Absolutely Terrified!!

[Smowball]

Hello strangers! I've volunteered to do something for charity in December, but now I don't know if I can actually go through with it and I was hoping for some help/advice with overcoming the nerves?

I've agreed to abseil 150 feet down a building for charity and it seemed a good idea at the time, but now every time I think about going over that edge at the top I feel actually sick, yet I do not want to pull out and let everybody down. Just don't know what to do to over come this x

[anneasquith]

close your eyes and think of england :)

[Butterbun]

Good luck is all I can wish you. I would do things for charity but abseiling wouldn't be one of them. Hope you get lots of support.

[excelsior-1]

good morning Smowball

you will be in very safe hands on the day - so there is nothing to worry about

if it is a case of 'fear of heights i suggest you go to a few places in the mean time, perhaps with an encouraging friend, and practice standing in very high locations - looking down at the ground

just think how proud of yourself you will feel, when you have accomplished the charity event

[Baldric]

Butterbun.
When you say Support . . . . . ?

[sunny-dave]

You need something to knock the edge off the fear - I'd use (a modest amount of) diazepam ... don't use any alcohol or they won't let you do it.

[andrew1707]

Olympics 2012: The Queen didn't really parachute into the Olympic park.

Smoke and mirrors, Smowball, smoke and mirrors.

Yes: get someone else to do it and then say it was you.

...Or you could find your local climbing centre and get a few practice sessions in to give you the confidence to do it.
A

[Old_Geezer]

Just don't look down and you'll be fine. All you see is the side of the wall you are "standing" on and the ability to control the slip of the rope a few feet at a time as you work your way down. Before you know it you are on terra firma again and amazed and proud of what you just did.

Get someone to take the photos of you as you do it and later be amazed at where you thought you were almost upside down but which turn out that you were barely leaning back at all :-)

Once started you'll be fine. Just need to take that deep breath a the start and go for it, and know the experts have done this without incident for years and years. They won't let you down. And well done for opting to give it a try.

[Sparkles62]

Anne, I thought 'close your eyes and think of England' was for sex in the olden days, before they knew how to enjoy themselves, Lol

[SlackAlice]

You just made me smile with this one ☺☺☺
Get a bit of practice with this one at lower heights. Some areas have 'practice' walls which you can climb up and abseil down. Build your confidence up with the equipment and realise that on the day you will be in safe hands. Obviously, they will want you to succeed and have a good day.

[Zeuhl]

It's natural to be terrified of going over the edge of a 150 foot drop

But there is a crucial difference here

You will be wearing a harness that makes it 100% impossible to fall

The worst that could happen is an undignified lowering to the ground

If you want to look good on the day, find somewhere (such as a climbing centre) you can experience the reassurance of the harness.

[Ellipsis]

Abseiling down a straight wall is easy, a piece of cake. You will have no trouble. Go for it!

[grasscarp]

Can you do something else for the charity instead? If I had backed someone who didnt want to do something, but offered something else instead, I wouldnt mind.

[Sparkles62]

Personally I'm with Sunny D, I'm sure your Doc would give you one valium if he knew what it was for, Mine does when I go in the body scanner.
I get terrible claustrophobia.

[Eve]

People who arrange this kind of thing for charity will probably be well used to people who are either scared or freeze at various points.

The set up will be very safe and you will be all rigged up between the harness and the ropes and people in charge of letting you have the rope to move down etc... so you can't fall and can stop whenever you need to.

The worst bit is that initial going over the edge but you will be held tight at all times and can't fall. You don't have to look down, at all, if you don't want to.

Why not head to a local climbing centre, see if they do some beginner sampling sessions where you can go and get used to the equipment and do some smaller climbs and abseils to get you used to it and you can talk to people about any fears you have.

I used to go a lot of climbing and abseiling, both indoor and out and always had great fun doing it, you may even find yourself a new hobby! :)

[Smowball]

Hi guys, sorry for vanishing as soon as I had posted but had to do an emergency errand. I just don't want to be defeated in this.......

[birdwoman]

I did an abseil a few years ago for charity. They had to peel my fingers off the top of the building. I was petrified. Still I did it and have lived to tell the tale. They asked my if I would do it again next year but unfortunately I was very busy that day!

[mccfluff]

i've abseiled and i was scared before hand but once i did it, i really enjoyed it and went and did it again - this was off a cliff not a building, but you are safely strapped in

[birdwoman]

Andrew for best answer! Excellent suggestion (get someone else to do it)

[EvianBaby]

To be honest, I wouldn't sponsor someone to do something that comes easy to them or they basically just find fun, what's the point? I rarely sponsor people to do these 5k walks. Any able bodied person should easily be able to walk 5k. Anyway, I digress, just think of the charity and how smug you can feel after.