These Strategies Can Help You To Overcome Your Fear Of Heights Before You Take Up Skydiving

Posted on: 13 September 2016

If you've suffered from an intense fear of heights for a long time, you might try to quell it once and for all in one of the most extreme methods out there — by jumping out of an airplane. Skydiving is certainly a way that you can get over this fear, but you might also be extremely anxious as you sit in the airplane and wait for your turn to jump with an instructor. If you want to feel a little more settled by the time you're in the air, there are some other things that you can do before your skydiving lessons to lessen your fear of heights. Here are some suggestions.

Try Rock Climbing

Seek out a rock climbing center in your city and sign up for a few lessons. This activity is extremely safe and will give you an opportunity to be suspended several feet above the ground. One of the benefits of rock climbing is that when you're safely in your harness, you can just hang there, look down, and work on mastering your fear of heights. A few lessons of this nature before your first skydiving lesson can make you feel a little more confident when it's time to climb into the plane.

Turn To Meditation

Meditation is an effective way to deal with many types of fears or anxieties, including being scared of heights. You can try a meditation teacher in your city or even look online. Many sites have meditation recordings that you can download or stream, and you can even come up with your own meditation mantra. This serves as an opportunity to delve into your fear and perhaps understand why you have it. You can then repeat a given mantra to yourself that makes you feel calm and safe. Then, when you're in the plane, you can return to this mantra to ideally restore the same secure feelings you've experienced through practicing the mantra at home.

Seek Out As Much Information As Possible

Often, people have a fear of something because it seems unknown. If you're excited about your skydiving classes but feel anxious at the same time, commit to learning as much as possible about this activity — and how people feel about it. Watch online videos of people talking about their first skydiving experiences, read blog accounts, or even contact the skydiving school you'll be attending to relay your concerns. It's likely that the instructors have encountered others with the same fear as you, and will be able to share tips and anecdotes that can make you feel better.

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