lake compounce: In a few months I will be going on a field trip to an amusement park called Lake Compounce in Connecticut. I suffer from a terrible fear of roller coasters. I'm 16, and I remember when being younger (7,8), I would have no problem going on such rides. But as I got older it became scarier and scarier, now to the point where I just don't go. I went on a medium-sized RC in the park about 3 years ago, and did not enjoy the experience at all. I'm not scared of dying or being injured, but rather the heights and large drops and this terrible feeling I get in my stomach. Today at crew practice, we were getting ready to run stairs and were all lined up at the bottom, then one kid jokingly says: "Keep your arms and legs inside the car at all times. . . " and I just got a horribly nervous feeling and tensed up. Don't tell me to just not go on them, because its going to happen I just want some advice as to how to alleviate me fear and make it an enjoyable experience.|||I struggled with this fear for a very long time. I was actually deathly afraid of going on roller coasters when I was smaller but now I love them. What made a difference for me was just calming and clearing my mind while I was in line, waiting to go on the ride. I would also do deep breathing which would really relax me if I concentrated on it hard enough. When I was on the ride I tried to consciously let go of the fear and actually enjoy the ride. I did this by just not analyzing my fear so much. I let the nervous thoughts just float away and be replaced by thoughts of "having fun". I think the best option for you is to just not analyze it anymore. Each time a nervous or negative thought enters your brain, you simply just think about something else. I know it sounds way too simple but, trust me, it absolutely works. The best of luck to you and try to have fun!|||im 10 and i LOVE coasters but in ur case i would say just once ur at the top close ur eyes thats what i did when i was 8 so try it and i hope u have lotsssss of FUN|||well i absoultely love rollar costers and i only 13 and i think they are a blast.. i like getting scared thats the whole fun part about it.. i mean once you get off you will realize how much fun you had getting scared.. kinda like a haunted house.. but totally do it.. see i scared of water slides like at water parks and it makes me feel like i free falling cause i not straped in cause i don't feel safe.. but roller coasters you are strapped in and i feel safe.. i recommend the six flags over georgia the golaith roller coster or ninja or definatly super man and bat man but galaith was the scarrest cause it went up 200 feet high and dropped at 70 somethin mph and it was so fun i forget how many drops but after that first drop i wasn't afraid of nothin..|||Its ok that you feel that way, I used to have a friend like that. Just think about the hundreds of thousands of people that ride the roller coasters yearly and don't get hurt. And if this "Lake Compounce" amusement park is like all of the others, they will spend the most money on safety because injuries cost them big bucks. You'll be ok just relax and try to have some fun, nothing is going to happen to you, and after a few rides you will probably start to enjoy them.|||Well I absolutely LOVE roller coasters, but my best friend is terrifyed. A big problem when we go to places like Disneyland and Great America. I suggest going on small rides first. Like the kind that just sit you down in a little two-seater and take you on some little kiddy adventure. Sounds retarded, but you can gradually build up from there. I dont wanna be cruel like I can be with my best friend LMAO. I tricked her into going on the Tower of Terror at California Adventures xD She took it surprising well after the bloodcurdling drop >___> LOL But of course we did the kiddy ride method first. It helped her, now she can ride the sorta-good rides x]|||I have tried and tried to conquer this fear and I just can't. It's not a fear of heights, not a fear of speed or jerky movements, and knowing it's safer than the way I drive my own car is no help whatsoever. For me it's the long drops; the feeling is so uncomfortable and so memorably awful that my body rebels any time I even consider riding these rides. Thankfully I don't have so much fear that I can't set foot in an amusement park because I've heard that there are people who are that scared. I can also stand in line at a roller coaster with my friends with no problem because I know that I won't be riding it with them. Beyond that I can't go. I've never tried taking a valium or xanax with me when I go to the amusement park simply because the rest of the day is enjoyable enough that I would like to stay alert. Besides, I'd still be alert enough to feel that dropping sensation and I doubt chemicals can fix that fear. I wonder about hypno therapy, but again, I doubt it would help. The best I can offer you is to say hopefully you can find some rides/activities that will justify the expense of the ticket cost when you go. Sometimes just a nice day with friends in the sunshine is more than worth it.|||It sounds like something happened to you, if you used to like roller coasters and now have a problem with them. I am 45 and my girlfriend is 40. We were both afraid of roller caosters our entire lives, but we started out with some daring non-coaster rides this past summer, then worked our way up, and rode some of the biggest and baddest coasters in the country in the fall. The coasters at Lake Compounce are "kid stuff" compared to a lot of the ones we have been on. Just start out with the milder rides and work your way up. If you don't go on the most daring rides, at least you might have gotten past a former hurdle and might be able to try something more daring the next time. We are both afraid of heights, but we don't worry about heights on roller coasters. My girlfriend likes the "butterflies in the stomach" feeling, while I control my breathing and abs to reduce that feeling. It takes practice, but it doesn't take away from the ride experience for me. It also helps to NOT eat a lot of yucky foods before going on the rides. We usually pig out on stuff like trail mix, peanut butter crackers, candy bars, and water before entering the park. None of those things seem to make our stomachs queazy when we go on the rides. Chili cheese dogs, corn dogs, greasy burgers, soda, and other foods are more likely to make your stomach queazy.|||I don't think that's a fear; it's just a strong dislike of that stomach-in-your-throat feeling. I have it too. I'm not afraid to go on them, I just don't like my insides moving around that much, lol. Try stress relieving activities, like taking deep breaths, closing your eyes (which I find helps actually), picturing yourself somewhere else, squeezing a stress ball -- things like that. I would just avoid them; I'm sure you wouldn't be the only person doing so. (Besides, maybe a cute girl will ask you to hold her purse, haha.)