Can You Still Skydive if You’re Nervous, Claustrophobic or Afraid of Heights?

Picture this. You’re sitting in an airplane. You’re connected to the instructor sitting behind you. You can feel him tighten the harness as the door opens and the wind rushes in. And then, you’re jumping, out into the open sky and falling at 120mph toward the ground…

If any part of that makes you feel nervous, claustrophobic, or afraid, you’re not alone!

In fact, it’s more unusual to meet a skydiver who isn’t afraid of something than it is to meet someone who is. So believe us, if you’re feeling any kind of trepidation about jumping, you’re totally normal! Let us explain…

It’s normal to feel nervous

Skydiving is incredible. In fact, if you ask us, it’s the most freeing, most exciting, most all-encompassing experience you’ll ever have!

But it’s also totally weird. If it’s your first time, skydiving is totally out of your comfort zone. In what other day-to-day situation do you throw yourself out of a moving vehicle – much less one that’s 13,000 feet up in the air? Exactly – never!

Whenever we do something different from the norm, we feel nervous. That’s because we don’t know what to expect. We’ve never done it before so all we have is the idea of what it might be like, maybe based on videos you’ve watched or what other people have told you. In reality, you’re off to do something you’ve got no frame of reference for – and that can be worrying!

Embrace the nerves! One of the things that makes skydiving so much fun is that it does get your heart beating that bit faster. Let the butterflies in your stomach enhance that excitement, not stop you from doing it. You won’t regret it!

The ride to altitude

You’ll be flying up to an altitude of around 13,000 feet in our King Air aircraft, which is the fastest aircraft in skydiving and carries up to 12 jumpers. It’s also really spacious compared to other skydiving airplanes.

That said, it’s quite common for people to feel a bit claustrophobic in the airplane. It’s not like any commercial airplane you’ve ever ridden in and with all the other jumpers in there too, it can feel a bit confined – even with the windows at eye level and the gorgeous views outside.

Once that door opens though, it’s a whole different story! No longer confined in the airplane, you’ll get a sense of freedom and openness unlike any other. Even if you are feeling worried about claustrophobia, that feeling will quite literally go out the door as soon as you jump into freefall.

Afraid of heights?

By far the most common fear skydivers have is a fear of heights. And it’s not just first-time skydivers, either. Even after hundreds or thousands of jumps, it’s still perfectly normal to feel scared of the height as you look out of the airplane door toward the ground…

The thing is that skydiving heights are… different. It sounds counterintuitive because, let’s face it, you’re pretty high up there! But you’re actually so high, it doesn’t feel high at all. Really!

As you look down, everything is so small it’s difficult to wrap your head around how high you are and it almost looks like you’re looking down on a toy landscape. Once you jump, far from feeling like you’re falling toward the ground, you feel like you’re cushioned on air. It’s amazing.

Fear… it’s a good thing!

It’s totally normal to feel fear when you’re jumping out of an airplane. And actually, we’d say it makes the whole experience even better!

Imagine how proud you’re going to feel of yourself once you’ve done it. Think back to the last time you did something you were nervous or scared to do, and how it felt afterward. Maybe it was something as normal day-to-day as a presentation at work or something as out there as a bungee jump. Whatever it was, we’ll bet you felt pretty great for overcoming your fears!

Now take that feeling and multiply it by a thousand! Skydiving is such an unusual thing to do, and such a small percentage of your friends or family will have done it, that it becomes even more special. Knowing you’ve done something you were scared of – and that so many people still haven’t done – is pretty awesome.

It’s also empowering. There’s a lot to be said for overcoming a challenge and the power it has to help you achieve even more. When you’ve jumped from an airplane, you’ll feel like you can do anything.

So what do you say? Ready to skydive? Our super-friendly, highly qualified, experienced team of skydiving instructors is here to take you every step of the way. Book today, or get in touch if you’ve got any questions and we’ll be happy to help.