect response.

That student was deep into overload, but her brain was still functioning, and she was able to execute her emergency procedures in spite of the overload. It was really cool to see it close up.

This experience has really pushed me to make sure my students have solid emergency training that will push through sensory overload.
.

Tom Buchanan
Instructor Emeritus
Comm Pilot MSEL,G
Author: JUMP! Skydiving Made Fun and Easy

[GraficO 0]

As some of the other people have said... sensory overload may dissipate in time for you.

Learning to skydive is a very busy thing. noise, fear, attention to detail, performance anxiety and the list goes on and on.

Sometime the best thing is to break up the skydive into parts and focus on the main things about those parts and separate them.

- Exit The aircraft: What are the basic things that you need to pay attention to on the exit. (Climb out, count, body position)

- Do the skydive: If you're doing AFF now focus on what needs to happen durning this part of the skydive (Performance goals/checklist, altitude awareness, correct pull-time proceedures)

- Fly and Land your parachute: You've got a functional canopy (or not) not what must you pay attention to? Canopy checks, traffic, landing area, performance goals, flare at a proper altitude and gather your gear neatly.

Sometime we get all screwed up becuse we try to do all the above at the same time which is impossible. Drill each part separately. When one is finished, go to the next step.

Here is a link to a video of an AFF Level one dive recently. The student is clearly overloaded and the instructor has to pull for him. The student was stellar in ground school and is usually very good at task oriented activities... but the added fear factor, noise and whatever else contributed to him not passing this AFF L1.

AAF 1 Overload

It will come... just break up the jump into smaller parts to think about instead of all of it and what you're going to do at the end of the day all at once

Grafico

GraficO

"A Mind is a terrible thing to taste."

[Eule 0]

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On every jump i have done i have gone into sensory overload and have no recollection of the first 5
seconds of the jump. Has anyone else experienced this and how did you overcome it?

I had this on my very first jump, AFF level 1. I had maybe a second or two on my next jump, but after
that, I didn't really notice it. You'll probably get tired of hearing this, but relax! It's easy for me to say
and hard for you to do, but when you finally do it, it's great. Some other things that I have found
helpful are to make it a point to take several deep breaths on the way up in the plane, and to close my
eyes and visualize the whole jump once or twice.

One thing I did notice changing as I got more jumps: on my first maybe 5 or 6 jumps, after I got on the
ground and the chute was collapsed and everything was over, I would get this big rush of exhilaration
and being happy - sometimes I would shout and jump around. The more jumps I got, the less I got this -
I don't see this as a bad thing, just as getting used to the whole process. I still get this occasionally,
but earlier in the jump - like when I'm first under canopy after the freefall part of the jump has gone
particularly well.

Eule

(edit: speeling misteak)

PLF does not stand for Please Land on Face.

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[Orange1 0]

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I'll share one of my favorite overload stories

Tom, that is an amazing story. Our student handbook emphasized getting EPs automatic because in an unfamiliar stressful situation your mind reaches for what it knows. We did our FJC on a Saturday and the jumps the Sunday; I remember our FJC instructor telling us he wanted to be able to come into our huts at 3am, shout "malfunction" and see us all do our EPs in our sleep!

Skydiving: wasting fossil fuels just for fun.

[riggerrob 643]

Relax Stephanie,
Sensory overload is normal on your first few jumps.
29 years ago I remember standing on the step of a small Cessna, then I remember hanging under a large white, round parachute, but everything in between was a blur.
As you make more jumps, your awareness will improve.

[agent_lead 0]

someone should name a band sensory overload

--------------------------------------------
www.facebook.com/agentlead

[CygnusX-1 43]

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If you can learn to turn off the loudness (or manage it)

It's called ear plugs - instant reduction in loudness.

[jwynne 0]

I did my AFF many years ago, but I can totally relate. I think it took 4-5 jumps before I could remember seeing the plane as I left. It's very overwhelming learning an intense set of tasks in 60 second increments in an environment that's nothing like anything you've ever experienced. As everyone else said, it's totally normal. Stick with it and enjoy!

[Silverchic 0]

I think I only know of two skydivers who never had sensory overload - ok yes now I know I'm going to be bombarded with "I never did!" posts...

I never had the complete sensory overload but I think it took me 7 jumps before I could actually remember leaving the step!

And 30 jumps before I stopped feeling VERY nervous before every jump...the kind of nervous where you hear the 5 mile call and wish you'd gone to the toilet while you were still on the ground!

How is it that we put man on the moon before we figured out it would be a good idea to put wheels on luggage?

[DottieBear 0]

I'm very new to the sport too, and although I'm now up to level 6 and 12 total(5 tandems, a couple repeats) jumps, I still fight this all the time. On the ground, rehearsals of my dive flows are perfect, and in theory, I know exactly what I have to do. But I tensed up in freefall. I finally feel like I am starting to relax and enjoy it now, and not being so worried about doing everything right and being perfect in my form(trying to be perfect was making me stiff, and as such, wobbily). Both myself and my friend, who started AFF with me, have had to do repeats...it DOES get better, I am trying to make myself breath everytime I check my altimeter or do a circle of awareness, I've found that really helps!

Good luck, and remember, its supposed to be fun!!

~Dottie

“Everything looks perfect from far away.”
Postal Service, Such Great Heights

[Silverchic 0]

Did anyone else get this:

On the ground you can run through your stage perfectly then going over it in the plane you start to mess it up MAJORLY and you get all worried and stressed...then once you get out the door it all goes fine?

I think I did that all through my AFF course!

How is it that we put man on the moon before we figured out it would be a good idea to put wheels on luggage?

[yamtx73 0]

Nope... on the ground I'd dirt dive with my instructor and get it right... go over it a couple more times in the plane on the way up... get out the door then totally screw it up...
I always found new and interesting ways for my instructors to earn their pay... the only thing they didn't have to do was pull for me...

The only naturals in this sport shit thru feathers...

[Silverchic 0]

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I always found new and interesting ways for my instructors to earn their pay... reply]

I like the way you put that!!

How is it that we put man on the moon before we figured out it would be a good idea to put wheels on luggage?

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[yamtx73 0]

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I always found new and interesting ways for my instructors to earn their pay...

I like the way you put that!!

To say I was a "problem child" was putting it mildly... by the time I finally graduated AFF I had 14 jumps and had heard the 'take up bowling' speach... one instructor had faith in me though... he wouldn't give up and wouldn't let me give up...
I did my first coached jump with him 2 weeks ago, finished all my tasks by 8000' and got to hang out while he had fun... awesome jump!!

The only naturals in this sport shit thru feathers...

[koppel 4]

ear Plugs have always been an absolute No-No where I jump, though I use them on the ride to height all the time.

I believe that the reason for not using them in free-fall is to do with pressure changes and the possibility (?) of them moving too far down the ear canal.

Not sure of the likelyhood of this and I have certainly gotten out a couple of times without taking them out. Landing with either both or only one.

I like my canopy...


...it lets me down.

[Silverchic 0]

I think I was the one that made both my instructors think on every jump "This is the one she will chicken out on"! I didn't stop getting scared until about 30 jumps!

And they both admit that they thought I would never jump again after my accident at jump #21 (had to have about 3 months off).

You have the "bowling" speech - we pretty much recommend golf - the balls aren't as heavy when you drop them on your toe!

How is it that we put man on the moon before we figured out it would be a good idea to put wheels on luggage?

[yamtx73 0]

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I think I was the one that made both my instructors think on every jump "This is the one she will chicken out on"! I didn't stop getting scared until about 30 jumps!

And they both admit that they thought I would never jump again after my accident at jump #21 (had to have about 3 months off).

You have the "bowling" speech - we pretty much recommend golf - the balls aren't as heavy when you drop them on your toe!

After I finally did my graduation jump I asked one of the instructors what odds they were giving of me even showing up for my AFF 2 jump... they weren't very good...

The only naturals in this sport shit thru feathers...

[Silverchic 0]

I think sometimes that jump 4 or 5 is harder than your first...by that time you've started researching skydiving a bit more, listened to more people talk about it, read all the paperwork at the dz etc etc and you start to realise all the things that could go wrong!! Things that never occurred to you when you decided to do your first jump!

How is it that we put man on the moon before we figured out it would be a good idea to put wheels on luggage?

[yamtx73 0]

I joined dz.com a week after my AFF1... due to the weather and other reasons it was a few weeks before I got to do my second jump... by that time I have a very good understanding of what could happen... I had sensory overload for my first 5 or 6 jumps.. I'd look at my alti, could see where the needle pointed but sure as hell couldn't read the numbers.. fortunately I had spent enough time staring at it on the ground and in the plane that I knew where 5500 was...

The only naturals in this sport shit thru feathers...