Threat or Challenge? Control is Everything

You know how some people jump off things humans were never meant to jump off of and then line up to do it again? Whether we experience something as a threat or challenge, awful or fun... depends entirely on how much control we think we have over the situation.

A few decades back, I went to Coney Island with my best friend. We got on one of those rides that puts you in a human salad spinner. But I wasn't worried.

Between the ages of 10 and 17, I rode the Scrambler at Six Flags Astroworld 100-ish times, before and after chili dogs. I never felt scared, only exhilarated.

I confidently pulled the metal bar forward on the Coney Island version and locked it in place. As the ride cranked into a slow twirl and then a steady spin, my friend and I grinned and slid into one another. We laughed into the rush of wind.

Then, at some point, we realized that something was very wrong. The ride wasn't ending. It was time to get off. But we were still on, our small compartment circling itself while the big machine we were attached to flung us around like a pirouetting giant squid. Ribbons of light encircled my peripheral vision. I began to feel panic set in. My thoughts were spinning right along with my body, "What if I barf? Oh no. What if I barf. Why isn't this stopping? What if the ride is broken and they can't get us off. Why won't it stop? Can you die spinning? Will I black out? What's going on?"