When do the nerves go?

[buba07 0]

Hi,

I've just completed my Level 6 AFF. Previously I had also done ten RAPS jumps. After Level 6 I went home thinking, got it, its all in the arch. Arch well and there is nothing to worry about. This weekend I went to try to get my 7 & 8 done. I was confident on the way to the airfield. However on the plane assent I was more nervous than ever?

In the end we had to come back down as the clouds were too thick. This was disappointing however, given how nervous I felt inside, no bad thing.

Do the nerves ever give way? Also does anyone have any good tactics for getting control of them? Does this mean i've not really got what it takes?

Thanks.

Thanks

Freefallphil.

[Chubba 0]

My nerves went away around 14, my 4th solo jump.

I had some terrible anxiety, I nearly quit before AFF7 (going to be my first solo exit).

What type of plane are you jumping? Spotting + Climbing out and doing solo floating exits from a 182 is what helped me.

Allowed me to relax on the way up and not fear the door :)

[buba07 0]

Hi,

I dive exit from a PAC. Its a great wide plane, plenty of space. The only issue I have is the ride up and then to the door. Its not held me back at all. However, I always get this nagging voice which says " what are you doing?"

Is this normal?

Once out of the plane I love it,a dn all these thoughts have not really been noticeable.

Thanks

Freefallphil.

[sub1427 0]

Is skydiving perceived as a normal thing to do?

Hurling yourself out of an airplane 2.5 miles in the sky?

Of course your going to be nervous. I have 50 jumps and I still get butterflies. But keep in mind being nervous is what keeps you safe. Its when that goes away you start getting reckless and put yourself in danger.

I'm more scared to jump with people who have 500 jumps then with my buddy who just got his A license.

If you walked around your DZ and asked veteran jumpers what to do if you land in a tree or power lines. i bet most don't know the correct answer.

Be safe, jump within your boundaries and have fun. The butterflies will go away. Blue skies. Welcome to the rest of your life.

Get High, Blue skies.

[skybytch 259]

Quote

Is this normal?

Yes. It's your brain reacting to the fact that you plan to throw yourself out of a perfectly good airplane, relying on an assortment of fabric and lines that you don't really understand to save you.

There are several ways to cure it. You could not jump again, but that doesn't sound like an option for you right now. You could make an effort to learn everything you can about the gear you are jumping; I'd recommend doing this even if you didn't get butterflies in the plane. You could just keep jumping and hope that eventually it will go away; it probably will (at least until you find yourself a bit uncurrent or the first someone you know goes in or after your first malfunction).

I could have easily ridden the plane down on any of my first 50 jumps, and I still get that "WTF" feeling when I haven't jumped in a few months.

[taylor.freefall 0]

Somebody at the DZ told me that it's actually hard to pack a malfunction and that made me feel better. When people say that there will definitely be a malfunction at some point, well the thought of it makes me nervous. I generally try not to get nervous about what might happen and make sure I check my emergency procedures and my equipment time and time again.
I think I will always have the thought in the back of my head about "what if", and be slightly nervous no matter what. I've turned up before now and ended up not jumping, sat around and had a pepsi and watched people.

[freakflyer9999 1]

For myself and for a lot of others that I've heard talk about it, 50 jumps seems to be the point that most of us switch off the constant nervousness. I still have times that I get nervous. I've even had days where I drove the hour and a half to the DZ and stayed on the ground just because it didn't feel right. Of course, one of those times that it didn't feel right and I jumped anyway, I had a malfunction.

[sonomatommy 0]

I hope my nerves never go away, like the other poster said it keeps you safe. what helps me is on the ride up i close my eyes and visualize the dive plan, when I think I've got it down, I'll talk to whomever I am Jumping with about the dive plan. the nerves are part of the rush...embrace them, make them work for you, hell if you aren't nervous you aren't normal...but I only have 104 jumps so what do I know

[monkycndo 0]

Quote

Be safe, jump within your boundaries and have fun. The butterflies will go away.

I like the feeling of the butterflies. I don't think of them as nerves, but the anticipation of being able to jump. How you look at something can make it go from scary to fun.

50 donations so far. Give it a try.

You know you want to spank it
Jump an Infinity

[Chubba 0]

There's a difference between nerves/butterflies and sickening anxiety though.

[Parafoil27 0]

Well, I only have 16 jumps but i have noticed on my last two jumps i was more exited then anything. I really felt like i was having fun more then questioning if this sport is right for me. I did have some serious axiety at first. I even thought about riding the plane back down a couple times. The worst thing is that i couldn't pin point what i was worried about. I used to tighten up while going out the door but now i just kinda flow out the door good and relaxed. Just my expirience with my limited number of jumps. Hope it makes you feel better.

EARTH! Short bus of the universe,
since the year T+10.3 billion!

REV. DUDEMIESTER D.S.#120

[SkyPainter 0]

I agree. There is a good book called, "The Gift of Fear". Basically, it is what keeps us from walking off cliffs as kids, or after burning a finger once on the stove, remembering to be more careful next time. It is a red flag inside that screams,"Hey! This is dangerous!" But you already KNEW that, now didn't ya? It will always happen to some degree - you will learn to recognize, and then utilize it to mobilize all your senses, sharpening the experience.

"Nerves" are the flight or fight response simmering, as you know what you are about to do. A cleansing breath, then reminding yourself you are trained and ready for the event will help to calm you down. The adrenalin produced by the nervousness is just the base of the great rush you are about to experience - which is sorta why yer doin' it in the first place, no???

It is a gift, and spurs you to focus narrowly on the task at hand.

And skydiving, it seems, is the perfect place to make friends with it!

Safe landings -

SkyPainter

Live deliberately; Dare greatly; Land gently
SkyPainter
SOS 1304, POPS 10695, DS 118

[iamsam 0]

Quote

Somebody at the DZ told me that it's actually hard to pack a malfunction and that made me feel better.

It wants to open.

Easy to pack a slammer though..


edit to add it was around the 50 mark for me as freakflyer9999 posted, but everyone's different and I'd guess currency is a factor. My first 50 jumps took a while..

but what do I know

[Gato 0]

Quote

Do the nerves ever give way? Also does anyone have any good tactics for getting control of them? Does this mean i've not really got what it takes?

I won't give you any suggestions, but I'll tell you how I handle it.

When I first started, there was at least one jump where I had to get out before takeoff - I felt completely nauseous, and KNEW I was going to lose my breakfast. Turns out I was dehydrated more than anything, and I ended up having two great jumps that day afterward.

Preparing to jump, for me, begins when I wake up the day I'm going to the DZ. I can experience anxiety at any point from then until I get ready to leave the plane, so I repeatedly ask myself, "What's going on right now - is there anything dangerous or scary happening in this moment?" Ninety-nine percent of the time the answer is, "No, nothing at all."

By the time it's time to call the door, I'm not scared at all - I'm excited that I get to test myself - I know I'm going to pull, and I have faith in my abilities. I can trust myself to breathe into the moment and just fly, baby.

Seriously, deep breathing helps me a lot, along with watching out the window, checking my handles, watching my altimeter, and I try to smile the whole time - it's supposed to be fun.

T.I.N.S.

[NWernig 0]

I did my Aff out of a 182 so I had plenty of time to think. This allowed me to eat away at myself mentally. When I was worrying and thinking too much I was doing myself a disservice because i was screwing myslef mentally before the door open or I was in the air- I was starting already behind the 8 ball.

To stop it, when I found myself eating away, I would pick a topic and go through the alphabet finding a word that started with each letter. I.E. Cars- Alpha Romeo, Bently,....etc

It got me relaxed so well and since I got in a rhythm of doing it so well, I still do it sometimes and it still works for me. Just find what helps you focus your thoughts towards a positive energy or thought.

Nathan

[JohnMitchell 14]

Try positive visualization of the jump and deep, slow breathing. Fake your body into thinking you're calm.
Remember that all you have to do on any jump is to open at least one parachute and then make a safe landing. Everything else is just gravy.

practice your ep's.

[danielcroft 2]

Quote

Try positive visualization of the jump and deep, slow breathing. Fake your body into thinking you're calm.
Remember that all you have to do on any jump is to open at least one parachute and then make a safe landing. Everything else is just gravy.

practice your ep's.

That's what I did. Helped me a lot. As well as taking some quiet time, eyes closed & breathing deeply on the packing mats (out of the way!) before I'd start jumping for the day.

My friends all say (they're a lot more experienced than me) "What's the worst that could happen" suggesting that given a parachute, everything will be ok. Of course, my mind would wander off onto all the random possibilities. Doesn't really help, I can think of a lot of bad stuff that can happen.

Skydiving is a way for me to overcome fear (as well as being challenging, fun and a great social experience), giving up through fear would be the very worst thing I could do for myself.

I've found that between last season L8 and this season L9 (first solo) my fear in the plane has subsided a lot. I don't like to mess around still, it's a serious event until I'm getting to the door at which point it gets to be fun and then a whole lot funner out of the plane. Well, that is except for floating exits that I'm not thrilled about.

Now I get random and very strong bouts of fear in the pit of my stomach when I'm not at the DZ, weird I know. ; )

I am using the fear to motivate myself to do other things in life: I really don't want to call this person and tell them off... well, I do jump out of planes... ; )

[denete 2]

Quote

Do the nerves ever give way? Also does anyone have any good tactics for getting control of them? Does this mean i've not really got what it takes?

Try a banana, ibuprofen, water, and visualization. The water, potassium and ibuprofen will help with the physical. The visualization will help with the conscious mind. All that is left is the "fun" part of the nerves. The part that makes you giggle at the tummy shivers you get.

SCR #14809

"our attitude is the thing most capable of keeping us safe"
(look, grab, look, grab, peel, punch, punch, arch)

[feuergnom 22]

sometimes i find myself sitting in the plane and asking myself wtf i am doing in this place with my heart trying to take a leap out of my throat. once the door is open and i climb outside, its all gone

basically there are three points, when skydivers get stressed:
1) before exit
2) on pull time
3) on landing approach
these stress levels have been measured using medical equipment. the results: all stress levels decrease with experience with point 2 still staying significantly higher

so basically nerves will never go away completly, you just learn to deal with them.

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

dudeist skydiver # 666

[swish 0]

The first thing to do is focusing on your jump - what you are going to do, how will you exit, what will you do in freefall, how will you hold your body position on opening, emergency procedures (its very normal for me to check my handles 5 and more times in plane, to be so familiar with them, so that when sh*t hits the fan - I could do them with closed eyes), you landing pattern, flare, packing. As you see its so many things to focus on, that you really don’t have any time to be scared :) Hope, this helps. Anyway - first 100 or 150 jumps are most, most, most fun :)

[novacaine 0]

Quote

Hi,

I've just completed my Level 6 AFF. Previously I had also done ten RAPS jumps. After Level 6 I went home thinking, got it, its all in the arch. Arch well and there is nothing to worry about. This weekend I went to try to get my 7 & 8 done. I was confident on the way to the airfield. However on the plane assent I was more nervous than ever?

In the end we had to come back down as the clouds were too thick. This was disappointing however, given how nervous I felt inside, no bad thing.

Do the nerves ever give way? Also does anyone have any good tactics for getting control of them? Does this mean i've not really got what it takes?

Thanks.

My first few skydives were back in 2002. I lost a bet with some buddies and had to go skydiving with them. I was scared shitless. During that summer we did 5 jumps. Each time I jumped, I really didn't want to be doing a stupid skydive. I really didn't understand the point of jumping from an aircraft, let alone fly in one.
It wasn't until last year that I thought of giving skydiving on my own terms, a shot. And guess what? I loved it.
I found that since I wanted to do skydiving, that I wasn't nervous (ok I still was, but it was way more managable for me.). I didn't have the scared shitless feelings, or the panic of flying my canopy. Why did this suddenly change?
I think it was do to the fact that this was a sport that I really wanted an effort to try. And on my terms.
So the question that you need to ask yourself is, why are you doing this? Once you have answered with an honest answer, you maybe able to notice yourself being less nervous, like I found.
Good Luck and blue skies!

[bikerxxuk 0]

I've completed the first 3 Aff levels now and together with a tandem last year I can honestly say that I have never felt scared going out the door. That may well change when I start solo exits though.
I have however felt a 'delayed' or 'removed' anxiety. The feelings wash over me when I am not at the DZ at all. Maybe laying in bed trying to get to sleep after jumping that day. Real strong feelings of dread rush through me. It is kind of like a panic attack.
But at the DZ, in the plane climbing, door opens, out I go with the instructors without a single worry. I am confident in what we are going to do in freefall, when to pull, mal drills canopy control etc.
But those other times are really hard to deal with. If I felt these feelings at the DZ or in the plane I would not be able to do it.

It's my Natural Arch !

It has nothing to do with pies whatsoever !

[chris-b 0]

When I went up on my tandem, I felt exactly the same I used to suffer from pretty bad anxiety attacks, which was on my mind at the time. But I found that the deep breathing and talking to the person next to me on the plane helped a lot. To be honest, I wasnt worried if the chute opened or not at the time (is that normal on the way up?) but more the simple fact that the door is going to open in a minute and im going to be going out of it!

The thought of doing it again scares the crap out of me, especially on my own... im sitting here at work with that feeling in the pit of my stomach just thinking about it! but i seem to be spending all my spare money on tunnel time at the moment, plus ive already set some aside for aff when im ready.

[ladyhawke 0]

Quote

Try a banana, ibuprofen, water, and visualization. The water, potassium and ibuprofen will help with the physical.

And a big bottle of Tums!!! I highly recommend the assorted flavors!

"It is our choices that show what we truly are far more than our abilities." - A. Dumbledore

[klingeme 0]

After you finish AFF (and you don't have the "I'm taking a test and being graded" feeling) and get to do solos, part of it will go away, but it will be replaced by "there's no one here to save my ass if I screw up" for a few jumps.

The jump I was most nervous for was my first jump off AFF (with no radio). I had confidence in myself in freefall, but I was not sure I had the "canopy thing" down and was not confident in my ability to "fly the pattern", but everything went very well and I landed within 30 feet of where I was planning on landing.

Nerve still exist for certain types of jumps. When I was videoing teams at Nationals, I had the "I hope I don't screw anything up" kind of nerves. I had the same thing when I was attending Bigway Headdown camps. So long story short, I don't think the nerves "go away", they just change.

Mark Klingelhoefer