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proky100

Nervous to jump. Is it ever going to pass?

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I just started skydiving few months ago after being hooked on indoor wind tunnel. I spent over two hours in there and loved every second of it. I can fly absolutely stable on my belly using hands or not. Back fly and everything fun in between. Naturally I’ve decided to go for the real thing. Every time during my AFF I was asking myself the same question: “What in the world am I doing up here?” I was nervous as I could be. I thought it would go away after I get certified but it’s not.
I know that something draws me back week after week but it drives me crazy to have these feelings on the way up. I was doing my packing class last weekend and before I jumped my firs pack job, anxiety took over me on plane to a point that I felt tingling in my fingertips. I was just saying to myself: “Relax, you know the drill. It wants to open. Look, locate, peel and punch in case it won’t”. This was jump #15.
People tell me it is normal to be nervous and that it will go away. When? How many jumps do I have to go through like this before I feel happy like in the tunnel? How many was it for you guys?

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Eeh, I talked myself out of going to the DZ a few times before I got my A due to nerves. It started to settle down around the time I got my A. Around 50 jumps I was pretty calm most of the time. At 170 jumps, I don't think twice about getting on the plane. Every time I jump my own pack job I'm pretty sure I'll have to cut it away (Hasn't happened yet!) If I ever feel particularly good about the pack job I did, I'm sure that'll make me nervous too. I'll still jump it! If it doesn't work, I got another parachute.

Funnily enough I get more amped up at the wind tunnel between the time they lock us in the room and the time they spin up the fans. After the fans are running, I'm fine. Weird, huh?
I'm trying to teach myself how to set things on fire with my mind. Hey... is it hot in here?

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proky100

I just started skydiving few months ago after being hooked on indoor wind tunnel. I spent over two hours in there and loved every second of it. I can fly absolutely stable on my belly using hands or not. Back fly and everything fun in between. Naturally I’ve decided to go for the real thing. Every time during my AFF I was asking myself the same question: “What in the world am I doing up here?” I was nervous as I could be. I thought it would go away after I get certified but it’s not.
I know that something draws me back week after week but it drives me crazy to have these feelings on the way up. I was doing my packing class last weekend and before I jumped my firs pack job, anxiety took over me on plane to a point that I felt tingling in my fingertips. I was just saying to myself: “Relax, you know the drill. It wants to open. Look, locate, peel and punch in case it won’t”. This was jump #15.
People tell me it is normal to be nervous and that it will go away. When? How many jumps do I have to go through like this before I feel happy like in the tunnel? How many was it for you guys?


You're throwing your self at a planet. If you're not scared you're stupid.
It will get easier, when depends on you.
It can also get easier then all of a sudden get bloody scary again.:ph34r::ph34r:
You are not now, nor will you ever be, good enough to not die in this sport (Sparky)
My Life ROCKS!
How's yours doing?

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Squeak

***I just started skydiving few months ago after being hooked on indoor wind tunnel. I spent over two hours in there and loved every second of it. I can fly absolutely stable on my belly using hands or not. Back fly and everything fun in between. Naturally I’ve decided to go for the real thing. Every time during my AFF I was asking myself the same question: “What in the world am I doing up here?” I was nervous as I could be. I thought it would go away after I get certified but it’s not.
I know that something draws me back week after week but it drives me crazy to have these feelings on the way up. I was doing my packing class last weekend and before I jumped my firs pack job, anxiety took over me on plane to a point that I felt tingling in my fingertips. I was just saying to myself: “Relax, you know the drill. It wants to open. Look, locate, peel and punch in case it won’t”. This was jump #15.
People tell me it is normal to be nervous and that it will go away. When? How many jumps do I have to go through like this before I feel happy like in the tunnel? How many was it for you guys?


You're throwing your self at a planet. If you're not scared you're stupid.
It will get easier, when depends on you.
It can also get easier then all of a sudden get bloody scary again.:ph34r::ph34r:

About the most scared I've ever been was on my first balloon jump. Didn't make much sense, but hey, I was scared.
cavete terrae.

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Everyone is afraid, or at least should be.

After about 50-ish jumps my mindset went from "I'm gonna die" to "I'm probably gonna live, and its probably gonna be fun." But the fear never goes away, if it ever does you should stop jumping.

It'll never be like the tunnel, to my knowledge no one has ever died in a tunnel. The risk is many orders of magnitude greater in the sky.

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Of course this is going to change from person to person... but first of all you have to ask yourself why are you skydiving??!

With me was simple.. to have FUN!!! Skydiving changed my life!!!

Having said that, I believe after my AFF Cat C or D, I was very relaxed already... no fear, not nervous, just waiting to have FUN!!!

People have the tendency of thinking too much.. "Why I'm doing this"... "Is this safe enough?".. "Am I gonna die?!".. My piece of advice.. don't think too much.. just do it.. and have everything under control!!!

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As others have said, for most people it passes at roughly 50 jumps. That said, I can tell you from experience that currency also helps, i.e., if you jump very frequently it might pass sooner. For example, say you spend a weekend knocking out at least 4 or 5 jumps each day. By Day #2 you'll probably be pretty acclimated enough to not be very nervous during the rides up. At least that's how it was for me when I was a novice.

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Andy9o8

As others have said, for most people it passes at roughly 50 jumps. That said, I can tell you from experience that currency also helps, i.e., if you jump very frequently it might pass sooner. For example, say you spend a weekend knocking out at least 4 or 5 jumps each day. By Day #2 you'll probably be pretty acclimated enough to not be very nervous during the rides up. At least that's how it was for me when I was a novice.



THIS ^^^

I haven't jumped in two months and it'll be over six before I get to go again so, I know that first one back is going to make me a little nervous. But three of four in... no sweat.
_________________________________

...Don't Get Elimated!!

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I think there is a wide range of the way people act and feel about skydiving. I don't know if a person can change their natural way of reacting or feelings about jumping. But if that was possible, maybe, just maybe you oculd change your approach or reaction.

Someone has already suggested just do it and don't think about the nature of what you are doing too much. I don' t know how to tell you to do that but I would agree that is a positive step.

I was a little suprised on my first jump that as I started to get up to move toward the door, my heart started pounding for a few seconds and then calmed down. I recall thinking, "That was it! That was the big excitement?" But on the way to the DZ or waiting for the plane, I often had that, "What am I doing here thought". Taking a power nap, sort of zoning out while waiting was like a reset button and when I brought my attention back to the real world, I felt much better.

The higher number of jumps that someone suggested in a short period should be a help. If you have consistant fair to good performance from both yourself and good performance from the equipment, you should learn some trust and be able to relax a bit more. If you can't learn to relax a bit when you have had a series of good experiences, you might look to see why you are not learning you can trust yourself and the gear.

I knew when I first jumped I would have to trust the equipment to jump. Being a bit on the mature adult side, I felt I could trust myself. So, I could reason my way out of being apprensensive. Or I am just kidding myself, who knows. But it should get better by itself and if it don't just smile and pretend all is well.
Instructor quote, “What's weird is that you're older than my dad!”

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Nervousness changes of time ..

First your worried about leaping out of a 'more then likely serviceable' plane......

Then you become worried about what your mates are going to do/say when you fuck up the dive...

Then you worry about where the money is going to come from for your next jumps, kit, beers.... Rent

(.)Y(.)
Chivalry is not dead; it only sleeps for want of work to do. - Jerome K Jerome

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3331

Stop wasting money on the tunnel, spend it on real Skydiving. B|



The tunnel was probably the most effective tool that helped me get over the "jump anxiety". :)
I'm standing on the edge
With a vision in my head
My body screams release me
My dreams they must be fed... You're in flight.

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fanya

Enjoy it while it lasts.



THIS. I used to get "door anxiety". Its weird that I miss it now. I probably really only lost it in the last 4 or 5 jumps. It is great that I am not so nervous and can focus on my jumps more, but part of the "fun" of skydiving was the nerves (still is, just not as much).

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Mine went away around jump 10? Like the crazy anxiety. Now it's just more of an awareness of what I'm doing. I'm still a noob but I'm enjoying the initial exit more and more. I'd say I had more anxiety about my shitty pack jobs but after I realized they open up just fine that anxiety went away too.

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Keithor

***Enjoy it while it lasts.



THIS. I used to get "door anxiety". Its weird that I miss it now. I probably really only lost it in the last 4 or 5 jumps. It is great that I am not so nervous and can focus on my jumps more, but part of the "fun" of skydiving was the nerves (still is, just not as much).

I miss it too. Sort of like chasing the dragon. Now I live vicariously through the tandems and AFF1s on the loads. I love seeing the nervousness on their face and then the delight when they are on the ground.

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Honestly if you are reading the incident reports here where jumpers with 1000's of jumps are dying with some regularity then you'd be crazy not to be nervous.

Not to the point of paralysis, but that feeling of mortality and vulnerability is what will keep you from being complacent.

Knowing the risks, knowing your gear and rehearsing for scenarios when things don't go right are all ways to manage the feeling of risk.

If you feel like there is no risk then you are not being honest with yourself and IMO, these people should not be jumping.
"The ground does not care who you are. It will always be tougher than the human behind the controls."

~ CanuckInUSA

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When I did my early solos, I always got really anxious on the plane-ride. I would start shaking the moment the plane slowed and leveled off at altitude, and the door opening only made things worse.

I was very cautious about everything I did and would crawl to the door, very slowly and deliberately. I was very obsessed with where I put my hands and feet so I could be sure to get my exit right. I didn't want to just fall out.

Somewhere between jump 20 and 30, somebody told me that's what you're going up to do anyway, so who cares if you slip and fall?

Then I hit my foot on the door during an exit and got thrown out of control for the first 3-5 seconds of the dive and it clicked.

Trust your equipment, trust your arch and your ability to get stable, trust your training and trust your EPs: just smile and relax and go.

And no, even after packing my own chute 50+ times, I still think about what I might have done wrong, or what could go wrong on opening and what I will do in response. (I practice my EPs 3-4 times per jump) I don't think that will ever go away.

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I can't say for sure... but each time I have gone so far, part of the trip for me is knowing I can face my anxiety and win. Makes me feel pretty good. But I do feel some anxiety on the way up for sure. When I am at the door, I tell myself to relax, and go over what I exactly I am about to do... ready, set, arch, relax, look at the plane... going over the procedure helps settle my anxiety.
Why drive myself crazy trying to be normal, when I am already at crazy?

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This is what I‘ve got out of this so far. Enjoy it while it lasts because around jump 50 it might be gone. Still there but for most part gone. If you have bad experience on any jump it could come back again. Anytime you pack your own chute expect to be nervous and be ready to chop it. Relax, smile and enjoy.
The gear I jump is rental. I hope it gets maintained well but I don’t believe so. It is old and abused.:)

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I'm still new to the sport, but know I will be jumping for years to come; it just makes me too happy. I have decided that I know the risks of the sport and for me the fun/people/culture/excitement/etc far outweigh the risks. Once I committed to jumping as often as I can, always paying attention and absorbing as much information as I can and keeping safety practices at the forefront of my mind, the nerves vanished. Make the commitment, be safe (obviously relative, mainly do not get complacent with safety precautions and use common sense) and enjoy each jump to the fullest.

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My apprehensions faded once I started doing unlinked exits, and chasing the dock or making formations with other skydivers.

I found that I have more confidence now that I have my own gear. I know every stitch of my rig and I check it methodically the night before I jump -- then I pack like my life depends on it (technically it does). Landings are easier when you fly the same canopy all the time.

The nervousness comes back whenever I am at a new DZ. I watch the pilot, I look for aircraft, I look at each jumper as though he might be the guy who does something crazy and crashes into me. After I get to know everyone, that nervousness fades.
We came here to eat donuts and kick ass, looks like there aren't any donuts.....

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Quote

The tunnel was probably the most effective tool that helped me get over the "jump anxiety". :)



Every single time I'm at the tunnel I have anxiety right before I get in the wind because I'm not wearing my rig and my body knows it.

I tap my chest/legs where my harness would normally be and I adjust the velcro on my glove repeatedly because doing a "gear check" for some reason mellows me out even though there is no rig there.

Everyone is different... your anxiety is your own. Live in it and learn to love it. You learn how to quiet it, but never ignore it.

Sometimes your body is trying to tell you something isn't right, so listen to it.

If you feel nerves, go through your gear check again. look at everyone else's gear, look out the window for aircraft, think about the spot, etc.

Replace the fear with knowledge that you have done everything you're supposed to. If you still feel the nerves, check it all again starting at the top.

Skydiving isn't so much about making fear go away, it's about managing it. Being able to still function even when fear is present is the name of the game.

This is where jump numbers and currency come into play. The more your jump, the more tuned in you get. You start to "see" things you were oblivious to before because your awareness levels are increasing.

So there's no answer to your question other than: keep jumping and you will get past it.

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