Should I get certified?

[Kamala]

Ditto everyone on the wet regulator and shoddy dive operator. Also, look for an instructor who's willing to take the time to go slow; a lot of the learning is simply getting your head around some concepts that go against much of your body's programming. Obviously some people get used to things at different speeds, just make sure that if this is what you want to do that your instructor is willing to go at your speed.

 

[padrediver]

Hi, I'm new to this board but have been reading messages for the past few days and just wanted to see if anyone had any opinions on my situation:

So I've been scuba diving exactly once, about 2 weeks ago when I went on one of those "Discover Scuba" things in Grenada. I'd never even been snorkeling before this, but had always wanted to try diving. I can pretty safely say that I was "the nervous one" in our group of 4. Freaked out and surfaced the first time we had to submerge all the way in the pool, freaked out and surfaced again when I couldn't equalize my ears in the deep end, then freaked out one last time going down the line off the dive boat when I realized that a bunch of water was coming in through my regulator. They told me it was normal, so I went ahead and did the dive (and swallowed about a quart of seawater along the way, but I guess that's "normal"?). The dive itself was amazing, but I was still, well, a little nervous for most of it, and by the end (we were down for 30 minutes), I was definitely ready to come back up.

So, here's my question: Should I get certified? I really felt like I was excessively nervous (my boyfriend did everything with no problem), but am still attracted by the idea of diving. Is this anxiety something that I could expect to get over once I get some more practice, or is it just something that could make diving more dangerous for me in the long run? I've been thinking about certification a lot since we went, but my boyfriend thinks I'm crazy considering what a wuss I was about the whole thing - so I just wanted to see if anyone else could offer up some opinions, experience, etc., to help me out? Thanks...

NERVOUS? FIRST TIME?
NO, I'VE BEEN NERVOUS LOTS OF TIMES
AIRPLANE 1977


Water in your reg? Sooo....the rumor is true....my old Dacor Dart tilt valve from 1963 IS still in service out at some "resort"!
Actually had USD Calypso and it didn't breathe wet even back in '65!

Nervous? Great! You should be. Shows you're taking it
seriously. Were you nervous the first time you drove the parent's car alone? The "first time" on anything else?

This discover scuba stuff is just the old fifties/sixties resort pool course in a new package.(call now for our free brochure) A rose by any other name.....
The reg. they gave you has probably been on two thousand dives without service over the last five years.Or some no=name brand like "Hollidive 2000" on safety recall.
I still get nervous when I see a whale shark or king barracuda.
Amricans love a good scare! (Texans love a good explosion, in my experience as a Florida transplant to Texas)

Those Discover Scuba people make ME nervous!
Go take a REAL course.

Full tanks and good diving.

 

[laika]

Well, being a novice diver myself I probably should not start giving advice to other people, but, still, I can tell you this: I started diving a month ago and the last month was the best period of my life. There is a whole new aspect of the planet down there and it would be a pity to miss it forever just because you had a bad first day. If this makes you feel better, my best friend had her training with me. At our first dive, she had a panic attack because she thought she could not breath. That was normal of course, since she was trying to breath through her nose. For a few seconds she was sure she would get drown. When the instructor "rescued" her she felt really emparrassed and she wanted to quit. She did not, and now I have her calling me every five minutes to scedule our next dive and comment on our previous one.

Find a good instructor and GO FOR IT