Have you ever jumped from an aeroplane? I did a tandem jump many years ago, but I still remember it like it was yesterday. The thought of jumping from a plane 12,000 feet up in the air was overwhelming. My stress levels were high, my heart was racing, and I was sweating. Then I was introduced to my instructor, Mike. He was calm and very experienced so I knew I was in safe hands.
The briefing took us through one step by step instructions. Then it dawned on me… all I had to do was follow each individual instruction, one step at a time. Get on the plane, tick. Clip to my instructor, tick. Shuffle to the door, tick. Sit on the edge… Stress levels were somewhat high at this point I won’t lie! Cross my hands over my chest and allow my instructor to push us off. Try not to swear – Fail. When free-falling, make like a banana. – tick. Put me feet on his when landing then on touch down, run – all done! I was given bite-size instructions and achieved it.
My instructor had done over 500 jumps. I was mentally exhausted. He congratulated me and headed off to meet his next customer. To him this was just another day at the office. It wasn’t always like this for him but with constant exposure he simply habituated to it. Research shows that by just the third jump sky-divers stress hormones are no higher than it would be in a long queue in a supermarket. I haven’t put this to the test as my skydive was a tick off the bucket list and I’m happy with that.
It’s surprising how quickly you can reduce driving anxiety by taking one step at a time and regularly repeating the same exercise. I have helped many people do the same.
If you want to skydive, I suggest turning to Google. If you would like help with your driving, give me a call on 07889 186100 or email diane@thedrivinganxietycoach.co.uk