WhiskeyCartoon

Yea...and i cant even find anywhere around here that does it so oh well. it's not really a concern anymore. just talkng to a few people on this board has already been so helpful and reassuring (although not TOO reassuring, which is a good thing) i hear wind tunnels help a lot...haha there are so many posts on here about them but it seems like they are all on the west coast? any on the east coast? "I wasn't exactly James Bond in that movie, but no one asked Sean Connery to sing while dodging bullets." --Elvis Presley

hey guys-- i see where some of you would be concerned with skydivers on anti-depressant, dopamine releasing/seratonin stimulating you name it-medication. i THIRD that. i have had a horrible experienc on one particular antidepressant. i went to my general physician last year to complain about being tired. he did blood work--nothing showed up. he asked me: "are you in school at the moment?" to which i responsed, "no,not presently. i took a hiatus to pursue other interests and to..well..decide what exactly it was i wanted to devote myself to career wise." his response was something to the like of, "ah-huh...not much direction i see. im gonna go ahead and give ya some prozac." i don't even know WHY i took it. i was so tired that i was willing to try anything but at the same time, i knew i wasnt lying to myself when i pleaded, "but i'm not sad!" tha medicine provided me w/ someof the worst experiences of my life. i had no idea wht was going on b/c i had never been called "depressed' before and so i never really thought to research the possible effects of anti-depressant medications. what i found was that within a few weeks of starting this medicine, i was doing things TOTALLY out of character. now i'm rambling. my point is that i got off that medication ASAP. so i know about mind altering states. i guess this is all really personal to me but i mean i figure if we're trying to get to the root of the problem..etc. the medication im on now...i don't feel any different mentally. actually,i don't really see how this would help a depressed person. i still get JUST as upset about things, just as angry, just as happy and excited. and i don't find myself making the stupid mistakes i made while on prozac. nothing like it. actually most people use this medication for ADD or quitting smoking. in a nutshell, yea.im sure a lot of skydivers are on anti-depressants. haha they are wayyyy overprescribed. but you definitely raised a valid question, and i think in the cases of some medicines, (cough PROZAC) you just might be right. but who knows--everyone reacts differently. i have spoken to two doctors (plus my parents who are both doctors) and all contend that the medication should have no effect on rationality or...yea..skydiving. my parents know i loved when i went and they had nothing deterrant to say (unusually so haha) anyways. sorry for rambling but as someone who is presently taking anti-depressants, i shouldn't be afraid to talk about them and their effects on a message board that seems to be full of mature, intelligent and positive people. if you listened, then thanks...thats just my few cents. -elissa! "I wasn't exactly James Bond in that movie, but no one asked Sean Connery to sing while dodging bullets." --Elvis Presley

ahhh haha. i just realized "cliched" isn't even a word. i always make up word. hahaha. anyways...thanks everyone for the advice and info! when i see videos or pictures of people like...SITTING or STANDING in the air...man...can any of you guys do that? hhahanot that i'm gonna try. i think that's like 4000 jumps down the way. ;) but it looks so neat and it's cool that there is always something new to learn...as long as you don't push your luck it seems...? it hink that the next time i go, i am not gonna plan ahead. i am just gonna get up and call and make an appt and try to go THAT day so i wont have time to get nervous or worry about every possible situation. and maybe i will try to go TWICE in one day if they have room for me? i heard thats good thing to do.t hey say the more you do it the more comfortable you are!! elissa "I wasn't exactly James Bond in that movie, but no one asked Sean Connery to sing while dodging bullets." --Elvis Presley

Hohonukai- i have been on this particular medicationsince like...february and i noticed how anxious it made me like within the first week. it makes me anxious like....about everything. (so obviously jumping out of a plane would be the most intense anxiety)i mean....even whjen i type on the computer, mystomach i like in a knot..for no reason at all. that's why i had trouble breathing in freefall. the tension. i donno it kinda sucks but the alternative would be to stop taking t and then suffer other, probably more irritating symptoms... elissa "I wasn't exactly James Bond in that movie, but no one asked Sean Connery to sing while dodging bullets." --Elvis Presley

by the way gale-- i tried to email you but i got a return email saying your address had permanent fatal errors? it was the email address i got from your dropzone profile? (obviously) haha do you have another? elissa "I wasn't exactly James Bond in that movie, but no one asked Sean Connery to sing while dodging bullets." --Elvis Presley

thank you guys so much for your positive encouragement.i mean, i knew a lot of other people felt this way but i guess i needed to hear it? haha. imsure everyone has the same common fears during their first few jumps (what if my chute doesnt open...etc haha--well that would be the main one i think but maybe im wrong) but if it gets better, im game. and honestly, i mean--how could it not. even though that SECOND jump was the scariest thing of my life--EVERRRRRRY time i think about it i start smiling and i feel genuinely happy! i don't want to back down from somehing because of my anxiety...everyone hasanxiety (well at least in regard to their first few jumps in skydiving it seems) but i can't let that get in the way. i sound like a coach. or like richard simmons daughter. elssa "I wasn't exactly James Bond in that movie, but no one asked Sean Connery to sing while dodging bullets." --Elvis Presley

i never used to be an anxious person, but this year i started getting really nervous about the stupidest things. this is why i have made what may sound like neurotic posts regarding skydiving safety. i am on medication and this contributes..actually, it may cause the anxiety. but i can't let that run (or ruin) my life. i loved my first tandem, but my second tandem scared the life out of me!! (which actually made it more exciting) i loved that one in retrospect. this was entirely due to the plane (my first tandem, we jumped out of the...skyvan --i think thats what they call it at Freefall Adventures, Cross Keys) and my second we used the common side door exit where it was basically inevitable that i would look down and prepare to jump. i find myself flooded with a bunch of questions that i already know the answer to, but am seeking some external affirmation. but i keep WORRYING that neither chute will open or that i won't be able to find my ripcord!!! i know these are stupid things to fear, and i know it's very important to think positively. after i read , "mental training for skydiving and life" i realized that when i visualize myself skydiving, i see myself performing all of the necessary tasks successfully and in my imagination, i'm having a wonderful time and everyime i break from that reverie, i'm smiling. but this still doesn't stop the anxiety i have (all of the time, not just in regard to skydiving). i know a lot of people are really nervous their first few jumps, but seriously...i guess i just want/need to hear more words of encouragement that the probability of these dreaded things occuring is as slim as i think it is. thanks guys....(in advance, i hope!) "I wasn't exactly James Bond in that movie, but no one asked Sean Connery to sing while dodging bullets." --Elvis Presley

Wow!! thank you guys for all the feedback (and positive, encouraging feedback at that) i just realized that the place i jump doesn't offer static line jumps anyways...so unless i want to travel elsewhere? i donno...maybe i will. !!!! "I wasn't exactly James Bond in that movie, but no one asked Sean Connery to sing while dodging bullets." --Elvis Presley

does anyone think that static line jumps are beneficial? i mean, they SEEM like they should be. they seem like they get you used to being up that high without the overwhelming rush of a 60 second freefall? it seems they would better prepare one? but i've never done one. what do you guys think? see, all my "performance anxiety" (ahhh...like i said haha i've only jumped twice) comes from, not so much the height, but from the loud wind and the speed at which we descend that makes it hard to breathe. i was thinking that if i were to do a static line...i would then be able to do a freefall thinking that it was just like a static line, except it would be a little longer until the chute is deployed? also...what about earplugs? god i sound like a dork. i just get so easily distracted and noise distracts me. but if thats a bad idea, its obviously something i have to get used to (and i can manage that) any info? thanks guys... "I wasn't exactly James Bond in that movie, but no one asked Sean Connery to sing while dodging bullets." --Elvis Presley

hi everyone.. ok. i've jumped twice (tandem) and loved it. after my fourth tandem, I have to do an AFF. what i'm wondering is, how will I be able to maintain a stable position? honestly, when I think about it, i don't even know how my instructor and I end up in an arch..we just do. is this what happens? like after jumping out, do you basically "fly on your belly"? is it possible to like jump out and just go do headfirst the whole time and not be able to get out of that position? maybe this sounds like a dumb question, but i mean it's kind of a blur to me and i was never good at psychics. ;) elissa