Help any tips?

[tris-]

im shit scared of roller coasters. i get on them and panick, go out of breath and feel like im having a heart attack.
thing is, its a fear i want to conquer. ive done a lot of shit the past year which is changing me for the better and i think riding roller coasters is just something i need to do, to help me keep changing.

im going on sunday to a theme park and there is 4 big coasters, one of them ive done before. i am excited now and looking forward to it, but i know as soon as im strapped in i will panic.

does anyone have tips to get over this? is it just a case of keep doing it untill my body is used to it?

 

[Fweddy]

I would say just keep riding them until you get used to it.

Going to climbing walls (and falling off them) has helped me with my vertigo so I would definitely say to go for it. I don't know how I'm going to get over my fear of zombies though

 

[Rubric]

Close your eyes, works for me.

Only trouble is i don't really see the point in rides

 

[Tom]

Rollercoasters are shit anyway. You queue for ages, and its over in 30 seconds. I'd sooner go on those splashy boat things, they're much more fun.

 

[Faeldawn]

im shit scared of roller coasters. i get on them and panick, go out of breath and feel like im having a heart attack.
thing is, its a fear i want to conquer. ive done a lot of shit the past year which is changing me for the better and i think riding roller coasters is just something i need to do, to help me keep changing.

im going on sunday to a theme park and there is 4 big coasters, one of them ive done before. i am excited now and looking forward to it, but i know as soon as im strapped in i will panic.

does anyone have tips to get over this? is it just a case of keep doing it untill my body is used to it?

You will never fully overcome your fear and nor should you want too, your fear is a healthy thing as it's quite unnatural to be strapped to a whirling piece of metal zipping around at height.

What you need to do is to realise that your fear is healthy and is there for a reason, but instead of giving in to this, use it positively.

I used to have an irrational fear of flying, I would panic on take-off. Although i kept it inside me as it's not wise to start screaming on an aeroplane, it was a paralysing fear nonetheless. I now console myself with the fact that if the plane crashes everyone else on it will die as well and that i simply have no control over it, but concentrate on what the flight will give me, and thats always a nice family holiday away from work. I find that calms me down, a simple shrug of the shoulders and im away.

On a rollercoaster you have the opportunity to really let it all out, scream, shout, yell and really release the beast. You will never be able to control the rollercoaster and hence never be able to completely control your fear, but there is a huge adrenalin rush to be had if you simply let go bit by bit. Adrenalin is fuelled by fear, enjoy

 

[SAS]

The trick is to not think about going onto the coaster. Don't build yourself up thinking "ok I am going to do this!!!" "there will be no problems!!!" as this may cause you to panic later on. Instead spend the day distracting yourself from the idea of facing a fear. When you are queuing up keep breathing. You may not realise it but you will be taking in smaller amounts of air as your body tenses to what it thinks is a "fight or flight" situation. Deep breaths and block out any negative thoughts about the coaster. When sat down keep focusing on your breathing and look at the seat in front of you and wait for the ride to begin. Then enjoy .

And above all if there is a chance of you bottling out of going on the coaster remember your own words:

thing is, its a fear i want to conquer. ive done a lot of shit the past year which is changing me for the better and i think riding roller coasters is just something i need to do, to help me keep changing.

Are you going to let this chance go past you?

Once done once you'll laugh at how easy it was and you'll take on the other rides soon after .

 

[00dave]

I was at alton towers not long ago and found I had more fun on mutiny bay than the roller coasters because they just don't do anything for me now. For me they just don't compare to bombing through valleys at low level in an RAF sea king with the doors open vietnam style, so try thinking of something much more dangerous you've done while your queueing, which could be almost anything because statistically roller coasters are very safe in this country.

 

[Scouse]

IMHO I'd not bother "getting over it" m8.

The only UK theme park worth visiting is Alton Towers and it's only worth visiting with gaps so far apart that you forget what the rides were like.

Also, it's only worth visiting if you spooge a massive wad of cash on the "rich person's pass" and even then only worth it if the park is half empty - otherwise you spend f00king hours in the queues.

It seems to me you're brave enough as it is - you're up for facing your fears (which is more than most)

To be fair though - when I was 17 (yeeeears ago) I got a girl off on the corkscrew - and the camera that takes your picture caught her "moment". So I guess there are positive fun things that happen at these places

I was too embarrassed to buy the pic tho

 

[TdC]

im shit scared of roller coasters. i get on them and panick, go out of breath and feel like im having a heart attack.
thing is, its a fear i want to conquer. ive done a lot of shit the past year which is changing me for the better and i think riding roller coasters is just something i need to do, to help me keep changing.

im going on sunday to a theme park and there is 4 big coasters, one of them ive done before. i am excited now and looking forward to it, but i know as soon as im strapped in i will panic.

does anyone have tips to get over this? is it just a case of keep doing it untill my body is used to it?

kind of strange tris-. knowing you a little bit, I wonder why you've not worked out that you're strapped to a hunk of metal which is attached to a superstructure all of which is specifically engineered to keep you perfectly safe. Having said that, I once felt the same about bungee jumping, until I realized that I would be perfectly safe as I was attached to something that could put up with far more than my meagre ability to stress it, so I sat back and enjoyed the battle with my sub-concious mind and the registering and analysing the sensations I was undergoing and everything turned out to be awesome. That doesn't mean I wasn't scared though. Like Scouse says, you're clearly not feart, so perhaps there is another reason, or you just really do not like roller coasters.

Me, I have a problem with letting go, or relinquishing control over my environment. For example, once apon a time I had a chance to slide through an ice tunnel in a glacier. The ice within the tunnel was extremely slippery live black ice that my ice axe and crampons would do bloody fuck all against, ergo I had to jump in, slide, and hope I'd pop out at the other end. I really tried. I tried so hard I made everyone else wait about and get bored, but I really couldn't let go of my grip at the start of the tunnel. It was because I couldn't see where I was going, had no faith I'd get to the end, and there was no safety line. Heh.

 

[Yaka]

i used to have problems with roller coasters till i was 13 maybe 14, not long ago a mate of mine believe it or not was a former RAF pilot and flys planes for emirates airways was also shit scared of em he went to a shrink and found out in most cases its not the speed/height/gforce etc that makes peeps fear them its more the fact they have no control over the ride.



and ways make sure you go on a empty stomach and use the bog before hand

 

[Chilly]

stop being a pussey?

 

[Jupitus]

stop being a pussey?

/gratuitive smiley abuse

 

[tris-]

stop being a pussey?

im not sure its that simple.
i cant control if my heart races or i stop breathing.

 

[Chilly]

yeah but you'll pass out at some point and your manly subconscious will reinstate your heart and lungs.

 

[chipper]

im scared of roller coasters and scared of heights in quite a bad way, but i always go on em because i feel fantastic afterwards

i look at the ppl coming off and see what a buzz there on im actually ok till i start gaining any height then i start bricking it but by then its too late so i just take deep breaths start grinning maniacally and enjoy the ride

go with some friends peer pressure is a wonderful friend in situations like this

 

[tris-]

i think its the height that fucks me up and how steep the first hill is.
i actually enjoy the going fast bit but still put off going on them.

 

[TdC]

you can test that. ever done something like a flying-fox? go find one and give it a go.

 

[tris-]

no idea what that is.

 

[TdC]

a wire span down a steep incline, like a hillside or gorge. you get strapped to a sled which is attached to the wire. then they let the sled go. it's great

 

[tris-]

i like the going down, just not the up which is enough to stop me.

 

[TdC]

ok, so you have a thing for heights. can you stand on a chair?

edit: I don't mean this therapeutic, I'm curious. chair, window, ladder, roller-coaster, etc. my mate Easy (he is) has a thing for heights, and to challenge himself he did a tandem parachute jump. He told me it was awesome. Then he threw up 6 times in a row.

 

[tris-]

i think its the angle and height.
ladders are ok.

i went to chichen itza in mexico and i could only walk quarter up before i had to turn back. gutted as that was once in a life time thing to goto the top.

that was the same angle as a roller coaster.

 

[tris-]

ok, so you have a thing for heights. can you stand on a chair?

edit: I don't mean this therapeutic, I'm curious. chair, window, ladder, roller-coaster, etc. my mate Easy (he is) has a thing for heights, and to challenge himself he did a tandem parachute jump. He told me it was awesome. Then he threw up 6 times in a row.

well ive been today.
went on all the coasters, one of them three times and the other twice.
found my self there wanting to go on them rather forcing my self.

fucking great stuff. one of them youre sat in a motobike and get accelerated 0-60 in 2 seconds, hit a 50ft hill, fly down the otherside and go round a twisted banked track as if youre actually on a motobike. i did that one 3 times.

the big main one looked very scary. you hang in chairs underneath the track and climb a 110ft incline. you come down that a bit steeper than 45 degrees and start twisting in the middle and go around a corner on the outside (so youre effectively travelling on your side) and then hit 4 inversions in a row. got some nice free falling at the top of one of them. did that one twice.

cant wait to hit some bigger and badder ones next year.

 

[DaGaffer]

Sounds like you've got mild Acrophobia. The going up bit is where the fear kicks in because you know what's coming next. Sounds like its the anticipation more than anything. Having read your last post though, it seems you've overcome it. Try a bungee jump next

Funnily enough I got your Chichen Itza problem in Mexico as well, not there, but at Coba; (although I made it up, what with the whole not-being-a-pussy thing ) I think its a scale and perspective issue; the steps are really steep, and sort of not to human scale, so you always feel slightly off-balance.

 

[tris-]

the steps were fucking massive, dread to think how warriors and whatnot were getting up and down them in their armour and costumes. id say one step was about 1/4 of my height.

and youre right it is the going upo bit. even the second time on the big one i wondered what am i doing! and dangling 110ft above the ground was a very new experience. the even better thing with that ride was i couldnt see the track so i was totally dissorientated. one second i was hurtling into the ground, next im nearly 100ft back up but upside down!
probably the key thing is i didnt panic like before so i was able to breath as normal which made me feel more in control.

my dad was more scared than i was too. found that odd as hes done climbing and absailing and all sorts. first time on i had to reassure him everything was fine, but his fear was down to safety of it. i just kept reassuring him when he was asking "this is locked in" etc.

 

[Chilly]

it worked!

 

[tris-]

it worked!

it was part of a whole chain of 'fears' ive been conquering over the past year.

the first one was talking to large groups of people. i always started shaking and losing my voice but one day i was told id have to talk to a class (50+) for a few minutes. after that i figured i can do anything.

that was actually scarier than the 100ft drop on the roller coaster.