DIR- GUE Long hose question

[Moerae]

My questions for @graphei would be to ask you a bunch of questions around what does and doesn't trigger you, and how badly. Is it a "I just don't want to deal with that all dive" kind of thing, or is it a "if anything, like a line, rope, or cable drapes or partially touches my neck I will panic".

Depending on where you fall on that spectrum of responses to things that aren't unlikely (wrecks have dangling cables, people running lines or a group deploying SMBs can easily get wrapped partially around your head and neck area), is what will determine things.

If those things would cause meaningful stress to you, it might be good to keep focusing on therapy before going fundies or any tech stuff. If it's just "a long hose will be a stressful distraction all dive but not something that would cause panic for a few minutes of exposure" then I'd ask around and see what GUE instructors think.

 

[Zef]

They are triggered by a specific thing, not "relatively innocuous things".

If people could talk to OP with a bit more compassion and empathy, and without these kind of patronizing inaccuracies/oversimplifications, I imagine the advice they are given might be much better received (and more accurate).

Slow your roll friend...folks, including myself, are not participating in this discussion to be insensitive. The nature of discussing these kinds of things can be polarizing, triggering, and evoke all sorts of sensitivities....the OP opened a discussion about a very personal and sensitive topic central to them in an open and public forum...despite what you might think/believe, no one is trying to belittle the OP or discount the trauma they have experienced...but just because you choose to walk on eggshells and tiptoe around these issues, does not mean everyone else will or needs to.

AND

Just because they are triggered by something "specific" does not mean that it isn't relatively innocuous.

Years ago, while doing advance open water, I was buddied up with someone on a training dive who after the dive admitted they had all sorts of psychological issues to include having suicidal ideations from time to time, the person had a panic attack underwater and literally chewed through their regulator mouth piece which caused more panic and anxiety coupled with the diver bolting to the surface. They admitted to being prescribed medication to help with their issues that they decided not to take. The really F&cked up thing was the instructor and other officers in the club knew of these issues but no body mentioned them to me before splashing, and nobody with any competence or authority recommended or otherwise suggested to the diver in question that perhaps they shouldn't be diving. Things could have gone terribly wrong and been scarring for me and others on that training dive.

We rely on our dive partners as much as they rely on us. Medical and psychological issues are of course personal and sensitive but they presesnt a risk not only to the person who has them but to anyone who splashes with them. Divers should disclose these issues to those they are buddied up with so the other party can make an informed decision whether they want to enter the water and rely on that person.

The following is an excerpt from PADI's pre-participation medical questionaire (or whatever PADI calls it)...most all training agencies, particularly for recreational diving, have something similar. It would be interesting to know how the OP filled the one out relative to their open water training course:

I contend that just because someone can dive, does not mean they should dive.

-Z

 

[FF / EMT]

First, I'm a woman.

Second, since there seems to be some confusion: when I was strangled, it wasn't with a long hose. I wasn't scuba diving. Not even close. It took a long time and a lot of effort for me to wear a simple gold chain again. I'm hoping that by the end of the year I'll be able to wear my safe second around my neck instead of clipped to by BC. However, with a wetsuit that compresses my neck and a safe second around a necklace that will undoubtedly move, adding yet another thing in the vicinity of my neck is going to give me a whole lot of pause.

As for my goals, I read here GUE Fundies was great for helping folks really dial in their skills and set them up for long term success. I have no interest in cave or wreck. A 5' hose is short enough where I don't have to do the wrap. I have tried a 7' hose on dry land with all my gear and and my Apple Watch gave me a high heart rate warning within seconds. No way I'd take that underwater for the foreseeable future.

Have you considered trying to rest the hose around your neck when you’re out of the water?
Maybe you’re reading a book or something and you’re very comfortable, rest it there, and if it becomes too much, take it off.
Hopefully over time you’ll be able to rid that triggering.

This way you’re not underwater and creating a tizzy with some DM from the USA…

 

[Moerae]

folks, including myself, are not participating in this discussion to be insensitive...

Whether you are trying to be insensitive is not relevant to whether you are being insensitive.

Just because they are triggered by something "specific" does not mean that it isn't relatively innocuous.

I didn't say it wasn't innocuous. Did you not consider what I wrote beyond skimming key words?

 

[rx7diver]

@Moerae,

At least one of the people responding to you and the OP is a long-time SB member who generously offers a lot of helpful advice and generally does not intend to be insensitive. You're new here, so you don't know this. You might hang out here awhile and learn the personalities.

FWIW,

rx7diver

 

[Moerae]

@Moerae,

At least one of the people responding to you and the OP is a long-time SB member who generously offers a lot to helpful advice and generally does not intend to be insensitive. You're new here, so you don't know this. You might hang out here awhile and learn the personalities.

FWIW,

rx7diver

Whether they have been sensitive in the past does not alter whether they are being sensitive now. Being a new poster does not impact my ability to read and comprehend whether the words in this thread are compassionate or calloused.

 

[Zef]

Whether you are trying to be insensitive is not relevant to whether you are being insensitive.

I didn't say it wasn't innocuous. Did you not consider what I wrote beyond skimming key words?

Oh, I did consider what you wrote and did not do any "skimming of key words", and oh but you did....it was implied by your compartive statement in post # 30:

They are triggered by a specific thing, not "relatively innocuous things".

If people could talk to OP with a bit more compassion and empathy, and without these kind of patronizing inaccuracies/oversimplifications, I imagine the advice they are given might be much better received (and more accurate).

You seemingly have decided that you are on one side of the table of this issue and those that have and want to share a differing perspective in an open and earnest discussion are on the other side of that table. Based on this, one cannot really discuss the OP's concern from a view point contrary to the one you and perhaps the OP ascribe to without coming across as insensitive.

I can accept that.

It happens in rational discourse, people sometimes get upset. Hopefully your sentiment won't get in the way of your participation in this and other discussions as a mature adult.

-Z

 

[Salacia2023]

My medical providers who are familiar with me and the entirety of my medical history found me fit to dive. My instructors are/were aware and to my knowledge no accommodations were ever made. However, I do not disclose what happened to me to every random buddy I get paired with because I do not disassociate, panic, freeze, or otherwise behave in a way that would jeopardize my safety or anyone else’s and I never have.

Could I do it if I absolutely had to? Yes. You likely wouldn't even know anything was wrong with me. I'd probably do decently well with the material, too. With that said, the elevated heart rate, hit to my SAC rate, and the subsequent night terrors aren't worth it.

 

[overthinking_diver]

I was strangled with a hose of a similar diameter.

I'm so sorry that happened to you. It must have taken a tremendous amount of courage to share this in front of some strangers on the internet. I hope you're fine physically and are getting plenty of help to deal with the emotional trauma. The fact that you're considering diving in this configuration and have already tried it on land shows a great deal of mental strength that you should be commended for.

To answer your OP question - I (not an instructor, haven't even passed fundies yet) don't think they'll let you take the class in a different configuration. GUE is **really** big on standardization - to the point where they tell you which hand to use to grab which regulator. Long hose deployment and S-drills are of course also standardized. You can undoubtedly do an out-of-gas drill with your configuration and it'll probably be just as good and safe but it won't be a GUE s-drill.

Honestly, even if they allow you to take it with a different configuration I'm not sure if it'll be the best use of your time. A decent chunk of the class deals with the long hose and teaches you why it's routed this way and how to deploy it, stow it, etc. This will be wasted time for you.

If you just want to improve your skills maybe hire a GUE instructor for a few days and work on your stable platform - trim/buoyancy/stability/propulsion with the gear configuration you're comfortable diving with.

You can also find all drills done in class on gue.tv - both land drills and in water. If you ever get to a point where you feel comfortable with the long hose, watching these will give you a pretty good idea what to expect during the class.

 

[overthinking_diver]

Would wearing a hood help? You can have one that covers your neck and have no exposed skin at all.