Scared of Heights?!?

[XOsunnydaysXO 0]

Hi, everyone!

I am an AFF student with 12 jumps, on level VI. I have been having my normal nervousness, but on my jump Sunday, I completely froze at the door. It took me awhile to understand why I couldn't bring myself to jump, but then I realized that I was freaked out by looking at the ground. I was actually "ok" in the jump plane until my instructor asked me to practice my spotting. Immediately, I said, "no! how about YOU spot for ME??" I just couldn't look down, and was certain I would plummet to my death! I am sooo close to graduating, but am trying to get my courage back up! Even the thought of a poised exit now gives me the heebie geebies!! What can I do to get myself back into the groove of things?

[AggieDave 6]

A lot of folks call that "door fear" everyone (just about) goes through it. It took me about 30 jumps to fully get over door fear and get on with enjoying skydiving to the fullest.

If you can overcome the door fear, you'll find a whole new world to explore and play in. What helps is some breathing excersies before the door opens to stay relaxed then concentrating on being relaxed.

Good luck and be sure to talk to your instructors about your concerns!

--"When I die, may I be surrounded by scattered chrome and burning gasoline."

[justchrisdsp 0]

what i did was everytime i was in the back of the plane (kind air) and we opened the door for air conditioning on the ride up i would lay down and put my head out the door to look at the ground. it helps with the door fear and it feels cool in your hair

The only bad skydive is your last!
chris "sonic wookie" harwell
Piedra-belluda-roja Rodriguez

[Reginald 0]

I used to be afraid of spotting. I was sure I would fall out of the plane if I stuck my head far enough out to be able to spot. I talked to one of my instructors about it and he said, “well, if you fall out while your spotting, we just start the skydive a few seconds early.” For whatever reason it relaxed me and I’ve not had any issues since.

"We've been looking for the enemy for some time now. We've finally found him. We're surrounded. That simplifies things." CP

[popsjumper 2]

Sorry you are experiencing that....I was overcome by the beauty of the view and have never experienced "door fear"....the desire to jump out into all that beauty has been my driving force out the door.

My reality and yours are quite different.
I think we're all Bozos on this bus.
Falcon5232, SCS8170, SCSA353, POPS9398, DS239

[SkydiveNFlorida 0]

Well, talk yourself through it. What are you afraid of? That you'll fall out? You've already been there, so it is nothing new, you just relax, get stable, and enjoy:D Are you afraid you'll fall out and be unstable? Convince yourself that arching makes you stable like the instructors say.

Everyone has fences to climb over, you just have to do it! You overcome fear by facing it, do what you're afraid of. Then you'll realize how silly the fears were. So what if you fall out, hell, you've got at least 10 thousand feet to get relaxed and pull, right?

Good luck, go out there and just do it!
-A

[mattjw916 2]

Just doing more and more jumps helped my exit anxiety... once in a while I still get a little anxious before I jump but then I always think back to what one of my instructors told me, "Some of my best jumps have been the ones I was freaked out on."

NSCR-2376, SCR-15080

[XOsunnydaysXO 0]

I know this may sound silly, but I really felt like I was just going to jump (without a rig on!). It felt like suicide to me!! Right now I am reasoning to myself that it is ONLY air out there, not like I'll bump myself on anything ...but I guess the sensation of throwing yourself out of an airplane can be scary sometimes! It's not at all like jumping from a poised exit, only staring at blue sky, waiting for my belly to face the earth. I see the ground! Nyyaahhh!!

BTW...did I mention that I didn't jump?!? Couldn't pull myself together! OOoff!!

[mattjw916 2]

That's the exact opposite of me... I dislike poised exits and, given a choice, would rather dive head down anyday.

I don't like the outside float position either when I do RW... but sometimes you just have to "suck it up" and do it anyway.

NSCR-2376, SCR-15080

[kamih 0]

I think for me, most of the nervousness went away after my first hop n pop from a C182. I was used to jumping at 13k from Skyvans or Otters, so that skydive felt completely weird. But once I was in the air, everything was the same, and I had plenty of time to get stable and pull.
You should try getting in the air again as soon as you can, the longer you wait, the more you think about the what ifs and start freaking out.
If you really want to do this, you have to just concentrate on your training, and trust your instructors and your gear. Just keep jumping. After a while, it will almost feel normal Good luck!

[Pawel 0]

Just go have a fun jump and when you belly look at the ground right after you get stable, will be almost the same as looking out of the plane with out the door. I just told my self all that money I paid I better get this done and have fun at the same time even if I was scared.

[flyangel2 2]

Okay, I'm so scared of heights that I make my boys get on the ladder in the garage if I need something from the garage rafters. I'm so scared of heights that balloon jumps scare the shit out of me. I'm so scared of heights that I took up rock climbing.

It's a good fear to have. It will keep you alive, but learn to control it. I love sitting by the door of the airplane with the door open, and I force myself to look out. I'm getting better, hell you'd think I would with that many jumps, but every time I go to the door, I think, what the hell am I doing. Then I take a deep breath and think about the skydive.

You might never get over it, but you'll learn how to control it.

May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous, leading to the most amazing view. May your mountains rise into and above the clouds. - Edward Abbey

[skytash 0]

Breath deeply and concentrate on what you are supposed to be doing. I used to have door fear on side doors until I started forcing myself to be first out and sit by the door, I then started forcing myself to float. Side doors aren't a problem anymore, but you can have a good laugh at the way I cling to the plane on a tailgate as soon as it opens. One of my worst door fear things happened this summer when I had to open the tailgate .

By visualising what I am to do in the door (be is spotting or climbing out) I can keep my mind off it a bit, but it does get the adrenaline pumping like mad. I take it as a healthy response to doing something that humans aren't really supposed to be doing and use it to help me perform better.

Spending time by the door, concentrating on what you are supposed to be doing and visualising that all the way up will help, but ultimately you will need to have a go and realise that you won't fall off. Even if you are gripping the door making your knuckles go white (mine do whenever I'm spotting!) you'll start getting used to it.

Just keep trying!

tash

Don't ever save anything for a special occasion. Being alive is a special occasion. Avril Sloe

[Brodes 0]

I thought I would be the same at spotting and be completely shit-scared! But for some reason I loved it the first time and now i cant get enough....did a 8k solo with CRW guys that got out 3miles downwind so i got to hang outside for agessssss waiting for my spot, it was one of my favourite moments yet, and i wasnt even falling!

[robertmicp 0]

Quote

BTW...did I mention that I didn't jump?!? Couldn't pull myself together! OOoff!!

No worries, happend to me also. This may sound strange, but I broke it down what got to me. It was all the sound of the wind going through plane when the door was opened. So, I bought myself my own helmet and bingo!! Took care of the sound issue. I also wear earplugs sometimes too. Makes everything very pleasent. And yes, you can still hear you instructors just fine.

Like everyone else has said, just do it. Ask your instructor to go over dive exits if you havent done them yet. Im not a big fan of hanging outside poised (well, its fun on a 182), I like to dive out. You will be surprised how fast you become stable.

just my .02

"Also I heard the voice of the Lord saying who shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, here am I, send me."

[feuergnom 28]

i did all my training in a skyvan. walking towards this huge open gap, turning around so that my back faces outwards, having to reach up to grab the doorframe and wait for my instructors -----› that scared me shitless

this changed when i finally reached solo status and i could jump on my own. one of the first things i did was to run out of the skyvan, hurtling myself into the air

this year i did my coachrating. one of the evaluation-jumps was out of a skyvan. walking back to the door with my "student", turning around with my back facing outwards i remembered how afraid i once was. right then i knew that i had overcome one of my fears, wich put a BIG smile on my face

as mentioned before: remember that you have been outside 12 times, and that you (hopefully) enjoyed it as many times. you know what it's like to be there. the door is just the passage to your joy

The universal aptitude for ineptitude makes any human accomplishment an incredible miracle

dudeist skydiver # 666

[XOsunnydaysXO 0]

Yes, the sound of the wind and the blast of cold does make my heart jump. That's a good idea about the helmet. Does it affect your peripheral vision?

I have been doing a lot of reading up on this forum on fear and reading all of your responses. Thank you, everyone! My jump (or lack of ) last Sunday was very embarassing. I felt so stupid WALKING off of it, like I was wearing the Scarlet Letter D for DumbA$$. But, now I'm sooo glad to hear that it is normal, and I'm not alone! I also realize now that my fear is not being helped by my infrequent monthly jumps.

I've done a lot of thinking and decided that I do want to continue jumping. I fear it, and yes...but mostly love it still. However, I do have other important financial responsibilities at the moment (what?! responsibilities?? ), and can not financially commit myself to jumping every week or even every other week as I should. So, I am promising myself to return to training in the spring. Until I can make that commitment to jump every week and control that fear, I will be visiting my dz, watching skydiving videos, and staring up at the blue sky, waiting! I'm not ready to give up my wings just yet... I'm just so in LOVE with this wonderful gift of flight! Thanks, everyone!

[mattjw916 2]

Quote

That's a good idea about the helmet. Does it affect your peripheral vision?

Nope, at least none of the half-dozen or so skydiving helmets I have tried have.

NSCR-2376, SCR-15080

[kelpdiver 2]

Quote

I've done a lot of thinking and decided that I do want to continue jumping. I fear it, and yes...but mostly love it still. However, I do have other important financial responsibilities at the moment (what?! responsibilities?? ), and can not financially commit myself to jumping every week or even every other week as I should. So, I am promising myself to return to training in the spring.

If you can make it back this weekend to do that L6, your return in the spring will be a lot easier. Better not to have last week's balk hanging over you.

That said, I took off Nov-April and then got back to it as well.