3 ms·

The history of alpinism can, to at least a first approximation, be summarized as "veterans with PTSD fixing their heads the best way they knew how". This goes

The history of alpinism can, to at least a first approximation, be summarized as "veterans with PTSD fixing their heads the best way they knew how". This goes for freeclimbing too, to a somewhat lesser extent. I heard a interview with a vet and climber once who described the appeal of alpinism as "all of the good parts of combat, without the shooting or any conscious thing trying to cause me harm". Skydiving sounds similar, if shorter in duration than 3 weeks on K2 or something.

phkahler 9y ago
I've found learning to fly is really good too. There's an element of danger, physical skills, a lot of focus, a lot of learning (the experiential kind too), putting yourself in a completely different place than you've ever been, and an instructor to walk you through it. Highly recommended.
- jcollins 9y ago
  I second this. Learn to fly. I'm never happier than when I'm flying. I can see how a similar effect happens to sky divers.
- passivepinetree 9y ago
  The only problem is learning to fly is prohibitively expensive for most people. Skydiving is a much cheaper activity.
  - shkkmo 9y ago
    > The only problem is learning to fly is prohibitively expensive for most people. Skydiving is a much cheaper activity. I assume you are talking about flying an typical small airplane? You can learn to paraglide for well under $2k.
  - petre 9y ago
    Paragliding is even cheaper.
briandear 9y ago
As a vet myself, though without PTSD, I can attest to this. I have been a semi-serious alpine climber and the reason (for me) that this works is because you have to be focused on the exact moment and precisely what you are doing at every instant. Crossing the Grand Couloir on Mont Blanc a few years ago, there was a serious rockfall problem (think Volkswagen-sizes boulders flying down the mountain,) the process of preparing for such a dangerous (and foolhardy) maneuver, puts your mind in a good place ironically. You don’t give a shit about drama when you are purely focused on your next step. Crossing a cravasse-filled glacier roped to your partner has a similar effect. Combining that with the slight hypoxia at altitude and it’s an amazing curative. Not even to mention the physical suffering of moving for 10+ hours, loaded with gear. I get a similar benefit from flying small airplanes — the intense focus on every detail is like a forced meditation: you CAN’T be depressed because there’s no room in your thought for it. The feeling for me continues several hours after flying or climbing — you feel almost weightless and you are very deliberate in your actions (driving after flying finds me less impatient, much more spacially aware and just calmer.) I am only speaking for me, but I feel there is something too this — not just for depression, but cyclothymia and mania as well. High altitude meditation!
base698 9y ago
This notion of fixing depression by jumping is common in skydiving. I've been jumping about twenty years and I've encountered people who claim to had been very depressed in their previous life and that jumping fixed them. Never heard that from a tandem first time jumper, only those that made it their lifestyle.
- daveoflynn 9y ago
  Likewise - in the decade I was active in the sport of skydiving, I heard plenty of stories around using the sport to help with stress, depression, and other issues back in the “real world”. Never heard of a tandem jumper saying that, but then, how big is my sample size?
- AndrewKemendo 9y ago
  My guess is that it's cause they gained a community - that seems to be the #1 thing that keeps people in the sport. I did MFF and got my A License and stopped jumping because I honestly didn't enjoy the community.

phkahler 9y ago

I've found learning to fly is really good too. There's an element of danger, physical skills, a lot of focus, a lot of learning (the experiential kind too), putting yourself in a completely different place than you've ever been, and an instructor to walk you through it. Highly recommended.

jcollins 9y ago
I second this. Learn to fly. I'm never happier than when I'm flying. I can see how a similar effect happens to sky divers.
passivepinetree 9y ago
The only problem is learning to fly is prohibitively expensive for most people. Skydiving is a much cheaper activity.
- shkkmo 9y ago
  > The only problem is learning to fly is prohibitively expensive for most people. Skydiving is a much cheaper activity. I assume you are talking about flying an typical small airplane? You can learn to paraglide for well under $2k.
- petre 9y ago
  Paragliding is even cheaper.

briandear 9y ago

As a vet myself, though without PTSD, I can attest to this. I have been a semi-serious alpine climber and the reason (for me) that this works is because you have to be focused on the exact moment and precisely what you are doing at every instant. Crossing the Grand Couloir on Mont Blanc a few years ago, there was a serious rockfall problem (think Volkswagen-sizes boulders flying down the mountain,) the process of preparing for such a dangerous (and foolhardy) maneuver, puts your mind in a good place ironically. You don’t give a shit about drama when you are purely focused on your next step. Crossing a cravasse-filled glacier roped to your partner has a similar effect. Combining that with the slight hypoxia at altitude and it’s an amazing curative. Not even to mention the physical suffering of moving for 10+ hours, loaded with gear. I get a similar benefit from flying small airplanes — the intense focus on every detail is like a forced meditation: you CAN’T be depressed because there’s no room in your thought for it. The feeling for me continues several hours after flying or climbing — you feel almost weightless and you are very deliberate in your actions (driving after flying finds me less impatient, much more spacially aware and just calmer.) I am only speaking for me, but I feel there is something too this — not just for depression, but cyclothymia and mania as well. High altitude meditation!

base698 9y ago

This notion of fixing depression by jumping is common in skydiving. I've been jumping about twenty years and I've encountered people who claim to had been very depressed in their previous life and that jumping fixed them. Never heard that from a tandem first time jumper, only those that made it their lifestyle.

daveoflynn 9y ago
Likewise - in the decade I was active in the sport of skydiving, I heard plenty of stories around using the sport to help with stress, depression, and other issues back in the “real world”. Never heard of a tandem jumper saying that, but then, how big is my sample size?
AndrewKemendo 9y ago
My guess is that it's cause they gained a community - that seems to be the #1 thing that keeps people in the sport. I did MFF and got my A License and stopped jumping because I honestly didn't enjoy the community.