Help me overcome my fear of drops

[Mondruid]

Originally Posted by emmafleur

I mean drop rides. I’ve been to Disney twice and never rode Tower of Terror because of my, well, terror of sudden drop rides. I’ve YouTubed the ride and desperately want to ride it but can’t get over the fear of those drops. Has anyone ever ridden it with a similar fear? Is it terrible? Any tips that could help me overcome my fear? Thanks 😊

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Hi Emmafleur,

Hopefully this might help you see things from just a slightly different angle. Rollercoasters and intense entertainment rides, are not just complex engineering. They are also psychological mechanisms, designed hand in hand with experts at human psychology. Rollercoasters and rides are designed to be intentionally scary, but they do so by appealing to the parts of the brain that enjoys being scared. It's something inherent in our human genetic make-up. We enjoy the rush of adrenaline, but some have what they assume to be a fear response prior to riding or engaging in adrenaline inducing situations. But it's not actually fear that is being encountered, at least not at that point - its anxiety.

To the majority of folk that enjoy coasters and such, the sense of being in the fear is what they thrive on, and the release of adrenaline that comes with it. But others suffer in reality from an anxiety disorder, basically, they becomes anxious of the fear of fear. This doesn't release adrenaline in the same rush, it's more of a low release. The majority of people become fearful when confronted with a fearful situation, adrenaline gushes forth, and you experience fight or flight. But, a percentage become anxious that they will become 'fearful', and they close in on themselves, tighten up, and feel altogether odd.

Basically, what a person is anxious about is the fear of fear itself. So they escalate the sense of what they think they are afraid of. You will often hear anxious people say things like 'I can't cope!', or 'I could only cope with...' and yet these machines are essentially designed to stop you from coping. And when you release the coping, what happens... ? You cope. Others will say - 'I am too afraid', when actually, that is the entire point. To invoke a sense of foreboding.

Because these machines are basically psychological devices, you get 3 camps of people. Those who love the fear response and don't suffer anxiety from it. Those who categorically just won't entertain even the idea of them. And those who want to, but don't want to, but really want to, and become bothered by the anxiety. And that happens because adrenaline hasn't been released to make sense of what would happen. It's part and parcel of their design, other phobias like fear of heights, claustrophobia etc only add to the intensity of the experience.

Ultimately it is down to how a person interacts with their anxiety. I was always anxious about them, until a psychologist relative told me to think of the anxious feelings not as a precursor to fear, but a sense of excitement. What did I have to lose other than my bladder? And it worked! I told myself I was excited. I talked myself into being excited. But, excitement is a form of anxiety, it's just how we connect with it that defines one from the other. I faced the fear, screamed my lungs out (it was the corkscrew at Alton Towers - I was 14), adrenaline rushed through me, and the elation afterwards was amazing.

I have been hooked ever since... with just a tendency to analyse human fear, as no doubt you've guessed by now.

The key to it is surrender. And if you loathe the adrenaline response (some people do), then you've removed it from your system and will never ever do it again. Or you will love the hormone rush and keep doing it.

Consequently I went from a nervous - anxious wreck, to really needing to feel like I am about to die at any second. Adrenaline is surprisingly addictive - hence the term - Adrenaline Junkie.

Whatever you end up doing - have fun regardless.

[DisneyFoodie]

Originally Posted by Mondruid

Hi Emmafleur,

Hopefully this might help you see things from just a slightly different angle. Rollercoasters and intense entertainment rides, are not just complex engineering. They are also psychological mechanisms, designed hand in hand with experts at human psychology. Rollercoasters and rides are designed to be intentionally scary, but they do so by appealing to the parts of the brain that enjoys being scared. It's something inherent in our human genetic make-up. We enjoy the rush of adrenaline, but some have what they assume to be a fear response prior to riding or engaging in adrenaline inducing situations. But it's not actually fear that is being encountered, at least not at that point - its anxiety.

To the majority of folk that enjoy coasters and such, the sense of being in the fear is what they thrive on, and the release of adrenaline that comes with it. But others suffer in reality from an anxiety disorder, basically, they becomes anxious of the fear of fear. This doesn't release adrenaline in the same rush, it's more of a low release. The majority of people become fearful when confronted with a fearful situation, adrenaline gushes forth, and you experience fight or flight. But, a percentage become anxious that they will become 'fearful', and they close in on themselves, tighten up, and feel altogether odd.

Basically, what a person is anxious about is the fear of fear itself. So they escalate the sense of what they think they are afraid of. You will often hear anxious people say things like 'I can't cope!', or 'I could only cope with...' and yet these machines are essentially designed to stop you from coping. And when you release the coping, what happens... ? You cope. Others will say - 'I am too afraid', when actually, that is the entire point. To invoke a sense of foreboding.

Because these machines are basically psychological devices, you get 3 camps of people. Those who love the fear response and don't suffer anxiety from it. Those who categorically just won't entertain even the idea of them. And those who want to, but don't want to, but really want to, and become bothered by the anxiety. And that happens because adrenaline hasn't been released to make sense of what would happen. It's part and parcel of their design, other phobias like fear of heights, claustrophobia etc only add to the intensity of the experience.

Ultimately it is down to how a person interacts with their anxiety. I was always anxious about them, until a psychologist relative told me to think of the anxious feelings not as a precursor to fear, but a sense of excitement. What did I have to lose other than my bladder? And it worked! I told myself I was excited. I talked myself into being excited. But, excitement is a form of anxiety, it's just how we connect with it that defines one from the other. I faced the fear, screamed my lungs out (it was the corkscrew at Alton Towers - I was 14), adrenaline rushed through me, and the elation afterwards was amazing.

I have been hooked ever since... with just a tendency to analyse human fear, as no doubt you've guessed by now.

The key to it is surrender. And if you loathe the adrenaline response (some people do), then you've removed it from your system and will never ever do it again. Or you will love the hormone rush and keep doing it.

Consequently I went from a nervous - anxious wreck, to really needing to feel like I am about to die at any second. Adrenaline is surprisingly addictive - hence the term - Adrenaline Junkie.

Whatever you end up doing - have fun regardless.

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This is interesting, but are you saying that everyone who doesn’t like extreme rides has an anxiety disorder?

You also don’t mention individual body tolerances - mission space orange makes me hurl. All simulators make me nauseous. I don’t find them scary, I just feel awful after them. Ditto backwards coasters and ones with multiple drops - expedition Everest wiped me out for the day but not because I was scared.

I *am* scared of hulk, rip ride rocket and tower of terror but part of that is I suspect they would make me feel very ill.

[Mondruid]

Originally Posted by DisneyFoodie

This is interesting, but are you saying that everyone who doesn’t like extreme rides has an anxiety disorder?

You also don’t mention individual body tolerances - mission space orange makes me hurl. All simulators make me nauseous. I don’t find them scary, I just feel awful after them. Ditto backwards coasters and ones with multiple drops - expedition Everest wiped me out for the day but not because I was scared.

I *am* scared of hulk, rip ride rocket and tower of terror but part of that is I suspect they would make me feel very ill.

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Yes - most people have anxiety responses to all manner of things, not just coasters.

And no, I didn't mention body tolerances, I was focused on the psychology of them. Physical tolerances is a whole other fascinating subject. If they make you feel physically ill or in pain - yep good reason to avoid them entirely I would say.

[Nimbus]

Originally Posted by Mondruid

To the majority of folk that enjoy coasters and such, the sense of being in the fear is what they thrive on, and the release of adrenaline that comes with it.

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I like coasters. But it's not because of the sense of fear. I would prefer it if any sense of fear was removed.

I like coasters because of the speed and excitement.

I think most people who like coasters don't actually fear them. That's the difference between someone who actively seeks to go on them and those that decide not to go on them; the latter fear coasters whereas the former do not. You can't like something that you truly fear.

And most people who don't like thrill rides don't have anxiety disorders. If anything, I would argue it is those who do like thrill rides that have the disorder; it's not "normal" to enjoy being thrown around upside down at 60mph or dropped down faster than freefall.

(BTW, I should have said that I used to like coasters. As I'm getting older I'm finding that my body is getting less tolerant of the effects. Nowadays I'll come off a coaster that I used to love feeling dizzy and a bit unwell. Hence I don't do big coasters much any more).

[Nimbus]

Originally Posted by emmafleur

Do you think it was easier being inside?

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Yes, in a way it's easier being inside. You don't see how high you are.

I'm strange in that I don't like poorly supported heights. I don't like standing on a stool or climbing up a loose ladder. It gives me a strange sense of vertigo. But I can stand at the top of a skyscraper and look out over a city. Height-wise, Tower of Terror never really worried me.

Originally Posted by emmafleur

Lol you know that doesn’t fill me with confidence! How violent is the drop? Do you get lifted off your seat? Does your stomach lift into your mouth?

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The drop isn't violent as such. You do get lifted off your seat. Your stomach can lift. It can feel unpleasant.

Now, I've been on Hulk and other big coasters and loved those. But I really dislike ToT. I hated the last time I went on it (I think I've been on it 3 times in total and, yup, I still don't like it). I think people have very different reactions to it. Many people love it, even fairly young kids. But I didn't.

I think it helps if you scream or howl out loud or something. I tend to sort of hold my breath in these situations, which doesn't help.

BTW, the beginning bit of ToT when you're sat in your seat and you're told all about the hotel is excellent. The special effects are amazing. It's just the drop bit I don't like. If you've been on a pirate ship and like the sensation on that, then I think you might like ToT.

At the end of the day, you just need to try it and see.

[WDWfangirl]

I also hate the "stomach going up into your mouth sensation" on drop rides but it doesn't stop me doing the rides as I love the rest of the rides and I tell myself that it only lasts for a second.

On our last trip TOT really freaked me out and I was quite relieved when my daughter refused to go on it again. This time I booked fastpasses for us all not really sure if I was going to do it. My daughter also was not happy and wanted to wait it out. But we both did it and absolutely loved it. Every ride is different so the drop sequences changes on each ride. I loved it when you were being pulled upwards and could see the doors opening above you but then you "dropped" before you reached the doors. Each time I remember being so disappointed when the ride came to an end. We've got a great photo from our last ride from this trip of me screaming my head off and my daughter looking up at me laughing her head off. It was possibly one of my favourite photos of the holiday.

[sprocket]

The DW hates these drop rides. One year she decided to try TOT and she said it cant be to bad, the guy in fronts in a wheel chair. We followed them all the way in and when we got to the ride the guy stood up and walked on. Her face dropped but then it was to late, she was belted in.
Since then she has loved it and always goes on TOT.

Just think, you have flown all the way their on an 8 hour flight, probably through some turbulence. You have more chance of something going wrong on the flight, than on a Disney ride. People say they hate high speed rides, but the plane is going faster, higher and as more risks than the ride

[emmafleur]

Thanks all. The idea of persuading myself I’m excited rather than frightened is an interesting one. I might give it a try next time I think I’m feeling scared and see whether it works 😊 There are lots of different opinions and I guess that’s why there are so many different types of rides. I’m not usually an anxious type of person in general but I certainly think I get less adventurous as I get older. As for comparing ToT to flying 😂 I had to have hypnosis to get over my fear of flying so probably not the best comparison for me 😱

[YLL]

The special effects in the tower before the drop are worth conquering your anxiety alone.