Still Looking for a little help.

[aberardi678 0]

Ive posted on this subject bfore but still looking for some sound advice. I did my first level aff in april and loved it. Due to bad weather and what not it was not until a month later that i was presented with the chace to jump again. In that month i was at the dz a bunch of times and was up in the plane once and geared up a few times. Finally the weather was clear but i choked...didnt feel confident and didnt jump. and i miss it so much. im a paraglider and im totally comfertable with that. but cant figure out where my fear is coming from. its weird its not a fear of jumping or freefall or canpoy but more i dont know how im gonna react when i get in the plane. So if anyone has had similar expierences please tell me and give me some advice(not: "just go jump")

thanks alot

[Vectracide 0]

Fear is usually directly related to knowledge, or lacktherof. In learning to jump, this couldn't be more prevelant. My advice to you is do a class refresher. Talk to your instuctors and ask them to give you a brush up. Especially your EP's. Plan this on a nice day in the morning with a definitive plan to jump right after the class portion is over. Then jump as much as you can in a short time. That will chill the fears quick. Familiarization is your weapon.....

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Controlled and Deliberate.....

[FrEaK_aCcIdEnT 0]

i had the same jitters after i was held up by bad weather for a month. I passed up a chance cause i was kinda tired, but more or less i chickened out inside my head. i just used the winds and being tired as an excuss. I thought about it and knew all the fearwas in my head and finally decided. "fck it im jumpin today" so geared up , for the first time in over a month, and out to the plane i went. had hyperventelation problems all the way up.

this had to be my first attempt at lvl 4 were i had to climb out of the plane before leaving it.... but once out and knees in the wind it was all over the fear was gone and the grin was on. All that fun factor came back. Then had a stand up landing as an added bonus.

got back in the hanger and said " i dont care if i pass or fail, i stood that one up" well, dam the luc. now i got to do lvl 5 but i just keep telling myself "its just the same except turning all the way around"

good luck conquering ur fear. i know u dont want to hear it, but i think its all in your head. not a doctor or brain surgon(sp?) so i couldnt give u a scientific explination with all the cool words as to why ur brain is making u feel that way if i wanted to.


edit: fixed typos
i need typing classes...

ExPeCt ThE uNeXpEcTeD!
DoNt MiNd ThE tYpOs, Im LaZy On CoRrEcTiOnS!

[Mike111 0]

I choked once to.

trying to relax yourself - this helped me - i went over my proceedures and the dive and as i realised that I knew the stuff i got calmer becuase i felt prepared.

Also sometimes just going and saying " ohwell see how it goes, fuck it " and then just going can help.

[bigern13 0]

I am terrified of hights. CANNOT look out the open door or even sit next to the closed door without almost hyperventilating. The whole way up I am nervous. UNTIL for some reason when someone yells "DOOR" it is just gone. I stick my head out, look down, and spot. NO problem. But the wole way up I am literally pushing myself to get through all that because I know in the end I will have the time of my life everytime.

I guess what I am saying is that I am nervous everytime. Even this past weekend when I made 15 jumps in one weekend, I was nervous everytime. So if you know you love it (like I know I do) it may be as simple as going over your EP's again with your JM and then pushing yourself and facing your fears, head on, or down.

"I love 'lamp'."
-SKYMAMA

[Orange1 0]

Did you ever have any similar issues when you started paragliding? Fear of launching? Or just possibly it's something of a mental block as you are used to a sport where you have an open canopy over your head as you launch?

I agree that a refresher, etc may help but utlimately the answer IS "just go jump". I don't know how many times early on I sat in the plane thinking "what am i doing, i must be mad, i'm in the plane so i might as well jump but this will be the last".. of course, it never was (though I did ride the plane down once very early on). Familiarity IS your friend. Fool your body into relaxing by deep, steady breathing on the way up. Visualise the perfect jump. And do it.

And it's amazing how quickly you reach a stage where a door opening mid-flight seems perfectly normal
(edited for finger trouble)

Skydiving: wasting fossil fuels just for fun.

[OzoneJunkie 0]

If your fear stems from not knowing how you will react when you get in the plane, try doing something that many skydivers do: visualize. Sit down in a nice quiet room, and picture the whole process, including gearing up and getting in the plane. Maintain nice steady breathing. Try this once or twice a day (don't over do it).

The more you learn to visualize, the better skydiver you'll be. This goes especially for building skills in the air. We only have a limited amount of time while in freefall, but you can spend a lot of time visualizing freefall. There's been numerous articles in various skydiving publications (and other sports pubs) discussing the huge benefits.

[mfnren 2]

Maybe changing your attitude about fear might help? Being afraid is ok,theres nothing wrong with being afraid to jump, and like everyone else said, being confident in what you know will help you realize the fear is baseless and you will do fine during the jump.

[ltdiver 3]

Looks like you're not alone. Many, many skydivers started this way.

Perhaps you'll see this and take courage by reading some of these posts.
In addition, take a gander at This One by one of our USPA BOD members. Entitled, "Too Scared to Jump".

ltdiver

Don't tell me the sky's the limit when there are footprints on the moon

[Andy9o8 2]

Quote

Perhaps you'll see this and take courage by reading some of these posts.
In addition, take a gander at This One by one of our USPA BOD members. Entitled, "Too Scared to Jump".

Excellent comments in those links. And here's a link to a similar thread: this thread

One more thing: if anyone tries to tell you, "Just relax", poke them in the eye.

[darkwing 5]

I still don't like sitting next to an open door. I think your fears are common.

-- Jeff
My Skydiving History