Adrenaline vs. Fear

Hmm maybe I'm on the wrong site? Hasn't been a new post over there is a while?

Anyway, good post and something I have been thinking about also. I guess my thinking has changed a bit too on the fear issue, most of the time I am scared/ have a lot of adrenaline going on. I too find myself ok with it, even shaking knees don't bother me. I might hesitate a bit at the bottom of a jump the first time on it but nothing I can't control.

But I also found out on my last ride that I do have a old ghost still haunting me. I have a tear inducing, paralyzing, hyperventilating fear of jumping down off stuff. Jumping up I'm just fine, no problem. Jumping down not so good.

I'm not scared of heights, just falling from them. Most of my nightmares are about falling. It never use to be this way, when I was little we always jumped off the high dive at the pool etc. Not sure what changed, I never got hurt or anything. Now this includes jumping off everything. Sometimes it's not so bad and I can make myself do it like jumping off the side of a pool, the side of the boat, etc. Other times.. well I had to have my husband push me off the rock at the lake because even though I really wanted too I just couldn't do it. I hate that feeling, not being able jump off that rock bothered me so bad I tried for years afterward to jump off it. As of yet it hasn't happened. :face-icon-small-blu

So I'm a bit familiar with it, just hadn't done anything big enough on my sled to experience it before. It really sucks, nothing like doing a few tiny drops, scared but could do it. Then doing one with a hill that was a touch taller, even thought the drop was the same size, and completely falling apart. I'm so grateful my husband was there to with his infinite patience to talk me though it. He did get me to drop off it but I couldn't make myself do it again.

You know how with most things if you can do it once it's not so scary? Somehow that's not how it works with me and this issue. Talk about frustrating.....

:face-icon-small-blu

For me, it's Fear. I think it's because I'm a flatlander. We just don't have enough snow here or places to practice some of the stuff you HAVE to do in mountain riding. My better half is fearless, however, and rags on me all the time about being a wussie. :shocked:

For me I take it both ways till I do it!

My last two rides out I have had to push myself on a few things that I normally don't do on a regular basics and so after doing it I realize it was the adrenaline that was hesitating me from it, problem now is I want to do more of it! :bounce: likey the feeling after the shaking and excitment wears off.

steph... few things your post made me think of... One, have you read the unbearable lightness of being?? the author has SUCH an elagant way ofdescribing the fear of heights... it's actually a little twisted but i KNOW in my case it's true... I wish I could quote it direclty but all my books are still down in the shop. Wat I took away from it was that the fear wasn't actually of the heights themselves rather the thought that you WANTED to throw yourself off them!!

After spending YEARS climbing I have noticed that I still get wigged out about throwing myself off something. it's unatural!! Your body and brain are SMART to say don't do this!!! Now, learning how to jump and jumping off things -starting small and working up- is different than just throwing yourself off.... so don't stress that your body doesn't want to let you throw yourself off something!!

Also, I read somewhere that a fear of heights grows with us as we get older... It's natural... As we get older our footing becomes a little less sure AND our bones get more brittle. Our brains don't trust our bodies as much and they tell them to BACK AWAY FROMTHE EDGE!!! I know it's true with me!! i used to have killer balance but without REALLY working to maintain that I've totally lost it and don't quite trust myself to stand up on the top step of a 12 ft ladder with nothing to even hang onto any more! -and i used to do it EASY!! anyway, the article was in some drs office i was waiting in and was in a medical journal... so they might be on to something...

not saying to give in to it!!! just saying, i wouldn't beat yourself up TOOO much about it!

And about fear or adrenaline for me?? the way i catagorize fear is that it will STOP me from doing something.... adrenaline will not.... if it's real and it's bad then the true fear will kick in and say HELL NO!!! otherwise i get skert, and like to joke about how I need some depends cause I'm gonna pee my ridin pants but I always know in the back of my head that I will do it....

Oh yes Brandy Winthrop sure pushed me out of my comfort zone, when I hit well cracked that tree, that shook me up a bit, but I knew I had to get with it. Then when we went over the other side on that hill.... I was going to myslef "You got to be F... kidding" and then feel like being in a pinball machine in them trees, but hey I did that spot about 5 times, only to hear that the tree was in the way. UGH!

But you know I WANT MORE!

It is interesting to find out how people are wired. I was talking to a man I have dubbed "the most interesting man in the world". He has experienced much in life, from being a covert weapon specialist, to special forces training. He was talking to his commander regarding the mentality of special forces, and a study that had been done. Apparently the study uncovered that people who are enlisted as special forces run towards danger, as opposed to the majority of the population who naturally run away from danger. I'm wondering if some of us who ride are wired a bit differently then the average joe or joesephine.

Thank you Emily, I will stop beating myself up over this and get back to productive thinking. That is it exactly, I'm really not scared of heights, just the thought of wanting to jump off of them. I going to have to find that book, sounds very interesting.

The snow conditions were perfect, nice and fluffy. My hubby picked that spot because even if you totally goofed up on the throttle it didn't matter and you wouldn't get hurt.

In hindsight, I think if I had know my reaction I would have picked a different time to work on it as we were ridding with my sister and Dad. I was very embarrassed to freeze up in front of 3 pretty darn fearless people. Plus my Dad was going to video me going off so I had a camera on too. :face-icon-small-dis

In the future, I think I will stick with little baby drops until I feel completely confident and bored with it. Need to get that throttle control down pat so I don't have to worry that I'm going to nose dive off of things.

Thanks again!

did you walk out the jump before you hit it?? that ALWAYS helps get your head more familiar with the view you're going to see when you get close to the edge... the void... it can freeze up MANY people...

AND DON'T BE EMBARRASSED!!!! if you want reassuance that it happens to the best of us I can send you the pic of me lawn darting and rag dolling for days!!! hahahahhaa, I think I've been told by some friends they have it on their desktop so they can click on it whenever they need a little 'pick me up'! hahahhahaha

sleding mom. YES there is DEFINITELY some hardwire differences!!!! we are all very different AND our life experiences shape us as well. I know fear of bodily harm isn't a huge fear for me cause I've learned how to rag doll so well!! fear of wrecking a sled isn't a huge one for me cause I have rebuilt them a million times!

but, all in all, i would say that danger excites me and i have plenty of friends who think that's just plain nutso!!

GP... I've heard this feeling from a TON of moms. I DEFINITELY think risk taking becomes a little different for women who are mothers... and for SOME men who are fathers... seems less like it slows the guys down but I know a few who think, if I get hurt I can't work, can't support my family... therefore not worth even a small risk!

Yikes, Jeanette, that sucks....I hope you are ok!!!!

Yikers!! -yeah, i totally stole that from you jeanette!! Soooo sorry this happened... Booo-hooo on season being over, but as always you have a great attitude about it!!:tea: (tea?? what, there is no CHEERS on here anymore?? jeesh, what is the world coming too -although this does remind me of an easier time in my life when we used to get to have coffee over the internet in the mornings!!)

I might be with B... some days just feel off!! becky got into a pretty nasty accident on her dirt bikes a few summers ago in mccall on one of those days... she fell over in the parkinglot before we even started and said all day she just felt off! what in the HECK is with that?? I mean, how can you overcome that?? or do you just listen to it and back off on those days?? or will you start using that as an excuse to be a wuss and not push yourself?? i dunno... tough to say! personally, i'm SUPER un intune with my body so I never know when it's going to a bad day... it just is sometimes... and I feel like a pile of warmed up poo! (and I just hope no one is watching on those days!!)

hmmmmm, ok, so about this getting old and being scared of heights thing.... what can we do?? i had a buddy who did yoga and took 2-3 years off climbing just cause he was busy with life. he came back to the sport (after doig yoge VERY seriously that entire time) and was actually climbing BETTER than when he left the sport.... Yoga might really put you in tune with you body too to know when it's saying BAD IDEA for reals ya know?? Plus it will improve your balance and hopefully help you out in that fear that your balance is getting worse... it's something you have to excersize or you loose it you know?? the balance muscles will atrophy as well as any other muscle...

yoga has been on my to-do list for about 10 years now... i'm a TOTAL slacker!!

also... another thought.... When I went to college I had a roommate from LA, born and raised in da CITY!!! we would go for hikes and she was a WRECK!!! Couldn't go off trail (and by trail I mean HARD PACK AND FLAT) to save her life... So it made me realize that my hours of running around on uneven ground had REALLY helped me with balance and whatever else it is you need to put her in 4-wheel and go off road! I htink this is something you can loose over the years too... just a thought... I wonder if when you do walks in the city you can walk in the ditch and/or on the curb... make a game of practicing balance on uneven surfaces and working on your surefootedness??

i dunon... just a random thought that popped into my head... we've established that maybe it's normal that this happens... so, now what are we going to do about it and how are we going to FIGHT IT!!! growing old STINKS!

One of our first hikes after my knee surgury last year. All the therapy had me very in balance and no worries on the hike and it's up there switch backing most the way up to the top. :shocked:












cliff edges and no worrying about the kids this hike but my footing was there. i didn't feel off this day. :face-icon-small-dis


K. it's time to find a balance workout. lol