Has anyone else ever

[Leapinglizardto 0]

experienced - a sudden resurge of sensory overload or fear, seemingly resurfacing out of nowhere?
I recently made my 7th jump. The first 4 as tandems, the last 3 IAF. I was doing fine all along. Though I had experienced sensory overload, my1st few times. But I had been told about that & advised to make 2-3 tandems for that reason and was prepared.
On my very last jump, I suddenly experienced a resurge in sensory overload & for the first time, and suddenly had an overwhelming fear in freefall.
That fear being pulling too low, I could not get past thinking, I want to even have to, Pull now. ( though I didn't )
It just doesn't make sense. It had never happened before (the fear). My IAF instructor was right there with me, if all else failed I had AAD for backup.
It doesn't make sense to me, yet the fear is still with me a week later. Have any of you ever experienced or heard of similar experiences? Is this common?
The only thing I've been able, to attribute to it is, I have been reading a lot in the incidence forum lately.

It's pretty pathetic when you have to TELL people you're fucking cool Skymama «narrative»This thread will lock in 3..2.. What a load of narrow-minded Xenophobic Bullshit!-squeak

[AggieDave 6]

Yup. It happens. It happens at random times for stupid things (the return of fear). Take a deep breath, smile and go jump.

--"When I die, may I be surrounded by scattered chrome and burning gasoline."

[kefran 0]

just experienced it few weeks ago, around my 450th ... it's gone now after i did some fun jumps alone in the sky with no other goals than enjoying the scenery and opening higher than usual ....

AFF jumps are very demanding in term of goals and thoughts, we often forget the pleasure in those jumps.

--------------------------------------------------
I never used 2 rocks to start a fire ... this is called evolution !

[danielcroft 2]

I get my irrational fear when sitting around at home or work, like truly sick to the stomach fear. I only get that before my first jump of the day when I'm actually at the DZ.

Try to work out what's actually triggering the fear, maybe you can learn something.

[shropshire 0]

As Dave said... I have random moments of irrational fear. They come at crazy times (probably when my mind has way too much time).
I don't get them in the plane... I get "nerves", and more of them when I'm jumping solo (again too much time).

Actually, I kind of like it

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

[kkeenan 14]

Quote

My IAF instructor was right there with me, if all else failed I had AAD for backup.

I surely don't want to fuel your paranoia, but this sport is, above all else, about self-reliance. You need to understand that YOU are responsible for your own well-being. Your instructor may fail to help you, your AAD may not notice when you get low. None of these things should be relied upon to put a parachute over your head before you hit the ground.

I think it's more helpful to think through all of your procedures until you are convinced that you know them and can take care of yourself, rather than think of all the external things that can save you. Concentrate on visualizing successful completion of all the steps needed for a successful jump, including the steps needed in emergencies. Get to where you can see yourself, in detail, completing every step.

When you have all of this comfortably imbedded in your memory, you can execute the jump by executing the steps, knowing what will come next and being ready for it.

Knowledge and planning will replace the fear. I hope this helps.

Kevin K.

_____________________________________
Dude, you are so awesome...
Can I be on your ash jump ?

[Gato 0]

Quote

My IAF instructor was right there with me, if all else failed I had AAD for backup.

Maybe this is just the way I look at it, but every time I go up now, I jump with the assumption that the AAD is likely to fail. I know it probably won't, but this puts responsibility for survival squarely on my shoulders - and that gives me confidence. I can trust myself to get a parachute over my head.

Of course, this is assuming I didn't get knocked out on exit.

Quote

I could not get past thinking, I want to even have to, Pull now.

Good thing to remember!

You can end the skydive at any time of your choosing, whether it's going poorly or not. It's your skydive.

The fear does subside. Take lots of deep breaths, and smile a lot!

T.I.N.S.

[aresye 0]

I love the fear. The more I jump, the less I'm anxious about it. For me, having that fear while you jump out of the plane is one of the greatest feelings in skydiving. Now that I average 4-5 jumps a weekend, I'm not very anxious on the ride up. Sometimes I get a little, but not much. Maybe I should take a couple weeks off, so the anxiety can return...

Wait...Elsinore's boogie is this weekend. Nevermind.

Skydiving: You either learn from other's mistakes, or they'll learn from yours.

[brettski74 0]

It's normal to feel some anxiety either in the door, or perhaps in freefall for a while when you're just learning. Some people get past it easier than others. Maybe you'll get past it in 10 jumps or maybe it'll take you 100 jumps.

I can't recall ever having anxiety in freefall and I'm not sure how long it took me to start to consistently have jumps with no anxiety in the door or on the ride to altitude, but I'd guess I was at least at about 50-60 jumps by that stage.

Even now, I'll get some anxiety from time to time - usually if I'm doing something totally new and that's more performance anxiety than worry about my safety, but you just take a deep breath, move past it and do the jump.

Like one of the previous posts said, knowledge dispels fear. The more you jump, the more you'll know that you can look after yourself in the sky and the fear will slowly fade away.

[Chubba 0]

Quote

Good thing to remember!

You can end the skydive at any time of your choosing, whether it's going poorly or not. It's your skydive.

You got to be very careful with that, I don't want somebody dumping at 6k when they announced to everyone on the plane they're opening at 3k.

Make sure you're not going to endanger yourself or others.

[Leapinglizardto 0]

My thanks to everyone. Your advice & support helps a lot.
I can not Thank you enough for the words of wisdom and support. I guess my instinct was right, as many of you mentioned, not relying too heavily on my instructor or my AAD, to keep me safe. As despite having these things in mind, my fear of pulling too low, still came through pretty strong. looking forward to getting back in the sky, weekend after next. Blue skies

It's pretty pathetic when you have to TELL people you're fucking cool Skymama «narrative»This thread will lock in 3..2.. What a load of narrow-minded Xenophobic Bullshit!-squeak

[icevideot 0]

Quote

I don't want somebody dumping at 6k when they announced to everyone on the plane they're opening at 3k.

According to the post this jumper just finished jump 7. I teach students to open if they are not "CIA, Calm, In control, and Aware". I hope you don't think everyone will always open at the pre arranged altitude. That doesn't allow for premature openings or other gear issues. You also have long spots, lost contact lenses or goggles and a host of other potential reasons. We all have to allow proper exit seperation and stay alert. If you feel unsafe and uncomfortable in freefall, I'll understand if you open higher too.

"... this ain't a Nerf world."

[Leapinglizardto 0]

Thank you for your support and advice as well. Means a lot coming from the more experienced skydivers & other Instructors. Blue skies.

It's pretty pathetic when you have to TELL people you're fucking cool Skymama «narrative»This thread will lock in 3..2.. What a load of narrow-minded Xenophobic Bullshit!-squeak