is there any way to prepare for scuba panic?

[mangoconchile]

i took my OW class and we did the basic exercises you would expect in this class such as hand signals, swapping regs, etc...its easy enough to perform these in a pool or an open dive with the teacher telling you.


however i have yet to do these in an unsupervised environment. my biggest fear is swimming around and getting my reg knocked out by a rock, kelp, etc...and freaking out and not thinking of how to properly put your reg back in and just swimming to the surface without thinking of a dstop if this happens in deep waters. or if somehow my tank breaks, spg is faulty, etc...and i go completly out of air and my dive buddy isn't close enough for me to grab his attention.


is there anyway to prepare for this without actually going thru it a few times? i was reading an old thread back from 09 where some woman died in catalina during an AOW class because she had some kind of equipment failure began swimming directly to the surface from 65 ft all the while her instructor grabbing her leg trying to slow her ascent.


heres the thread

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/ac...0-catalina-diver-died-today-w-instructor.html


if anyone has any tips on how to handle this i would appreciate it

 

[lowviz]

Only you know what your "range" is. Stay in it. It will increase with experience. This isn't a race, there are no prizes...

 

[DevonDiver]

Firstly, no scuba course will completely prepare you - they teach the skills needed, but the job of ingraining those skills to a fluid and reliable level remains the responsibility of the diver post-qualification. Continue to practice the skills and seek to gain more comfort in their application through repetition and increased familiarity.

Secondly, you will suffer less stress if you dive conservatively. Stress leads to panic. That is why novice divers are always recommended to dive conservatively. Progress depth and complexity of your diving progressively, slowly and in line with your comfort level. Your comfort level is dictated by your own psychology, not by a piece of plastic in your wallet.

As a novice diver, ascent to the surface remains a very prudent option, should you face a problem. The only caveats are that; (1) you do so at a controlled speed to prevent undue risk of DCI and (2) that you don't hold your breath/maintain an open air-way on ascent.

The decision to dive deeper reduces the prudence/practicality of surfacing in the event of a problem. Making that decision should entail a very honest self-assessment of your capability and confidence levels. Increased depth changes your safety parameters considerably - it lowers them. Thus, the diver's skills/experience/training should be of sufficient level to compensate for generally declining safety parameters.

Some novice (or even experienced) divers are prone to over-estimating their competency. That can stem from either an over-valuation of their skills/ability or an under-estimation of the risks or demands of the dive/s conducted. Over-confidence is considerably more dangerous than under-confidence - providing the diver concerned is diving at a level to which they are comfortable. If you (the OP) feel less confident than your peer group seems to be, then do not assume it is you who is in the wrong. Many instructors/courses, especially at entry-levels, promote over-confidence in divers; especially through ignorance (avoiding honest discussion) of risks and how they apply to the diver in real life.

Confidence and psychological comfort should remain a constant - the variables are personal skill/experience/training balanced against depth/complexity of the dive.

If you feel unsafe or unsure at a given depth - then you probably are. Plan and conduct your dives accordingly.

 

[supergaijin]

DevonDiver pretty much sums it up.

Know that the recommended maximum depths should not be planned depths- too many divers do this IMO. Consider to conduct your first 20 underwater hours in the depth range from which you'd be comfortable swimming or snorkeling underwater. While this may seem limiting, it actually gives you appreciation of what's to come later when your newly learnt skills are more ingrained.

Depth should be only considered when you're fully in control when in the shallows.

After a while, you may realise that the top 30' or so is usually the best part of the dive. Certainly if you get in to photography, this will probably become your ideal depth range.

Finally, 'panic' is a non-thinking survival response... which ends up killing you. There really is no way to 'control' yourself while in the throes of a panic attack, however reducing the various stress opportunities will in turn reduce your potential for panic. Reducing your work-rate, heart-rate and breathing goes a looooooong way to reducing your overall stress levels. That will not happen if you dive too deep, too fast.

 

[FinnMom]

The best preparation is to dive and to practise skills. Diving a lot will build up your comfort, calm and confidence. The safety value of being able to remain calm should not be underestimated! Practice safety skills so that actually using them will increase your stress levels noticeably less. Make a point of also practising dropping your weight belt (in maybe 6 ft of water); most people never practise this and there is a rolling tactic to be learned that helps you get free of the belt. Having practised will make you remember instinctively that dropping weights is an option. For this same reason you should orally inflate your BCD at least a little before every dive - the idea that oral inflation is an option needs to be in your instincts, otherwise you are hugely less likely to remember it under when stress.
Once you know you're good at these skills you will begin to feel significantly more comfortable. The majority of divers, even technical divers, don`t practise these skills nearly as often as they should.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 4

 

[dumpsterDiver]

best way is to practice AND to carry a redundant system like a pony bottle. It helps a lot to know that even if the regulator should just completely stop working, you just grab the reg that is under your chin, signal your buddy and start the ascent.

 

[maniago]

+1 on a pony. Almost noone dives a pony until the are introduced to it in some later course or whatever. Even now, I dive with lots of "professionals" and I'm the only one that carries a pony. And I have since right after OW. Same with my wife/buddy. Its not hard, not rocket science (just google what you want to know and read read read), but its a wonderful safety blanket. Just call me Linus....

I'll also note that youre already on the proper path for success - thinking about diving as a self-reliant activity. So prepare and dive with such a mind set - always. That doesn't mean be a solo diver, or screw your buddy. That means be a good buddy, but make sure whatever situation you get into, you have a plan to try to resolve it yourself first. If that means more shallow dives, do so. If that means more education/classes, go get it.

In this sport, ignorance is often not bliss.

 

[Subcooled]

my biggest fear is swimming around and getting my reg knocked out (...) and freaking out (...) my dive buddy isn't close enough (...) is there anyway to prepare for this

Well... you could practice freediving in a pool. Once you manage to freedive (no mask, no fins) the whole pool length (25m/100ft) then you suddenly notice that you can also dive and sit on the bottom for a while. You learn to relax while holding your breath. This gives you a comfortable minute to deal with problems (and another less comfortable minute).

You can do these excercises in any pool and without diving gear. You should beware of hyperventilating though, as you may vent too much CO2 out and then you may stay under water untill you pass out. It's the CO2 that makes you feel bad. Not the lack of oxygen, So freediving has its own dangers. You need a buddy and some knowledge.

It is quite calming to know that you have some time to solve any issues under water.

Also notice that quick sudden ascents are not that dangerous from shallow depth if you just remember to EXHALE. Getting DCS on a shallow OWD course is quite difficult

 

[lv2dive]

I didn't see anyone mention this yet (or maybe I just read through too quickly) but as a new diver you don't have a dstop or a decompression stop - you have a safety stop - and that is what it is - an extra stop for safety. It is NOT a required stop. It is a good idea and when I am doing recreational diving I usually spend extra time at 15 feet because I just don't want to get out of the water...BUT... there have been times when I have skipped it entirely.

WHAT? THAT IS CRAZY TALK?!?!?! I am not suggesting you, OP, or anyone else do that. But, on recreational dives, where I wasn't pushing deco limits, and there were a lot of jellies hanging out between 30 feet and the surface, and I had exposed skin, I've made a controlled ascent directly to the surface. (I don't react well to stings and that was the smarter choice for me)

My point is not to condone skipping safety stops, but to point out that there is a difference between a safety stop and a decompression stop, and to highlight that there may be a reason one may want to consider skipping a safety stop. For myself, if a recall procedure were initiated by a boat captain, that is another instance where IMHO all would be well served to consider that a safety stop is not a required stop.

 

[DCBC]

...is there anyway to prepare for this without actually going thru it a few times? ...if anyone has any tips on how to handle this i would appreciate it

The previous respondents have already answered your question, so my comments surround how people can be trained to respond to high stress situations. As it relates to diving: military, commercial and some recreational/technical training programs utilize this method.

Handling stress is a bit like lifting weight. If most lifters initially attempt to lift their body weight, many won't be successful. If however they start (say with 10 exercises, 3 sets with 10 repetitions each) and build upon it, more weight can be added over time.

Diving skills can be entrenched by doing them repeatedly. Once done successfully, stress can be added in a pool/OW (supervised) by performing the skill with imposed stress (such as a blacked-out face mask or minor harassment). Also stress can also be slowly increased by utilizing station breathing (scuba units placed on the bottom) and having a number of students rotate from one to the other. The number of units are gradually decreased to a point where several students must share one unit. This requires communication, teamwork, composure and builds confidence.

Through the training the Student learns to have confidence in his equipment, dive buddy and his/her own particular skills. Once the Diver "buys into the system," the way to dive and the way to respond to an emergency, confidence is increased. He learns to stop and think out the problem.

1. If you always dive with a competent Buddy and stay close together, or you carry a secondary breathing source how worried are you about an equipment malfunction?

2. If you can comfortably perform a CESA from any given depth comfortably and never dive beneath this depth, how worried are you about running out of air?

Dive within your safe diving envelope, use dependable gear, increase your dive time (reps) and get further training when it's appropriate. Go slowly and have fun. Relax and enjoy the beauty of the underwater world. Live long and prosper...