Is Jumping Out of a Plane Something I Should Consider in Early Recovery? By David Carter.
I traveled to South Africa in 2007. I was picked up by some old dude in a small white van, to be frank, I had no idea where I was going I just knew I was going somewhere and I hoped for the best. He took me over the road into a seaside town called Kommetjie, and I entered into a primary care facility called Stepping Stones. I had been suffering from addictions problems for a long time and at the age of 32, I dropped my gigs in London and wanted a new life.
I had always taken risks. My drugs of choice were cocaine and alcohol. I loved binging and the careless freedom a night out on the town delivered, however, I hated the repercussions post-night out. The crashed cars, the endless hangovers, the black eyes, forgotten credit card bills, waking up with people I had no idea of their names, and the multiple long lists of broken relationships.
The relationship that was broken to the core was my relationship with myself. I had been disassociated with my body for 33 years, due to what I deem, a trauma-based childhood full of fear and mirrored fantasy.
The work that took place in South Africa lasted for ten months. I was there for the long haul. It helps that the U.K. pound has incredible value in South Africa allowing me to live well and cheaply. I started playing my guitar once again. I was writing better lyrics than I have ever written before. I was starting to connect with myself, and I need more.
Having had a fear of heights ever since I was a small boy when a good friend of mine asked me if I wanted to jump out of a plane, I immediately replied “No”. Then I considered the opportunity. If I jumped out of a plane this would act as a stamp that I had started a new life in recovery. I returned to my friend and said: “yes let’s do it!”.
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We booked a tandem. I remember writing a song called “Fruitcake You’re a Star”. I later recorded this song and added the footage of the jump as the background video. It is possible to find this song on my personal YouTube account.
Fruitcake You’re a Star YOU TUBE URL: https://youtu.be/s2tqzx5mwQ8
The scariest part of the jump was riding in the plane to ten thousand feet. The journey seemed to take forever to get to the point when the side door to the plane started to open. And when the door opened, I was petrified, even though I was attached to another man who was deemed a professional.
One of the strangest aspects of the jump is how others exit the plane. As a tandem jumper, I was at the back of the line. So when before there were ten jumpers in the plane, when it came to my turn, I had lost several people who had now vanished. Then I jumped. My head went back. The instructor was in full control. I had to trust and it had been years since I had trusted anyone. Recovery takes trust, trust in the process. Then we fell. We tumbled out of the plane. And then we started to fly.
The sensation was incredible. We reach maximum velocity, and we hurtled towards the group, whilst I looked at Table Mountain, Cape Town. The experience was over quicker than I can remember. The parachute was opened and we glided down like a feather in the wind. When I hit the ground my serotonin levels were through the roof. I was exhilarated and all I wanted to do was to jump again.
I never thought I dared to jump out of a plane, yet deep inside myself I found the courage to face my fears and move through the mental block regardless of the dangers. I came out the other side a stranger man, with a clear picture of who I am, and what I want to achieve in my life. The first people I spoke to when I hit the ground, was my family in Spain.
SkyDiving Spain YOU TUBE URL: https://youtu.be/IMXUjMTp_tQ
