Does scuba diving ever freak you out?

[shakeybrainsurgeon]

The first time I felt uncomfortable in the water was this morning. I had purchased a new BC, a glide plus, and was anxious to try it out before going to Aruba next month. I went to our local quarry using a 5 mil wetsuit and, since we planned a short dive and to stay above the thermocline, no hood and no gloves. The air temp was only 41, water temp above the thermocline in the mid-sixties. As I descended, I went down a little too rapidly and I quickly penetrated into water in the mid-forties--- and that water flooded my wetsuit like ice.

Like stepping into a cold shower, I started to hyperventilate faster than my reg would deliver it and felt, for a brief moment, a surge of panic even though I knew I was in no trouble and could surface easily, and even be on shore in two minutes. Moreover, my buddy was an instructor and sensed that my breathing seemed off and pulled me up into warmer water, asking if I was OK. I forced myself to breathe more slowly, said i was OK and headed off. It took several more minutes before my anxiety faded and I finished the dive uneventfully.

Lesson learned...be aware of the environment you are diving in and how it might affect you. I underestimated the impact of the cold, even though I have been in the quarry many times before in similar conditions. I need to get a dry suit...

What I found interesting though, was that there were two people in my head, one freezing and fighting for air and another yelling at the first, saying "calm down you baby, it will pass, just don't hyperventilate yourself into passing out". Has anyone else had this experience, namely feeling in trouble and simultaneously reassuring yourself you are not in trouble?

 

[ScubaRev]

Anyway, I really don't know why I even wrote this post. I guess it's just that this board is such an eye-opener that it's freaking me out a bit.

From one noob to another: Yeah, it does freak you out. And it should! We're land based, air-breathing mammals. We're not designed to breath underwater or in outer space. But we figured out how to do both, and man oh man, what a rush. I can only speculate about outer space, but inner space is accessible to us.

What you call "freaking out" will turn into into a "healthy respect" over time with training and tons of practice. I'm counting on this myself. Each dive is a tiny step in that direction. Yes, scuba diving is dangerous. Like sky diving, mountain climbing, downhill skiing, and just about anything adventurous and fun. Driving to the dive site is very dangerous, and believe it or not, scuba diving has made me a better driver. I'm more aware of my surroundings, in tune with my "gear," mindful of my technique, etc. Yes, experienced divers die. So do experienced mountain climbers. And experienced drivers. Risk and living large and free go together.

The key is calculated risk. From what I've observed in experienced divers and read here, the key is training, practice, conditioning, and experience. No substitutes. The goal is to be confident not cocky, alert not anxious, self-reliant not egotistical.

Freaked out isn't a bad place to begin. It'll keep us from doing stupid stuff and risking not only our own lives, but our diving buddy's.

Thanks for having the guts to post what a lot of newbies are thinking but don't want to say out loud.

 

[Jarrett]

Bookymad,

This site is what is freaking you out, not the diving.

I had the exact same issue. Got through OW and all was well. Found this site and let the fear creep in reading all the horror stories here. Yes, there is a lots of great info here, but there is also lots of paranoid, fear-based propoganda floating around.

My suggestion to you would be if you are truly interested in scuba diving, stop reading this forum now... Yep, stop reading it.

Go find an instructor you feel comfortable with and train with them until you feel confident diving in your environment. Find out what the reality of diving is first, not the propoganda of diving. That may mean doing your open water certification, advanced open water certification, rescue certification, whatever. Just get confident in your diving before coming to read the forum. I wish someone would have given me that advice ahead of time. Hope that helps.

 

[bookymad]

Bookymad,

This site is what is freaking you out, not the diving.

Stop reading this forum now... Yep, stop reading it.

Now you tell me that?????? Thanks a whole bunch!!!!!! It's too late!!!!!!! I'm seriously addicted to this forum!

I love you all! :60:Not in a romantic way or on a personal level, mind you!!! :no

I meant in a way that you guys and gals are so cool and so nice.

When I complete my OW dives, if ever, I'll definitely update you on that! Since so much of your advice really helped me, and seriously calmed me down.

So, thanks again all of you. Really and truly.

PS. We need a forum for hang gliding........I plan to take up that after scuba diving.

 

[jumpfrog]

Booky,
I had (have) many similar fears as you. I am a new diver, and I don't get to go out very often...my last two dive sessions were a year apart! I got pretty nervous before my most recent dives. I think this is normal, though. I was buddied up with an instructor the first day, and the next with someone around my own experience level.

I did a lot of research on diving before I did my OW. I AM a 'flakey' person, very easily thrown off kilter, so I wasn't sure if I was really psychologically suited to diving. Here is site that was very helpful for me:

http://www.mindspring.com/~divegeek/

I did my initial sessions in a cold swimming pool, and it took longer than it was supposed to, since I took it pretty slow. I then did a referral and completed my open water dives in the Philippines. It was a good choice for me, as the longer pool time built up my confidence. From what I saw at the 'resort' dive shop, I would not have wanted to do all of my training in such a setting, as you are really pushed through the program quickly...the people who did their OW from start to finish were certified in the same amount of time that I did my checkout dives! I highly recommend training with a local club/shop that is not going to move too quickly through the training.

 

[ScubaRev]

PS. We need a forum for hang gliding........I plan to take up that after scuba diving.

Well, here's one for starters: http://ozreport.com/
On the topic of freaking out, here's the lead story: "Paraglider tangles in power lines"
So it goes.

My advice is to embrace the danger, don't deny it. That freaky feeling is your intuition telling you to fight or flee danger. Diving teaches you a third option: disciplined response through mental and physical training.

Yeah, forums, like diving itself, are addictive. I have always found forums helpful, whether for laying tile, finishing floors, home electrical, or planted aquaria. Great expertise, a handful of crazies, newbies, pros, geeks, posers, all thrown together in a big bar room conversation about their passion. Great stuff. The only thing missing is the beer and peanut shells on the floor.

While you're net surfing between dives, don't forget to check out some of the underwater photography sites. Those will inspire rather than frighten.

 

[Steve_Dives]

The first time I felt uncomfortable in the water was this morning. I had purchased a new BC, a glide plus, and was anxious to try it out before going to Aruba next month.

Hey, we have the same BC!

I went to our local quarry using a 5 mil wetsuit and, since we planned a short dive and to stay above the thermocline, no hood and no gloves. The air temp was only 41, water temp above the thermocline in the mid-sixties. As I descended, I went down a little too rapidly and I quickly penetrated into water in the mid-forties--- and that water flooded my wetsuit like ice.

Like stepping into a cold shower, I started to hyperventilate faster than my reg would deliver it and felt, for a brief moment, a surge of panic even though I knew I was in no trouble and could surface easily, and even be on shore in two minutes.

Funny what cold water does your breathing rate, isn't it? My first experience with cold water came with columns of 50-ish water being thrown up by fin kicks or dragged up bubbles from divers below the thermocline. I was in a 3mm shorty, no gloves, no hood. Brrrrr

Has anyone else had this experience, namely feeling in trouble and simultaneously reassuring yourself you are not in trouble?

Yes. I was riding a mountain bike down a fire trial. The verticle drop was something around 3000 feet, and you hit topspeed after about 300 feet. The fear factor creeps in during the turns. The brakes are just about useless, so you have to slide through the turns. Sorry, were you looking for a diving experience??

 

[Steve_Dives]

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.

Well said.

Know yourself, and gain the experience in an intelligent manner.

 

[terrasmak]

From time to time , saturday was my first dive i saw a shark , yes i freaked a little even though they were leopard sharks , then i freaked a bit more as a 9 to 11 foot Blue shark swam in front of me. Crazy day , cool as hell .

 

[TSandM]

Has anyone else had this experience, namely feeling in trouble and simultaneously reassuring yourself you are not in trouble?

Haven't you had that experience in the OR? When everything looks like it's going to you-know-where in a handbasket, and you have to keep telling yourself to be methodical and organized and it will all sort out?

Usually, my reptile brain is screaming incoherently, and my forebrain is working its way through available options. Luckily, I've had enough training that the forebrain usually wins.