Scared!

[DivemasterDennis]

At my LDS, we offer open water students a free "mod. 6" usually in the pool while we are doing a Discover Scuba experience. With usually 2 pros in the water (instructor and DM) the student divers can work on necessary skills while at the same time noting how far they have come from the first moment of breathing off a scuba unit, a real confidence builder. We have some students who then are much better prepared to do their open water dives, but others still need further development. Please heed the advice of some very wise people on this thread (TSandM). If you are over anxious about the open water dives, do some more training before you attempt them. Also, for encouragement, read my blog "So now you are doing your open water dives." You will enjoy scuba diving when your skills and confidence go up and your anxiety level goes down. Be patient. You will get it done!
DivemasterDennis

 

[PatW]

Bell,

I hope you heed the above advice. If you can, back off and give yourself time to get comfortable. If you are comfortable in the water, you are far safer. You might be able to get over your jitters in this course. It might take some time. I understand that simple things are hard for most people. My wife, an inactive instructor, tells me that the hardest skill for new divers is clearing their mask. Most people get upset when water hits their faces. It is nothing to be ashamed of.

As has been advised, be sure to talk to your instructor about the problems you are having. I am sure the instructor really wants you to tell them about this.

I would recommend working in the pool swimming, with mask and snorkel, and with scuba until you feel at ease doing these things. It might take some time and repetition. This is the sort of thing that with patience and perseverence, you should be able to master. It just takes some people a bit more time than others.

 

[electrix]

I have been surprised by the number of students that have whispered to me that they almost drowned when they were a kid.

 

[Randy43068]

Relax. You don't have to do this. Put it out of your mind for a while, tell your instructor what's going on and that you need a break to sort this out for your own piece of mind. SCUBA is supposed to be fun, and obviously you aren't having any of it.

Give yourself some time then go back to the pool and try it again. If you are really, really not feeling it then perhaps this isn't for you. You alone have to decide that.

But if you really want to dive and want to move past this fear then you should talk with your instructor one on one and be direct and to the point. He or she will know what to do from there.

hey all!

A quick hello before i turn in, tomorrow is the 3rd day of my 5 day diving course (star 1)...
I am very nervous about tomorrow, as it will be first time out in the sea, and because I don't know if i can do it anymore.

In the pool i get very anxious when i have to remove my regulator and reinsert it, and 4 times in the last 2 days did i eject myself up for air, knowing it's not allowed.

I am scared truly, it's much harder than i thought and even now as im at ease at home, just thinking about the dive makes me feel short of breath

Don't know what to do, it's frustrating, ever since my first pool dive and regulator i've been anxious all the time. Today again i had to take out the regulator, and when i tried to reinsert it all i could feel was more water in my mouth, me breathing it in while pressing the regulator button.
SO torn between just letting it go and continuing or facing the fear which is intense...

Pls any word of adivce...Thank you!

---------- Post added April 3rd, 2012 at 01:16 PM ----------

I took a year break from my initial open water dives until I finished.

 

[BellDive]

Hey
I don't think after 2nd day i could determine if it is for me or not. I was very nervous clearly from my post, but with new things and new skills it takes some overcoming to do and even though i agree diving might not be for everyone, i am sure many many of the experienced divers out there were nervous and some even scared the first few days...so, I will of course also try kayaking, but only as another addition of new sports and skills.

FYI, got my 1 star CMAS on Thursday

Not every sport is for everyone. If you continue to have feelings of nervousness like this underwater, you may put yourself and others in more danger by pursuing it. Try kayaking

---------- Post added April 8th, 2012 at 06:28 PM ----------

Thank you , i did practise it and regulator issue was overcome! )

Got my one star Thursday, so am happy )

Sounds like you're not quite ready to get into the ocean yet. Talk to your instructors, tell them how you feel and ask for some extra time in the pool. Removing and replacing the regulator is important skill to have, one that's actually not particularly hard to learn or hard to perform, but you have to figure out the trick to it first. Experiment with it in the shallow end of the pool (where you can still stand up, just in case) until you get the a-ha moment. Once you've figured it out, it will work every time and then you're ready to try it in the deep end.

The easiest way is to just put the regulator in your mouth and breathe out (same way you do it with a snorkel). That will flush out any water without the need to push the purge.

You need the purge only if you can't or don't want to exhale (e.g. if you have no air in your lungs). Use the purge first and inhale only AFTER you've released it. Some people tell you to put your tongue against the hole in the mouthpiece to close it while you purge - I've never needed to do that myself, but maybe you do. Tongue, purge, release purge, inhale.

In both cases, take the first breath slowly as there can always be a bit of water left in there. Remember that it's perfectly OK to swallow it if there's too much and if necessary, or you can also just spit it out (through the regulator).

---------- Post added April 8th, 2012 at 06:30 PM ----------

Thank you, i did talk to him and did a few pool practises with regulator in the pool, and snorkling without mask in the ocean.

I was honestly quite nervous about doing the swim without mask in 15 m depth, but i was determined to do it and i managed. Once the mask was off, the first 2-3 seconds felt weird (the transition) but then i was in control again over the breathing. I will keep practising that in the pool with my snorkel/mask and am sure with time i will get more comfortable! )

Bell,

I hope you heed the above advice. If you can, back off and give yourself time to get comfortable. If you are comfortable in the water, you are far safer. You might be able to get over your jitters in this course. It might take some time. I understand that simple things are hard for most people. My wife, an inactive instructor, tells me that the hardest skill for new divers is clearing their mask. Most people get upset when water hits their faces. It is nothing to be ashamed of.

As has been advised, be sure to talk to your instructor about the problems you are having. I am sure the instructor really wants you to tell them about this.

I would recommend working in the pool swimming, with mask and snorkel, and with scuba until you feel at ease doing these things. It might take some time and repetition. This is the sort of thing that with patience and perseverence, you should be able to master. It just takes some people a bit more time than others.

---------- Post added April 8th, 2012 at 06:32 PM ----------

I didn't give up and earned my 1 star )

I have to agree with dfx. If you cannot get these skills in the pool, it will be more difficult in open water. You should work on getting comfortable in the pool first. Don't give up!

 

[ubermensch]

I was close to freaking when I did my OW back in October. I nearly called the whole thing off after the first shore dive, but I ended up completing the course and was so glad I did. My advice would be to take it at your own pace and don't ever let anybody force you beyond your limits.

 

[BellDive]

I get that! lol!
The feeling of freaking definitely got me thinking, however i think it's part of moving out of one's comfort zone, and i didn't want to back out as i really wanted to learn! I totally agree with your advice and wrote a little about it all in another thread:
http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/ne...y-1-star-cmas-certification-but-now-what.html


)

I was close to freaking when I did my OW back in October. I nearly called the whole thing off after the first shore dive, but I ended up completing the course and was so glad I did. My advice would be to take it at your own pace and don't ever let anybody force you beyond your limits.

---------- Post added April 8th, 2012 at 07:10 PM ----------

Thanks, yea i was nervous and had butterflies of course, however once i was down there (and 3rd dive was only 4.5 meter so not so intimidating) i actually had a really good experience and felt comfortable, even though i was also anxious a little.
I am all about going slowly and gaining more experience, so that is also my plan! Thanks for the reply )

I remember feeling butterflies in my stomach throughout my entire first summer of diving, always feelings so nervous I almost wanted an excuse to to cancel going diving and yet always loving the experience of diving. I was that nervous even though I was otherwise very comfortable in the water and even underwater as a swimmer. So give yourself a break, breathing underwater takes a bit of getting used to and not everyone can be a natural from the get go.
If a skill like changing regs or removing & replacing your mask makes you nervous it might easily just mean you need practise. Those skills intimidate almost everyone at first. Spending more time just swimming underwater and snorkeling might help you feel generally more comfortable in the water and when diving having a calm, experienced teacher makes a world of difference too. Practise your skills in shallower, less intimidating waters and/or the pool and little by little you will begin to relax and enjoy yourself.
Diving is supposed to be fun, so keep it at a level you can enjoy. A whole lot of the best scenery is in the shallow waters, get more experience in those and as your confidence grows so will your ability to take on greater challenges w/o loosing your calm.

---------- Post added April 8th, 2012 at 07:23 PM ----------

Thanks both, yes it's great advice!
I spoke to the instructor and did practise a few times the regulator n mask clearing.
I think the nervousness is still due to everything being very new, new environment, new breathing and everything...

To answer, i want to dive for myself, i wanted to discover what is out there and to challenge myself. (i definitely got the last part!)
I live in Israel with about a 6 hour drive to Eilat (Red Sea) and the idea was to be able to dive there and hopefully every now and then be able to take a day or two down there, dive and improve.. )

I won't be doing the AOW before i get to a higher confidence level and i want also to gain some more experience first...

I bolted to the surface 3 times during pool time but after a serious talk with the instructor (he did not approve lol), i realized i had to stop conditioning myself...

But, got my 1 star now so i'm trying to take it from here!

Great advice as always TS&M One of our local ladies, went through the open water training classes twice before she was ready for the ocean/certification dives. However, with a bit of support from our group she has now completed her advanced certification and has accumulated over 100 dives in the past year in a wide variety of environments. As for me, in my OW class, I bolted to the surface at least twice during the pool training. Oh, by the way I am now a scuba instructor. The first question I have is are you wanting to be a diver for yourself, or someone else. If you truly have a desire to be a diver, you may find with repeating the pool portions of the class to achieve better mastery of skills that this may in fact be a sport for you.

---------- Post added April 8th, 2012 at 07:29 PM ----------

Thanks Bob for your reply
I agree 100% , the survival instinct is pretty intense..

Also know not everyone is cut out to be diving, however learning to walk also took a lot of fumbling around and look at me now! )

I think it comes down to being very true with oneself, knowing ones limits, and also choosing ones own battles.

Yes i felt scared and anxious, but was open about it and truly wanted to succeed and face the fears. It's hard and i'm still nervous, after all only had 6 ow dives!

In any case, i'm giving it a chance and i'm not in a rush. )

Hello Bell ...

First of all, what you're experiencing isn't all that unusual ... it's an indication that you have a healthy sense of survival. We humans are hard-wired to respond instinctively to being underwater in a manner that gets us out of the water as quickly as possible. Part of your training is "rewiring" those instincts. Some people take longer to do that than others. That is why I agree with others that you are not ready yet to proceed to the open ocean for your checkout dives. You owe it to yourself and your instructor to tell them so. My guess is that your instructor already knows, but wants to let you make the decision. And a huge part of scuba diving is about making good decisions. So have that talk.

There is no shame in holding yourself back. As an instructor, I commonly have students who take longer than the initial schedule ... and when I suggest to them that we should spend additional time in the pool, they are usually relieved to hear it.

As some have said, not everyone is cut out to be a scuba diver. You may be one of those ... but more commonly, people who experience what you're feeling just need more time in training.

Give yourself that time. A good instructor will work with you as long as you are willing to work with yourself. My alpha dive buddy ... someone I've done over 800 dives with now ... went through the exact same situation when she was new ... and now she's a wonderful diver.

Best wishes ... don't push it. Diving is supposed to be fun. Don't go to the open water checkout dives until you feel like it can be fun ... that's when you'll know you're ready.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

---------- Post added April 8th, 2012 at 07:37 PM ----------

Makes sense!

Could you link to that blog entry? I couldn't find it )!

At my LDS, we offer open water students a free "mod. 6" usually in the pool while we are doing a Discover Scuba experience. With usually 2 pros in the water (instructor and DM) the student divers can work on necessary skills while at the same time noting how far they have come from the first moment of breathing off a scuba unit, a real confidence builder. We have some students who then are much better prepared to do their open water dives, but others still need further development. Please heed the advice of some very wise people on this thread (TSandM). If you are over anxious about the open water dives, do some more training before you attempt them. Also, for encouragement, read my blog "So now you are doing your open water dives." You will enjoy scuba diving when your skills and confidence go up and your anxiety level goes down. Be patient. You will get it done!
DivemasterDennis

 

[ddive1]

Hi Bell,

Hopefully your instructor did not let you do your open waters. It is the instructors responsibilty
to be sure that you are capable and comfortable in all the skills learned in the pool before allowing
you in open water. Being an ex instructor and also divemaster, I could tell just by the look in the student's
eyes doing a skill and would be able to control the situation then and there.

Some people just need more time and some individual attention. If you do this and still can't get over the anxiety, then it is time to try another sport.

Good luck!!

 

[Danielle's_Dives]

I have two things..
Breath
Just keep swimming
the fear you have now will disappear the more you dive until it is an addiction to dive
let me know if you need any other support

 

[TSandM]

Very glad to hear you got through it! Now, just remember that you have a bit of a weak point, and keep practicing the skills that bothered you, now that you are a certified diver. I know that, when I finished my OW class, I went a long time before I flooded a mask again -- I didn't like doing it (and still don't) so I didn't. But an eye-opening experience with a dive buddy taught me that the ocean will find your "rattles" and shake them hard, so it's best to get rid of them once and for all!