Does scuba diving ever freak you out?

[lamont]

I had exactly the same kind of reservations when I started...

With experience you do learn to mitigate a lot of the risks. And nobody should run OOA or be in a situation where they have to CESA -- if those risks couldn't be mitigated, then technical diving would be suicidal...

 

[FredT]

One of the most troublesome aspect of the OOA postings that I find is that, these are experienced people who are extremely comfortable with scuba diving, to the point that they sort of seem to take it for granted in terms of being separated from their buddies for whatever reason. Of course, Murphy's law being what it is, is usually when something hits them most often.

Back in the '60s OOA is how almost all dives ended. SPGs weren't invented, and after they were available the older regs we already had didn't have a provision for mounting them. Gear has improved somewhat in that respect.

I hate the postings where people say that they had to do CESA. I hate CESA, but if you're separated from your buddy, and you don't have a pony tank, then really what option do you have (and it's even more limited when you're really down deep!)? How can people do it? I can't. I mean, I hope I can, should such situation ever arises, but, golly gumdrops, I hate it with a passion!

You'd be amazed at how deep you can be and still make it to the surface IF you don't panic. My deepest emergency ascent was from over 160'. I had lots of air in the tank and all gear worked but for other reasons I couldn't inhale. (There is a long story about conditions 99.9999% of divers won't EVER see involved here, posted elsewhere as a learning tool.) As the residual air in your lungs expands during ascent you'll be astounded how many bubbles you can blow from "empty" lungs.

You know what though? What puzzles me is that, how can people choose to deliberately put themselves in situations that are way over their heads? Or when I read that people are hoping to pull other people into scuba diving and being their buddy as soon they're certified when they're barely out of the OW course themselves!

Most don't do it deliberately. They just didn't listen to the "little voice' we talked about in another thread. The " very slightly over our head" dives are how we expand the comfort zone, but some misread the step size.

ANYTIME, ANYWHERE, FOR ANY REASON, or for no reason at all, you can call or turn the dive. Don't be bashful about doing so if the "little voice" starts to whisper in your ear.

FT

 

[Summer06]

The scariest part of diving is adding up what you've spent after a couple of years doing it.

Yes indeed. I couldn't agree more with your statement. A sentiment so close to my achy, breaky, heart. The worst part is...after you get all your gears then you start brainstorming, trying to come up with the money to do the next and the the next never ending really cool dives in some faraway exotic place that you just absolutely must gotta...wanna...do or else. Visions of awesome things you want to see, explore and experience, haunting you and taunting you. Yeah....so many dives....so little money to do it with (

 

[Jinjer]

I wouldn't even scuba dive with my brother unless he takes refresher course again (not likely), and practices some of the drills. And this is only after I've gained quite a bit of diving under my belt. I would NOT be comfortable being his buddy till then. I read all those postings by family members who are buddies to each other, and they're both beginners. Doesn't that freak you out a bit? These are people who are just starting out!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have been following this thread since you started it the other day, to see where it would go. I understand the apprehensions you expressed in your original post. As others have pointed out, you are not abnormal to have concerns.

Since I am one of those that was originally certified with my husband about 9 1/2 years ago, and we have been diving buddies ever since, I wanted to chime in on this. It does not bother me at all to see couples, or even friends, get certified together and become dive buddies.

To be honest, we got certified because it was something that we wanted to do together, so we never thought of diving with anyone else. I would imagine that is why other people chose to do it. After all, if you "plan your dive and dive your plan" than you and your buddy should never plan a dive you are not both prepared to dive.

I am now, and have always been extremely confortable with him as my diving buddy. Yes, initially we may not have been as skilled as other divers that may have been on a dive boat, but my confort was in knowing each others skill level, equipment etc. I have always known that his equipment is in as good of condition as mine, so if an emergency arises, I can fully trust his equipment. We have been on dives with other people, even good friends who's equipment was in such poor condition I felt sorry for their dive buddy; yet they were very experienced divers. Also I know I can trust his judgement if an emergency situation, because I know him so well.

Granted you need to select a buddy that you feel comfortable with, and it is great if you can find a buddy that is more experienced than you, because you will always learn from them. But I think nothing can replace having a consistent buddy that you know you can count on.

 

[bookymad]

Since I am one of those that was originally certified with my husband about 9 1/2 years ago, and we have been diving buddies ever since, I wanted to chime in on this. It does not bother me at all to see couples, or even friends, get certified together and become dive buddies.

I understand that. It's just that for me, since their experience level is comparable, it makes sense that a more experienced person would be able to react to the situation faster. But, plenty of people do this, and it does seem pretty cool and fun to be able to have an instant buddy, despite the experience level or whatnot.

As for my brother, well, the problem is that I'm the oldest of two brothers.....and I kid you not when I say I'm seriously way older than them. Not your normal 5 year span kind of thing. So, I would feel SO guilty should something go wrong. And it's more likely to happen with me, since my brother is far more level-headed than I am (despite being way younger than me). So, eh. It is what it is.

 

[Bill51]

Booky, I just finished my rescue diver training a few months ago, and the number one reason for scuba diving accidents is poor judgement. It sounds to me like you have your head set squarly on your shoulders and don't seem the type to make rash decisions while diving (such as entering a wreck without the proper training). Also, if you DO experience something wierd, remember to handle one problem at a time. Usually if something goes wrong, it has a "snowball" effect. Learn to break things down and handle situations one step at a time. My favorite saying came from my brother (who is also a diver) when he was in combat, "Slow is smooth; smooth is fast." Meaning, slow down, take your time to work things out, and you'll handle the situation faster than trying to hurry through it.

Your brother’s saying is a variation of what I’ve taught pilots and racecar drivers for years, and I’ll use here though I’ve only been a scuba instructor for a week. Respond to problems, anxiety, and unforeseen circumstances – don’t react to them. When you start reacting to problems you’re letting the problems control you, but when you respond to them you’re taking control of the situation. If there’s time to respond to a problem in a racecar at over 200 mph, there’s more than enough time to respond to a problem while scuba diving. To an outsider it may look like that racecar driver is reacting but his training and experience has made his responses faster and more precise than a blind reaction could ever be.

There has been a lot of great advice here about practicing your skills in the pool and getting more comfortable in the water. Not only will that give you the experience to safely and quickly respond to changing circumstances in the open water, it will help you refine the muscle memory needed to accomplish your tasks while building the confidence in those skills to keep you from being overwhelmed with all of the new sights, sounds, and experiences scuba diving throws at you. I’ve seen plenty of people with lightning fast reflexes and athletic abilities who are very fast learners, but never really become exceptionally proficient because they rely on their physical abilities to the point they never develop the mental skills and discipline they need. As long as you keep working on the physical skills your cerebral approach will take you far in diving if you remember that there’s always time to do things right while you’re diving.

 

[TSandM]

The " very slightly over our head" dives are how we expand the comfort zone, but some misread the step size.

This is one of the challenges. If you don't reach, you don't grow; if you overreach, you scare yourself. I've done it, and I suspect a lot of people on this board have, also. But the overreaching is a learning experience in itself; one you perhaps would rather not have had, but one where the lesson is burned in deep. The further, and more subtle lesson is that, if you can't cope with an experience which shakes you and come back and dive again, your level of confidence or commitment to diving needs to be inspected closely.

 

[Bigcape]

Do you mean the Idea of diving as if you have never done it before? Or from an anxiety standpoint?

 

[CJ Waid]

I can honestly say that diving in no way worries me above 100 feet, but that is because I have fins on and I know I can make it to the top, and I practiced acsending while slowly breathing out (without my reg in my mouth) from 50 feet quite a few times, until I got totally comfortable with it, I started by practicing from 30 feet and worked my way up to 50 feet, I am going to wait until I have more practice before I practice it from 60 feet, but I am pretty sure I can do it from a 100 feet if I have to without a whole lot of over anxiety. When I go a little deeper that is when my caution alarm comes on. Around 70 feet I start to be more conscience of situation.

I think that anxiety (which is what I like to call, hidden fear) manifest when you are out of your comfort zone.

Not too long after I got certified I went with my buddy that certified with me, and another guy that had been certified for a couple years before us, and we went out to do a shore dive in fairly decent surf. 4-6 foot. There was a small craft advisory, just to give you an idea, but there were still a lot of small boats out, so there was definately swell, but not enough to keep the more seasoned boaters in dock.

I had no problem walking in with all my gear on, I just backed in, and I was completely comfortable, and totally relaxed about it, but that is because I surf, I am use to waves, they were little to me. My buddy on the other hand although he backed in fine enough, he was definately a little anxious about it, and the my other buddy that had been certified for a while couldn't make it out passed his waist.

So we finally decided to leave the one guy on shore and go do the dive just the two of us (since he would have been out of his comfort zone and ability) right when we dove in, my other buddy signaled me to surface, he couldn't do it, he hit his comfort level, he didn't want to go hang out under those waves. I spent the rest of the day thinking that they were chickens, but the truth is, they were playing it smart, it was out of thier ability. Too Anxious, Too Nervous, it is a recipe for for Panic, and Panic is the main ingrediant to accidents.

So I think that it is about acclimating to things, the fear of diving goes away pretty quick, I think with most people, but depending on how you adjust to some of the other aspects of diving might be different.

Personally, I am looking forward to doing plenty of ice diving this winter, and the thought of that would scare the crap out of most people, you can't just surface if something goes wrong, you have to find the whole you climbed in at.

 

[cboyas]

Listen--

I spent the last 31 years of my life living as you do--afraid to try something new because of the potential dangers involved. It is better to analyze the cause of the fear, and not the fear itself.