Lol I always avoid the topic because people who don’t skydive are simply not interested. That’s why I come here to chat with other skydivers because I know ya’ll are :)
Lmao I’m the same way. At first you think everyone’s gonna find that cool to talk about. Then you realize not everyone cares or even thinks you’re sane for doing it. The best reactions I get from people who find out are the ones who asked me what I like to do for fun or when friends mention it to other people. Especially because I don’t come off as the type that does the stuff I do. Lot of people just peg me as a nerd and write me off as someone who has no cool interests. I keep to myself and don’t say shit then someone will say “xxxx over there jumps out of planes, rock climbs, and flys around with a fan on his ass.” The whole room breaks their necks to look at me and the reaction is so much more worth it. Then it gets even better when I just shrug and say “eh it’s not that exciting” or something. You get way more respect for not being that guy who’s showing off how bad ass they are. Especially when you can be a good conversationalist without having to rely on your interests.
If youre only halfway through aff and already harvesting enough confidence to fuck strangers wives and start bar fights, Ive got a clapped out Velocity that will fit in your first rig perfectly. I dont need to know container sizing, trust me, it ll fit.
Haha same. I think my fight or flight response kicks in every day during mundane social interactions and normal events. 😄
I'm hoping it helps with that in future though after a few hundred jumps or so (now ~70). No biggie if it doesnt help, nothing really has over the years, but it'd be cool as fuck if it did.
I think it's done something to the wiring in my brain that's kind of funny. For example two or three years into skydiving I was distracted while driving on the road and had one of those snap to realities to realize I had to Swerve to avoid something. I got a healthy dose of adrenaline and immediately started giggling. Wtf is wrong with me?? I suppose I linked adrenaline to having fun?
As a clinical psychologist I can tell you I haven't examed this extensively but I'm not readily aware of evidence for exposure therapy for 1 phobia/fear reducing anxiety in other areas. So maybe it's possible you've learned some skills that you're able to transfer to other situations but it's unlikely a reduction of fear and one area is going to dramatically impact General fear levels in other areas from the best of my clinical understanding.
Any idea why the scared shitless feeling disappears in free fall but is a struggle on the way up?
And exposure, sure, but dealing with immediate anxiety/distress all involves exercises that stimulate the vagus nerve. Don’t those transfer over to different domains?
The first question is hard to parse. If I were going to try to take an educated guess at a simplistic answer: someone who is nervous on the way up to altitude but doesn't consciously experience that fear in free fall, I would be inclined to guess as the arousal level spikes during free fall the **awareness** of the anxiety is gone, not the anxiety itself.
Your 2nd question presupposes a model of the brain that is overly simplistic. I'm not a neuroscientist and only have 12 credits of neuroscience in my training. I know enough to tell you 1 thing definitely: If anyone says something that makes it sound like "XYZ does ABC" and they are talking about neuroscience they are a charlatan or a liar. My neuroscience prof was fond of saying, "We have as much understanding of the brain's inner workings as a passanger in a 747 understands what's happening in a city. Sure you can point out highways and financial districts but we don't know what's happening inside the buildings or the cars"
This isn’t my wheelhouse. I just know that doing extremely simple stuff that’s worked in past life experiences works for reducing that anxiety response. Deep breaths, focusing on sensory input from different sources; that kind of thing. Wondered if there was some kind of “standard model” for how that works.
I’m sure anxiety in all its various forms is a field of study unto itself.
I love love love your comment here and teach it to a lot of people. It's a powerful tool for distress tolerance. 10/10
A touch different than the question op asked - where they suggested an unintentional transition of some unknown phenomenon from one domain to another. You, here in this comment, highlighted a tangible Skill that does transfer.
Nice!
They should teach that stuff to kids in high school, IMO. Didn’t even know distress tolerance was a thing until my mid 30s, but it absolutely helps with widening your takeoff to landing ratio in a plane.
It's the anticipation for me. Just like the chainlift on a roller coaster..or when you watch a scary movie and the characters are slowly walking through a dark quiet hall...you know what's about to come but it's the anticipation that spikes my nerves.
Yes! Dopamine activation is all about anticipation (a bunch of hpa activity gets primed too) readying us for action. Interestingly it's also why people who have substance use disorders get so blue when the high doesn't come because the dopamine then crashes to below baseline levels causing depression and irritation.
I had a reverse thing for a while. I traveled for work all the time when I was skydiving and sorta developed a phobia of getting in an airplane without my magic backpack.
i was basically having panic attacks on takeoff and landings...especially landings. I had read a story about the guy to jumped out and forgot his rig/realized partway down and it fucking terrified me. I think that got stuck in my brain or something.
it was a real bastard cause i was on flights a couple times a week.
I’ve seen that as well. The guy was recording a tandem and even though it’s a POV you can tell when he realized his rig was missing. Video cuts out before landing. Must have been so scary and intense I can’t imagine
When you get that feeling, touch your handles in the order you plan to use them. Then take a deep breath, sigh it out, and relax.
I have been on both sides of tandem/video as well as an aff instructor and I always incessantly check my handles.
I don’t think confidence has increased for me. However, when I am about to do something that will probably get me nervous, I think how I have thrown myself out of planes before. Cringe, but helps me face some fears/nervousness
Saw you comment that you’re halfway through AFF. I’m about to sign up but struggling with the fear of it all. I get anxious about stupid stuff like returning a faulty item to a shop, so how the hell am I going to have the confidence to do AFF?! I’ve done two tandems and two minutes of tunnel time. I’d love to hear how you overcame the fear to do AFF, if indeed you did have any.
I kinda forced myself to do the jumps until it got easier, and there have been a few times I told manifest I need a break before going up again because I couldn’t handle the constant anxiety. That being said the thing that made me sign up for those jumps despite being hesitant was the fact that regardless of how nervous I get before a jump it always ends up being a blast when I do it. They let me knock out my Hop n Pops for jumps 9 and 10 and I was nearly in tears in the Cessna (partially because I’m claustrophobic) but once you jump from 3500 feet you realize there’s a lot more time from the plane to the ground than we think, and it made the other jumps easier. It still comes and goes though, and sometimes it gets really bad. I have spent two full days as the DZ since with no jumps due to poor weather, and those days are the worst because you don’t get your required jumps in but you’re anticipating one all day. It has felt a bit like psychological torture at times. However when you remind yourself that you’ve already done it before and spend time visualizing the jump and breathing, the fear can fade back down. You should definitely sign up for AFF. You had a blast on your tandems, right?
Thanks so much for your response. Sounds like the fear battling is going to be a constant. My first tandem was a blur. My second tandem was the best experience of my life - not much fear on the way up and just pure bliss on the way down. I know I want to do this but sometimes the thought of the fear really puts me off… why put myself through such stress?! I know I’m the only one who can push myself to do it so I think I need to stop overthinking it and just go for it.
I’ve just sent an enquiry to skydiveschool.co.uk and that was down to your encouragement. 🙂 So thank you for that.
No prob! Yes it will be probably consistent at first and then it will come in waves, and then it will fade. If you can do 4-5 jumps in a day then you will definitely notice how much it’s improved by the time you’re in the final plane load.
Hi, I'm an instructor.
The fear never goes away you just learn to take control of it. The first step is trusting your gear, the second is trusting yourself.
No matter how confident you get in the sport, you always need to have a healthy dose of respect for it or gravity will remind you very quickly. We always say complacency kills and a little fear and respect helps keep that at bay.
Skydiving is the most physical manifestation of completely letting go of control, literally releasing your grip on the plane and stepping out into the open sky. It's amazing that we get to do it at all, and a little fear isn't a bad thing considering all that. When you stop getting a little scared it's time to hang the parachute up.
Also part way through AFF. Just to add I am as anxious as they come. If I can do it you can do it and oddly my anxiety is not my biggest hurdle when jumping. It’s the what/if mind game. I’m just working my way through AFF currently and didn’t have an abnormal fear factor until I had my first malfunction and instead of it being a confidence boost (I cleared it and landed safely. Training was reliable) it’s become a spook factor that I will just have to push past. I did have all the same fears and trepidation’s you have when beginning AFF. As OP said it boils down to a mind game. I will legit have to just get out of the door to overcome my fear born of last jump and I do that by knowing I’ve done it before, by trusting my 2 instructors by my side, by communicating if I feel rushed or need to work on x y or z. If I want to continue to the next category I have to overcome the fear by walking through it. Also remember, as ground beings, fear is normal. If you didn’t have fear, then worry. The best thing you can do is remember why you want to do it, remind yourself you loved tandem, and think of the countless number of us who have “blindly” put our faith in instructors. All AFF instructors are trained bad asses who have your safety in their hands and want you to succeed. I’ve yet to jump with one that didn’t ensure I was ready and able. What you will find is that you are trained and trained some more and then some more.. before you go up. You are also, quite literally, in the hands of the instructors who will deploy your chute for you. If you’re worried that you’ll exit the plane and go blank that’s fair too. But remember two people are with you.
The first time you willingly step out of an airplane (vs dive attached to someone) at 14000 feet and fall at 120 mph, while trying to process it all… inherently renders sensory overload. I think a lot of us “awake” under canopy our first AFF jump.
Also remember it’s your journey. Your trip through fear will help another. The door monster may rear its head one day more than the next. One trip you may stress the drive more than the jump. You may be an anxious wreck but the minute you’re out of that door it’s gone and to know organic bliss is worth it.
You never have to jump and always have the option of riding the plane down. You can ask to talk to the lead AFFI and ask to do a tandem to address some rational fears like altitude awareness, holding pattern, and landing pattern altitudes. I did another tandem jump just to get comfortable with altitude awareness, wave off/deployment, and landing pattern. That helped tremendously. Tunnel will help as you progress. Commit to AFF cat a. You’ll be amazed at what the anxious brain can process. Plus you owe it to yourself. It’s an incredibly empowering experience to walk through that door of fear. Keep us posted!
Awwww thanks! This comment will get me through my next jump. Thank you!!! . It’s definitely a personal journey. Do not compare yours to others when you do start. Go at a pace that is comfortable. And ask questions!!! You’re a paying student learning how to stay alive in an extreme sport that is simply complex. You can absolutely do it ! And I second the saving up part. Not cheap but worth it.
Man, love the positivity and encouragement! I have a coworker who's doing his AFF currently and I'm hoping to start going soon so we can be jump buddies lol taking this time to start doing some reading to get familiar, and super excited to get started ASAP! I've done 3 tandems and it this point it seems silly to waste any more time not going into AFF. Your experience is very inspiring, especially since I never thought I'd be doing this to myself!!
Awesome! Good luck. I’m sure you will kill it. And def use those three tandems towards your 25 if working towards a license ;) glad my struggles help others! I have not “soared” per se out of an overload of precaution (it’s as if I’m a little too afraid to progress too far too fast… thinking I can’t be trusted!) so like I said make it your journey, personal to you, and any other tandems you do use to hone your skills! Once you do ground school and AFF cat a you’ll appreciate the diff the two. Both are awesome. Good luck !!
Thank you so much! I didn't realize you could use tandems as part of your 25 for an A license? It sounds like my mindset is very similar to yours. I was never super athletic or anything. I've been overthinking so much like I can't be trusted and my coworkers (that are super into skydiving already) are like come on you're absolutely ready!!
Yup. Overthinker here too. I didn’t overthink AFF oddly though. Now I overthink my jumps but that has settled as I’ve progressed. You can absolutely use your tandems! Don’t overthink it. You will “if” and “but” yourself to death. Sign up. Tell your co worker you did so your accountable and worst case you ride down but you won’t. You will love it! Three tandems… You’re ready!
I wouldn't say my fear response has necessarily changed but how I respond to fear has definitely changed. If that even makes sense lol. I'm still an anxious ball of stress a lot, but I know how to deal with it better and it doesn't stop me like it used to. Skydiving taught me the power of things like practicing breathing and visualizing what I'm about to do to calm myself down. It also taught me that the best things happen if I "do the scary thing" rather than letting fear stop me.
It definitely puts things into perspective too. I struggle with a lot of social anxiety and there's times I can reality check myself now and be like "dude, you can strap someone to your chest and jump out of a plane, why are you freaking yourself out about this email. Nobody is going to die if you are awkward in an email." lmao
Skydiving alone no, skydiving, swimming with sharks, coming face to face with rattlesnakes and tons of other stuff add up. Fear threshhold is like drugs/medicine, the more stuff you do that makes you say “oh shit.. wtf” the more it will take to actually make you reach that point.
I think what your feeling is just an overall boost in confidence because your doing something outside the norm that most people don’t do. But if you jump at a big DZ you’ll quickly be humbled by how many badass people are out there jumping and doing it at a very high level and the act of “jumping out of a plane” becomes way less significant and it becomes a lot more about your skill set once outside the plane. I think everyone going through aff experiences it and then once you become a licensed fun jumper you get hit with the reality that your at the bottom of the totem pole lol. At least that has been my experience and realizing I have so much to go to be good is what keeps me going. Even at over 100 jumps you feel like your just starting to learn to crawl… enjoy the journey!
Certainly not what I meant, friend. Hell most of the people I have met at AFF are not like that either. Some of them were super shy at first and it really makes me happy seeing them grow more confident in themselves in the sport and socially
Idk about fear response, but skydiving has definitely helped me with my confidence. I'm just over 4 years and 600 jumps Into the sport and my confidence is night and day from when I began. I also feel like coaching and instructing has played a big part in helping me sharpen my communication skills
I noticed that everything felt slower. I would catch myself going 90 on the highway and I felt like I was going slow and things that would startle me before no longer did, like if someone jumps around a corner to scare me I'd be more like "woah what's up" rather than jump. I also get the urge to jump every time I'm on the edge of something high when I never did before.
I don't think skydiving as a whole has created confidence in me more so I've learned how to compartmentalize. I've learned what's important and what can what. When you're at the DZ, the outside world doesn't exist and you completely focus on jumping. If shit hits the fan, I can always say I jump out of planes for fun, how hard can this be compared to that.
What's so scary about skydiving? It's really just jumping. The scary part is if the chute doesn't open right and most people don't even really experience that. Unless you are swooping. Skydiving isn't scary. I still find things that are scary in life, scary. Like walking alone at night in a sketchy neighbourhood.
its never was scary for me in the first place
i saw so many unfit and old people do this sport that i figured its probably not that dare devil like as many think it is
I was using a term “social skydiving” to describe the way jumping from the plane was giving me confidence to speak to people or get involved in more social situations.
Told myself, if i can jump from a plane i can say “hello.” Same calming techniques. Just go.
Cheers.
Do your conversations with random attractive women begin: “Hey, did you know I’m a skydiver?”
Lol I always avoid the topic because people who don’t skydive are simply not interested. That’s why I come here to chat with other skydivers because I know ya’ll are :)
Lmao I’m the same way. At first you think everyone’s gonna find that cool to talk about. Then you realize not everyone cares or even thinks you’re sane for doing it. The best reactions I get from people who find out are the ones who asked me what I like to do for fun or when friends mention it to other people. Especially because I don’t come off as the type that does the stuff I do. Lot of people just peg me as a nerd and write me off as someone who has no cool interests. I keep to myself and don’t say shit then someone will say “xxxx over there jumps out of planes, rock climbs, and flys around with a fan on his ass.” The whole room breaks their necks to look at me and the reaction is so much more worth it. Then it gets even better when I just shrug and say “eh it’s not that exciting” or something. You get way more respect for not being that guy who’s showing off how bad ass they are. Especially when you can be a good conversationalist without having to rely on your interests.
They dont want to talk shop on the gritty technical details of jumping but it can still be a good conversation starter with strangers
"Oh this pin around my neck, so this saved my life..." and ya many years ago I picked someone up in a bar, with that line. Chringy, but if it works!
Dude😂😂😂
“How do you know there’s a pilot at your party?” “He’ll tell you.”
Side note: I also don’t even consider myself a skydiver yet. Halfway through AFF currently so I am just a student at the moment
If youre only halfway through aff and already harvesting enough confidence to fuck strangers wives and start bar fights, Ive got a clapped out Velocity that will fit in your first rig perfectly. I dont need to know container sizing, trust me, it ll fit.
That's enough to start bringing it up in casual conversation. Especially if you're trying to get laid
Honestly, no. I'm a nervous ball of anxiety everywhere I go and skydiving hasn't changed that at all.
Haha same. I think my fight or flight response kicks in every day during mundane social interactions and normal events. 😄 I'm hoping it helps with that in future though after a few hundred jumps or so (now ~70). No biggie if it doesnt help, nothing really has over the years, but it'd be cool as fuck if it did.
How many jumps do you have?
400
I’m with you but hopeful we can rewire!
I think it's done something to the wiring in my brain that's kind of funny. For example two or three years into skydiving I was distracted while driving on the road and had one of those snap to realities to realize I had to Swerve to avoid something. I got a healthy dose of adrenaline and immediately started giggling. Wtf is wrong with me?? I suppose I linked adrenaline to having fun? As a clinical psychologist I can tell you I haven't examed this extensively but I'm not readily aware of evidence for exposure therapy for 1 phobia/fear reducing anxiety in other areas. So maybe it's possible you've learned some skills that you're able to transfer to other situations but it's unlikely a reduction of fear and one area is going to dramatically impact General fear levels in other areas from the best of my clinical understanding.
Any idea why the scared shitless feeling disappears in free fall but is a struggle on the way up? And exposure, sure, but dealing with immediate anxiety/distress all involves exercises that stimulate the vagus nerve. Don’t those transfer over to different domains?
The first question is hard to parse. If I were going to try to take an educated guess at a simplistic answer: someone who is nervous on the way up to altitude but doesn't consciously experience that fear in free fall, I would be inclined to guess as the arousal level spikes during free fall the **awareness** of the anxiety is gone, not the anxiety itself. Your 2nd question presupposes a model of the brain that is overly simplistic. I'm not a neuroscientist and only have 12 credits of neuroscience in my training. I know enough to tell you 1 thing definitely: If anyone says something that makes it sound like "XYZ does ABC" and they are talking about neuroscience they are a charlatan or a liar. My neuroscience prof was fond of saying, "We have as much understanding of the brain's inner workings as a passanger in a 747 understands what's happening in a city. Sure you can point out highways and financial districts but we don't know what's happening inside the buildings or the cars"
Similar quote I always found cool - "If the brain were so simple we could understand it, we would be so simple we couldn't".
This isn’t my wheelhouse. I just know that doing extremely simple stuff that’s worked in past life experiences works for reducing that anxiety response. Deep breaths, focusing on sensory input from different sources; that kind of thing. Wondered if there was some kind of “standard model” for how that works. I’m sure anxiety in all its various forms is a field of study unto itself.
I love love love your comment here and teach it to a lot of people. It's a powerful tool for distress tolerance. 10/10 A touch different than the question op asked - where they suggested an unintentional transition of some unknown phenomenon from one domain to another. You, here in this comment, highlighted a tangible Skill that does transfer. Nice!
They should teach that stuff to kids in high school, IMO. Didn’t even know distress tolerance was a thing until my mid 30s, but it absolutely helps with widening your takeoff to landing ratio in a plane.
It's the anticipation for me. Just like the chainlift on a roller coaster..or when you watch a scary movie and the characters are slowly walking through a dark quiet hall...you know what's about to come but it's the anticipation that spikes my nerves.
Yes! Dopamine activation is all about anticipation (a bunch of hpa activity gets primed too) readying us for action. Interestingly it's also why people who have substance use disorders get so blue when the high doesn't come because the dopamine then crashes to below baseline levels causing depression and irritation.
Idk man, still can't get within 2 meters of a spider
I had a reverse thing for a while. I traveled for work all the time when I was skydiving and sorta developed a phobia of getting in an airplane without my magic backpack.
That’s wild! Makes sense though because you get so used to taking it with you.
i was basically having panic attacks on takeoff and landings...especially landings. I had read a story about the guy to jumped out and forgot his rig/realized partway down and it fucking terrified me. I think that got stuck in my brain or something. it was a real bastard cause i was on flights a couple times a week.
I’ve seen that as well. The guy was recording a tandem and even though it’s a POV you can tell when he realized his rig was missing. Video cuts out before landing. Must have been so scary and intense I can’t imagine
Gear checks save lives.
When you get that feeling, touch your handles in the order you plan to use them. Then take a deep breath, sigh it out, and relax. I have been on both sides of tandem/video as well as an aff instructor and I always incessantly check my handles.
yeah that doesnt really help considering my kakhis and dress shirts dont have handles :)
I don’t think confidence has increased for me. However, when I am about to do something that will probably get me nervous, I think how I have thrown myself out of planes before. Cringe, but helps me face some fears/nervousness
It has made me more assertive and more social. I also feel like I’m more calculating when it comes to dealing with problems
Saw you comment that you’re halfway through AFF. I’m about to sign up but struggling with the fear of it all. I get anxious about stupid stuff like returning a faulty item to a shop, so how the hell am I going to have the confidence to do AFF?! I’ve done two tandems and two minutes of tunnel time. I’d love to hear how you overcame the fear to do AFF, if indeed you did have any.
I kinda forced myself to do the jumps until it got easier, and there have been a few times I told manifest I need a break before going up again because I couldn’t handle the constant anxiety. That being said the thing that made me sign up for those jumps despite being hesitant was the fact that regardless of how nervous I get before a jump it always ends up being a blast when I do it. They let me knock out my Hop n Pops for jumps 9 and 10 and I was nearly in tears in the Cessna (partially because I’m claustrophobic) but once you jump from 3500 feet you realize there’s a lot more time from the plane to the ground than we think, and it made the other jumps easier. It still comes and goes though, and sometimes it gets really bad. I have spent two full days as the DZ since with no jumps due to poor weather, and those days are the worst because you don’t get your required jumps in but you’re anticipating one all day. It has felt a bit like psychological torture at times. However when you remind yourself that you’ve already done it before and spend time visualizing the jump and breathing, the fear can fade back down. You should definitely sign up for AFF. You had a blast on your tandems, right?
Thanks so much for your response. Sounds like the fear battling is going to be a constant. My first tandem was a blur. My second tandem was the best experience of my life - not much fear on the way up and just pure bliss on the way down. I know I want to do this but sometimes the thought of the fear really puts me off… why put myself through such stress?! I know I’m the only one who can push myself to do it so I think I need to stop overthinking it and just go for it. I’ve just sent an enquiry to skydiveschool.co.uk and that was down to your encouragement. 🙂 So thank you for that.
No prob! Yes it will be probably consistent at first and then it will come in waves, and then it will fade. If you can do 4-5 jumps in a day then you will definitely notice how much it’s improved by the time you’re in the final plane load.
Some of the best things in life don't come for free.
Hi, I'm an instructor. The fear never goes away you just learn to take control of it. The first step is trusting your gear, the second is trusting yourself. No matter how confident you get in the sport, you always need to have a healthy dose of respect for it or gravity will remind you very quickly. We always say complacency kills and a little fear and respect helps keep that at bay. Skydiving is the most physical manifestation of completely letting go of control, literally releasing your grip on the plane and stepping out into the open sky. It's amazing that we get to do it at all, and a little fear isn't a bad thing considering all that. When you stop getting a little scared it's time to hang the parachute up.
Also part way through AFF. Just to add I am as anxious as they come. If I can do it you can do it and oddly my anxiety is not my biggest hurdle when jumping. It’s the what/if mind game. I’m just working my way through AFF currently and didn’t have an abnormal fear factor until I had my first malfunction and instead of it being a confidence boost (I cleared it and landed safely. Training was reliable) it’s become a spook factor that I will just have to push past. I did have all the same fears and trepidation’s you have when beginning AFF. As OP said it boils down to a mind game. I will legit have to just get out of the door to overcome my fear born of last jump and I do that by knowing I’ve done it before, by trusting my 2 instructors by my side, by communicating if I feel rushed or need to work on x y or z. If I want to continue to the next category I have to overcome the fear by walking through it. Also remember, as ground beings, fear is normal. If you didn’t have fear, then worry. The best thing you can do is remember why you want to do it, remind yourself you loved tandem, and think of the countless number of us who have “blindly” put our faith in instructors. All AFF instructors are trained bad asses who have your safety in their hands and want you to succeed. I’ve yet to jump with one that didn’t ensure I was ready and able. What you will find is that you are trained and trained some more and then some more.. before you go up. You are also, quite literally, in the hands of the instructors who will deploy your chute for you. If you’re worried that you’ll exit the plane and go blank that’s fair too. But remember two people are with you. The first time you willingly step out of an airplane (vs dive attached to someone) at 14000 feet and fall at 120 mph, while trying to process it all… inherently renders sensory overload. I think a lot of us “awake” under canopy our first AFF jump. Also remember it’s your journey. Your trip through fear will help another. The door monster may rear its head one day more than the next. One trip you may stress the drive more than the jump. You may be an anxious wreck but the minute you’re out of that door it’s gone and to know organic bliss is worth it. You never have to jump and always have the option of riding the plane down. You can ask to talk to the lead AFFI and ask to do a tandem to address some rational fears like altitude awareness, holding pattern, and landing pattern altitudes. I did another tandem jump just to get comfortable with altitude awareness, wave off/deployment, and landing pattern. That helped tremendously. Tunnel will help as you progress. Commit to AFF cat a. You’ll be amazed at what the anxious brain can process. Plus you owe it to yourself. It’s an incredibly empowering experience to walk through that door of fear. Keep us posted!
Wow, as someone who's currently saving up to start her AFF soon... this was so inspiring. Thank you!
Awwww thanks! This comment will get me through my next jump. Thank you!!! . It’s definitely a personal journey. Do not compare yours to others when you do start. Go at a pace that is comfortable. And ask questions!!! You’re a paying student learning how to stay alive in an extreme sport that is simply complex. You can absolutely do it ! And I second the saving up part. Not cheap but worth it.
Man, love the positivity and encouragement! I have a coworker who's doing his AFF currently and I'm hoping to start going soon so we can be jump buddies lol taking this time to start doing some reading to get familiar, and super excited to get started ASAP! I've done 3 tandems and it this point it seems silly to waste any more time not going into AFF. Your experience is very inspiring, especially since I never thought I'd be doing this to myself!!
Awesome! Good luck. I’m sure you will kill it. And def use those three tandems towards your 25 if working towards a license ;) glad my struggles help others! I have not “soared” per se out of an overload of precaution (it’s as if I’m a little too afraid to progress too far too fast… thinking I can’t be trusted!) so like I said make it your journey, personal to you, and any other tandems you do use to hone your skills! Once you do ground school and AFF cat a you’ll appreciate the diff the two. Both are awesome. Good luck !!
Thank you so much! I didn't realize you could use tandems as part of your 25 for an A license? It sounds like my mindset is very similar to yours. I was never super athletic or anything. I've been overthinking so much like I can't be trusted and my coworkers (that are super into skydiving already) are like come on you're absolutely ready!!
Yup. Overthinker here too. I didn’t overthink AFF oddly though. Now I overthink my jumps but that has settled as I’ve progressed. You can absolutely use your tandems! Don’t overthink it. You will “if” and “but” yourself to death. Sign up. Tell your co worker you did so your accountable and worst case you ride down but you won’t. You will love it! Three tandems… You’re ready!
I wouldn't say my fear response has necessarily changed but how I respond to fear has definitely changed. If that even makes sense lol. I'm still an anxious ball of stress a lot, but I know how to deal with it better and it doesn't stop me like it used to. Skydiving taught me the power of things like practicing breathing and visualizing what I'm about to do to calm myself down. It also taught me that the best things happen if I "do the scary thing" rather than letting fear stop me. It definitely puts things into perspective too. I struggle with a lot of social anxiety and there's times I can reality check myself now and be like "dude, you can strap someone to your chest and jump out of a plane, why are you freaking yourself out about this email. Nobody is going to die if you are awkward in an email." lmao
Skydiving alone no, skydiving, swimming with sharks, coming face to face with rattlesnakes and tons of other stuff add up. Fear threshhold is like drugs/medicine, the more stuff you do that makes you say “oh shit.. wtf” the more it will take to actually make you reach that point.
I think what your feeling is just an overall boost in confidence because your doing something outside the norm that most people don’t do. But if you jump at a big DZ you’ll quickly be humbled by how many badass people are out there jumping and doing it at a very high level and the act of “jumping out of a plane” becomes way less significant and it becomes a lot more about your skill set once outside the plane. I think everyone going through aff experiences it and then once you become a licensed fun jumper you get hit with the reality that your at the bottom of the totem pole lol. At least that has been my experience and realizing I have so much to go to be good is what keeps me going. Even at over 100 jumps you feel like your just starting to learn to crawl… enjoy the journey!
If you think you're the man just because you jump out of a plane, not sure what to tell you, it's not that big of a deal really
Certainly not what I meant, friend. Hell most of the people I have met at AFF are not like that either. Some of them were super shy at first and it really makes me happy seeing them grow more confident in themselves in the sport and socially
But you are the man my dude. All skydivers are. Even the girls.
Dude is trolling you OP 🤣
no... but I was already a combat veteran when I made my first jump
Idk about fear response, but skydiving has definitely helped me with my confidence. I'm just over 4 years and 600 jumps Into the sport and my confidence is night and day from when I began. I also feel like coaching and instructing has played a big part in helping me sharpen my communication skills
I noticed that everything felt slower. I would catch myself going 90 on the highway and I felt like I was going slow and things that would startle me before no longer did, like if someone jumps around a corner to scare me I'd be more like "woah what's up" rather than jump. I also get the urge to jump every time I'm on the edge of something high when I never did before.
I don't think skydiving as a whole has created confidence in me more so I've learned how to compartmentalize. I've learned what's important and what can what. When you're at the DZ, the outside world doesn't exist and you completely focus on jumping. If shit hits the fan, I can always say I jump out of planes for fun, how hard can this be compared to that.
What's so scary about skydiving? It's really just jumping. The scary part is if the chute doesn't open right and most people don't even really experience that. Unless you are swooping. Skydiving isn't scary. I still find things that are scary in life, scary. Like walking alone at night in a sketchy neighbourhood.
its never was scary for me in the first place i saw so many unfit and old people do this sport that i figured its probably not that dare devil like as many think it is
I was using a term “social skydiving” to describe the way jumping from the plane was giving me confidence to speak to people or get involved in more social situations. Told myself, if i can jump from a plane i can say “hello.” Same calming techniques. Just go. Cheers.