Nervous to jump. Is it ever going to pass?

[mrubin 0]

With experience, the nervousness lessens but is still there. Having your own gear can help with that. You become familiar with it and you know how its been maintained and that makes it a lot easier to trust your gear.

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Anytime you pack your own chute expect to be nervous and be ready to chop it.

Be ready to chop on every jump, whether you packed it or not. You'll probably be nervous when you start jumping your own pack jobs, but as you build confidence in your abilities it will get easier. But you should always be ready to perform your EPs.

"I fly because it releases my mind from the tyranny of petty things." - Antoine de Saint-Exupery

[tristansdad 0]

Do some Hop and Pops so you can get next to the door. A lot places will open the door after the first thousand feet as long as the weather is warm. Feel the cool air blowing by and get comfortable. It helps get rid of that door fear that many new jumpers have. The only thing thats going to put you out that door is you. Think about whats going to go right. Learn everything there is to know about the gear. Go to the manufacturers web pages and talk to the riggers this will help build your trust in the equipment. I started getting comfortable after my first cutaway because the stuff actually works. You have only 15 jumps but its fifteen more than 99 percent of the population.

[SFBayArea 0]

Di0

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

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

I second that. Tunnel helped me learn how to relax during my freefall.
By the way I am only on my 14th jump, and yes I too have these jitters on the way up, but in the last few jumps I've noticed that these jitters are much more docile then they used to be.
At the local drop zone I hear people saying that you get over nervousness after 20 jump, some though stay nervous beyond 100 jumps (just saying what I was told). I don't know yet when the jitters will completely evade me, but for sure I feel much better jumping now than I was on my 7th jump :-).

[LyraM45 0]

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You're throwing your self at a planet. If you're not scared you're stupid.

This.
For me I'm always the most nervous the first jump of the day and it gets easier after that, but I still have nerves for sure. I'm an anxious worry wort by nature, which I think is healthy (to a point, of course) for jumping because it keeps me on my toes. I'm always checking, re-checking, and thinking about everything because I'm so nervous about it. Doesn't mean that everybody is like this if they're calm, but I feel like if I was calm I would get a little cool and complacent, which wouldn't be good for me.

Apologies for the spelling (and grammar).... I got a B.S, not a B.A. :)

[Karen89 0]

As a student with almost 40 jumps, I still get nervous. This summer hasn't been the best weather for skydiving so sometimes I would go 10-12 days without being able to jump! When I would get geared up my hands would be shaky, but at least I routed my chest strap right and had the padding in the right place. Now I turn my AAD on and that makes me a little nervous. No clue why? If anything happened where I wouldn't be able to pull, hopefully it would safe my life.

I feel kind of indifferent at take off..like oh, this is normal. Getting more and more used to being in the plane. I'm in a little Cessna 182,and sit near the pilot so I don't really look out of the plane much. I worry more about my legs or feet falling asleep on the ride up because I'm basically squished with someone between me. I get a little more nervous as we get closer to 10,000 feet (the regular altitude at my dz) and when the door opens, I take a deep breath and tell myself "Well, here it is. Exactly what I have wanted for the past few days." Climbing out on to the step, I don't really think about being nervous. What's the worst that is going to happen? I'm going to fall?

I always check my cutaway handle. Always. Also once I open, it's in a different spot, so I look at it there too. My canopy is huge so it's very forgiving. Though on my last jump, last weekend, I opened and my slider wasn't all the way down. I knew immediately something was different. I didn't panic, just told myself that something was different and shook the risers and the slider came down and I said "thank you!" :)

[DrDom 0]

Realize that we are undoing both evolution and modern psychology so it is perfectly normal to be nervous. The best way is use a therapeautic method. Either use guided visualization and relaxation exercises. If that doesnt work then realize continuing to jump time and time again likens itself to "systematic desensitization". In this case its a big abrupt and is more along the line of "aversion flooding". If you want to REALLY help it out you can do proper desensitization where you get rigged in, fly up, and just stand at the door. Land with plane. Repeat a few times until more comfortable then start jumping. It may not be feasable to do this at your DZ but it is how we would help people with any phobia.

As a therapy session we would do the following:
1) talk about heights
2) draw pictures in poor detail of heights
3) show photographs of heights
4) watch movies of heights
5) go to places where there are heights but do not walk to the edge
6) Stand on high places near the edge
7) stand at the edge and repeat frequently

It is possible to do this, but it may not work well since it is VERY time consuming.

Maybe virtual reality would be a good adjunct but is probably pretty pricey

You are not the contents of your wallet.

[Boomerdog 0]

[sdigital 0]

This is going to sound a little stupid but I find it works.

I saw this on the TV show Lost. Jacks father the surgeon told his son to do it when he was freaking out mid-surgery.

Close your eyes when the door opens and count to 5, open your eyes on 5.

I dont think I ever got as nervous as you but it certainly helps for me. I try to do it before every jump. It kind of resets you in a way.

[chuteless 1]

Listen carefully proky100: You've proved you are a jumper. You've proved the chute opens as it should. You've done it quite a few times, and each time, it is just a copy of the time before.
Why then, are you nervous? You have absolutely NO reason to be nervous. When you are in the aircraft climbing to altitude, relax and remember what I am telling you: this jump is just like all the rest you've made....different date, maybe different aircraft, or different fellow jumpers, but the jump is the same as before. Its a copy of your earlier jumps. You are smart enough to know what to do if there should be a problem, but take a look at the odds. You've made ??? how many jumps, and wasn't the last one just like the one before it ?

Did you have a malfunction? I don't think you did. So this jump will be like your last one. Stop wasting your internal emotions, sit down and do what you proved many times you could do with perfection. Yes, you have PROVED you can do it, and nothing went wrong. Do it again.

You have nothing to worry about. If there should be a mal, which I doubt considering the number of jumps made every day when no one has one, then it is EXTREMELY unlikely that you'll break the trend, and you'll have a safe and enjoyable jump.

Look at each jump as a repeat of your earlier successes, and enjoy the sport, and receive the thrills that are there for the taking. Concentrate on the thrills, and stop concentrating on things that likely will never happen until you've made 500 to 1000 jumps, and if you have a mal then, you will handle it ...like a pro.

Now, go sit down and plan your next jump> its a repeat performance....so enjoy it. There is NO reason why you shouldn't enjoy it. That is what skydiving is all about....enjoying the sky.

I won't wish you " good luck " and all those other things, the jump isn't meant to be a stroke of luck...its a stroke of thrill....so enjoy it.

I can tell you, having a malfunction isn't anything to be afraid of. I have found it a thrill of its own, and a " high " that you will actually enjoy.

Bill Cole D-41

[Boomerdog 0]

How many jumps does it take before "it" goes away? I've been told it depends on the person. I'm at 68 jumps...not a lot by any stretch. I began to notice the yips and yaps beginning to go away somewhere around jump# 56. I read your post and it reminds me of me and I know I don't have a twin out there or my dear departed mama lied to me.

And I'll bet once you land, pick up the canopy and head back in you're thinking, "Wow that was good, when do I go again?" only to relive the same anxiety as you get closer to getting back on the plane. Well here's the good news I 'spose...YOU'RE HUMAN! You think you're different from the rest of us amigo?

The tunnel is a good thing but it ain't the real thing. I've got 30 minutes of tunnel time myself. The DZ is the real thing. The DZ is what separates the tunnel rat wannabees from the rock stars.

What my instructors told me I will pass along to you. Don't overthink it! You've got 15 jumps on the books and by now fundamentally speaking...you know the drill!

So...you've jumped your pack. Done the 5,500 and 3,500' jumps yet? If not, they are a lot of fun and you'll have much more time than you think you've got to get stable and execute the pull on both these jumps.

Relax...you're a skydiver, welcome to the community!

[proky100 0]

It is slowly going away Rented some not abused gear from our gear shop instead of DZ and it did make difference. Those little “what ifs” were mostly gone and I could concentrate more on my jump. I’m now looking to buy my own gear but man one should sell his kidney to get enough cash for decent rig. Thank you everyone for all those responses.

[obatzda 0]

i think there are two coin of people the ones that feel nervous for a long time and the ones that get used to it very quick, you could count yourself as lucky because if you stay nervous you stay concentrated automaticly and the whole thing stays on the safe side ... i did catch myself on some lazy points allready because im used to it allready

if youre into sports that are more dangerous than skydiving you will get automaticly used to it very quick, because of the huge safety aspect of skydiving.

just enjoy the extra amount of adrenaline u get one day u will miss it !! ;)