Does this kind of anxiety ever happen to you? And is it common?
Asked by
rockfan (
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April 1st, 2018
from iPhone
Yesterday I went hiking with some friends at the Red River Gorge in Stanton, Kentucky, and 3 of us took the most strenuous and potentially dangerous trail a person can take in the park.
The week before the hike I had major anxiety about climbing rocks at such heights and had numerous nightmares and panic attacks about falling off a cliff. But during the actual hike I had no anxiety whatsoever, and in fact I did some things that would terrify me if I had to think about it too much. Is it normal to have such crippling anxiety beforehand but then have very little anxiety during the actual event?
Also, a friend of mine was on the other side of the gorge and was able to take a picture of us. If you zoom in you can see us. Note: I didn’t climb the gorge to get up there, I climbed something called the “Indian staircase”, which is still challenging, but at a lower elevation.
https://imgur.com/a/DA44f
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7 Answers
I don’t know if it’s normal. Maybe for someone with anxiety but from what I’ve been told a bit of anxiety is okay, but panic attacks, nightmares and such aren’t.
I get like that before my music solos or public speaking. During the performance I’m fine and you wouldn’t have known I was freaking out not 2 hours before over it.
I’m not sure why it happens but would love to know what causes someone to freak out before something but not during. Maybe because the real event wasn’t as scary as you thought? Or your brain is just exhausted from worrying?
I think it might have something to do with adrenaline
Anticipation anxiety is very common I would guess. There’s a name for it and everything.
I’ve always found anticipating something new or challenging to be much harder than the actual carrying out of the activity. Metaphorically speaking, from a distance things can look much trickier than they actually are up close.
Focusing on something can reduce anxiety. Only so much attention to go around.
Some of the places I fish are full of alligators. I have fallen into the water from kayaks dozens of times. I manage to stay calm and pull my boat to the closest land. Pucker factor is usually at a 10, but I manage. I feel more anxiety when the event is over. I usually feel a little tense paddling into some of these places than when I’m untangling lines, baiting hooks, or focusing on other things than the large reptiles all around me…
I got anxiety looking at the picture and thinking at first you guys were climbing up that cliff!
Fear of heights, fear of climbing, fear of steep slopes and unsure footing are all very common, and I have some degree of them (not the heights so much as the potential of falling – I can be on the edge of a cliff and like climbing some slopes and hills and am really good at some scrambling around, but nothing too dangerous).
Anticipation anxiety is common, and I’ve experienced it but not as much as others I’ve known. I sometimes have it and sometimes don’t. I think I’m more likely to be willing to go and look at a scary climb, but not want to do it once I see it.
I find it really helps to go with people who are more scared of cliffs than I am . . . ;-)
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