Unreasonable fear of depth

[spectrum]

Just FYI...

There are 2 distinct fears that I believe a few of you are confusing.

There's fear of falling and fear of heights. 99% of people who say they are afraid of heights are actually afraid of falling.

That's in interesting distinction.

I'm entirely at ease flying.

I'm very uncomfortable at the edge of a roof or on a ladder that is less than rigid.

I have never associated either with diving except that I do need to talk myself into back rolls and giant strides, especially at Oil Slick Leap.

Back rolls are more about being paranoid of hitting the back of my head which makes me a basket case on roller skates.

Pete

 

[spectrum]

I seem to feel the depth more when I am in a dark, poor viz area. It's strange because I have no fear of diving a shallow, no-viz, freshwater dive in some cowpond where you can't see your hand in front of your face. It must be the combination of viz and depth, I'm thinking.

I now have 72 dives and I think I am improving, so there is hope for you! I used to lay in bed the night before a deep dive sweating in fear, now...not so much.

Fuzz

It sounds like you're making nice progress and that's good to hear.

Do you feel that the anxiety is a concern for your own well being or is in upholding the buddy relationship and the responsibility that goes with that?

I know that for me the biggest concerns can arise when a buddy is not where I expect to find them. The you start to wonder if you will find them, need to scrub the dive and surface, has something happened to them, what if you surface and they are not there and so on. All of this in a state of mental impairment from depth.

When in primo visibility it's downright hard to misplace a buddy and most of these issues vaporize.

Pete

 

[Jim Lapenta]

I'm curious, how many people that are afraid of going deep are also afraid of heights? I wonder if there is any correlation between the two in that you are a great distance away from good old terra firma which causes fear to set in. I know I'm a bit of an odd duck in that I'm not afraid of heights, the dark, drowning, dying, etc. In fact, depth has never bothered me. I received my deep cert after just 24 dives under my belt as part of my AOW & Master Diver training. To each their own and I do agree with everyone, don't dive beyond your comfort limit and take it slowly to expand your diving horizons.

I am afraid of heights. Deep water however does not bother me in the least. So far 155 is the deepest dive I've done and looking forward to going to 180-200 in the next year or so after adv nitrox and deco proc and heliair. I've always had the idea that if I'm properly weighted and carrying my usual gear if something happens I will fall up! I cannot look off tall buildings close to the edge, but flying is not an issue. I do not like ladders over 6 feet but dropping more than that into the water off a boat is no big deal. That is where my comfort zone is. Water- good, hard ground and going splat-bad!

 

[Dwag766]

Fuzz

I am just now reading your original and subsequent postings and can totally relate. Its odd that when I originally learned to dive 15 yrs ago I had no fear and quickly got my AOW. But I took a break from diving due to family and even though I took a refresher class I have anxiety with the deeper dives which unfortunately are the norm in the area of Florida I live. It seems as though there is never a dive less than 70 feet.

But I did make an interesting discovery which will hopefully change things for the better...I found that my old regulator definately does not allow for easy breathing compared to the newer Scubapro so I broke down and bought a new one. It sure worked better in the pool and I'll test it in the OW Tuesday....

 

[spoolin01]

I LOVE diving, I am passionate about it. ...yet...when I actually think about going below 60 ft. I almost break into a sweat.

That's the smart part of your brain in action!! The same one you had a little chat with after going to 135' as a novice and being narced, and after jumping off that bridge. Have you ever jumped out of a perfectly good airplane? You may be a thrill seeker with just too much good sense!

That nervous anticipation is a constructive reminder that there is good reason for caution and care. Are you aware of every breath and fairly self-conscious while diving? I'll bet you can sense the depth even at only 60 or 70 ft - pressure, cold, reduced light (there's nothing so cheery when diving as the sun overhead) harder breathing, mild narcosis - and even if subtly, you properly associate it with rationale concern and memory of the narced dive. As many have pointed out, distraction and familiarity are the keys to putting the sense of foreboding behind you, and in the meantime you practice the skills and review the protocols that keep you safe. I abandoned my first post-certification dive at only 60 ft because it bugged me to feel breathing resistance and the darkness at that depth, but after a few deep surface breaths, I was fine and resumed the dive. Similarly I bugged out in my first too-tight wetsuit making rapid repeat free dives for abalone in the breaking surf line of 12 ft seas. After a shoreside rest, all was fine. I've always been a waterbaby but these are some serious alien environments, worthy of respect! I've got 400 dives under my belt and I can't remember the last time I was 'pointlessly' anxious, though I've been in a few situations that have riveted my complete attention! Half the satisfaction is debriefing afterwards to understand how things developed so they can be avoided next time. For me, lobster diving and UW photography were just the distractions that helped me lose self-consciousness while under water. I still stay shallow wherever possible, for the bottom time and the safety and dive NorCal as much as I can.

I'm just guessing, but are you prone to seasickness, too? Some people are just more aware of 'homeostasis' and less comfortable when it's challenged. As you're finding, it's easily managed, and satisfying to do so.

 

[mwilding]

I don't think a fear of depth should be labeled as unreasonable. Man is not designed to live and breathe in the oceans. Even with thousands of dollars of equipment his time is limited and he can only penetrate the first few hundred feet of depth.

I'd say it is perfectly reasonable to be afraid of going deep. Not it may get to a certain extent irrational, but that is something you have to decide for yourself whether or not you want or need to face it.

 

[TMHeimer]

Here's an odd one. I got certified 3 years ago. Since, I have done the deep diver course. I find that the deeper I go the more intense I get about checking the important stuff, like depth, time. I'm probably overly cautious even at shallow depths (a bit of OCD, I guess). If I'm say 80 feet or deeper I will take the pony bottle. The weird part is that before I got certified I would swim and snorkel a lot-- for 40 years... I may have snorkeled as deep as 12 feet, but was very uneasy. In fact, anytime I got into water chest level or deeper I'd start to get the heebee Jeebees. Now as a diver, THAT STILL HAPPENS when I swim or snorkel, yet I have no fear of diving deep. All in one's head, I guess.

 

[tflaris]

Does anyone else out there, or would they admit it if they did, have a fear of diving deeper, than say, 60 ft? And, to complicate things further, only at times.

I LOVE diving, I am passionate about it. Although I am new to diving I have always been fascinated by it and wanted to do it. I read about it, think about it and dream about it when not actually doing it...yet...when I actually think about going below 60 ft. I almost break into a sweat.

Sometimes when doing a deep dive, if there is interesting things to see and the water is murky enough to not be able to tell my depth by looking up I have been fairly comfortable at 70, 80 and even 90 feet. It's when I can look up in clear water and see all that water on top of me and the surface light so far away, knowing I have to maintain a certain ascent rate to safely get through it and if I NEEDED to GET TO THE SURFACE like, right now, I wouldn't be able to, nor would I be able to do an emergency OOA ascent (I know my lungs, I had a hard time with the 30 ft. required for class), that I feel like I would rather be back on the boat than diving.

I do my best shore diving, shallow stuff, at around 30 ft. What is wrong with me that makes me lay in bed with my heart pounding at the thought of doing a 90 ft dive? Does anyone else have this problem? I'm not a coward, I do night dives even, it's just this depth thing. And any suggestions for getting past it would be appreciated.

Not a shrink but as an Instructor sometimes divers have a deeper fear and associate it with something else.

i.e. a diver may hate getting water up his/her nose.....possibly the fear of drowning and the body's natural instincts but may blame something else for the reason.

Just a thought

 

[danrlazar]

dive "YOUR LIMITS" on that givin day

 

[DocWong]

So we wondered where you went off to from the Monterey Bay area. Like most divers have stated, don't dive beyond what you are comfortable doing. Most fear is due to situations where your training and experience have been exceeded. Most divers after their open water training, get comfortable enough with their diving and their equipment that they just push it a little and go deeper. First time they go deeper, it's a little spooky for them, but with repetition it gets comfortable.

The key is to take baby steps, just a little deeper...if you want. More important than that though is to make sure your skills are adequate for the job. And the skills of your buddy. I'm often so surprised that most divers no longer practice safety drills and skills after their initial training. Practicing gas sharing, controlled emergency ascents, lost masks, regulator failures, etc goes a long way towards being more comfortable and competent in the water.

For me now, the surface is sort of the enemy. I fear too fast an ascent more than the ability to reach the surface is the bigger problem. With proper gear and gas management, being out of air should be a rare issue and the necessity to bolt to the surface non-existent.