Very afraid to start to learn to Dive~

[cindyloohoo]

Hi. I am NEW to diving, still on the academic portion thru PADI on line course. I am doing this on my own and have no diving partner. I met a couple in Cozumel years ago and we still email and so I possibly have friends to dive with but that is not my fear or worry. Thought about diving for years but never did it. I have not even snorkled. Im completely new and completely afraid. I have started an on line open water dive course thru PADI. I will take in water class when I get thru it I get anxious and nervous just watching the little videos on clearing the mask and if your mask falls off.:depressed: Already I am waking up and afraid that I will drown, hold my breath or not be able to go thru with it. Can anyone relate? Right now I feel like I wont be able to go thru with it so I thought I d better jump on board and express my fears and hear how others got over there fear. I do want to conquer the fear. I have always held my breath when I swim. Im not a huge fan of swimming but I can and I can tread for long periods. I just learned that holding your breath is dangerous which has added to my fear since I hold my breath. Is there hope for me!LOL! Im not giving up yet, Im just really insecure and afraid and want to hear if anyone else was theis nervous and afraid. So~~ hello to the underwater world of divers.. cindy~ PS since I am a flight attendant< i can fly anywhere free.. now that is a beautiful thing!!

 

[Seaturtle37]

I understand your fear, Cindy. I had the opportunity to dive kind of dropped in my lap and decided to go for it. It was frightening at first. Being enveloped by the water, learning to breath underwater, going against nature as we know it! The course is all about what to do if something goes wrong. I haven't been on too many dives, yet, but I no longer have that stifling fear. I'm not young or in great shape. My fears were about could I handle the sport of it, keep up. I can! The only advice I can give to you, while still in certification process, is to continue on to the closed water portion of your learning. The purpose is to introduce you to breathing underwater, clearing mask underwater, navigating underwater, equalizing underwater, so on and so on. starting in pool is safe, get scared come up for air, until you find your comfort zone. Use that time wisely, let your instructor know about your apprehension. I sure hope that helps and I wish you the best of luck in completing your course. It is so worth it!

 

[Web Monkey]

Hi. I am NEW to diving, still on the academic portion thru PADI on line course. I am doing this on my own and have no diving partner. I met a couple in Cozumel years ago and we still email and so I possibly have friends to dive with but that is not my fear or worry. Thought about diving for years but never did it. I have not even snorkled. Im completely new and completely afraid. I have started an on line open water dive course thru PADI. I will take in water class when I get thru it I get anxious and nervous just watching the little videos on clearing the mask and if your mask falls off.

You need a good class with a patient instructor who will not rush you and will not push you out of the class until you're ready to dive safely and happily.

I suggest taking a look at this:

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/ne...ng/287780-how-find-excellent-scuba-class.html

Terry

 

[Jim Lapenta]

And get your money back for the online class. That is for those who really are comfortable in the water to start with even though there are some that feel that on line is ok for learning a language or some other less risky endeavor but scuba is one thing that needs to be taught by a flesh and blood person other than yourself. Since you have no dive buddy, who is reassuring you that the things you see and make you nervous will be ok? And why they will be ok.

 

[tstormdiver]

One thing the online training usually fails to mention is that most instructors have little tips & tricks to help you perform the skills easier. They can bring these concepts that you are learning down to earth. Sometimes it can just be a mention of a slightly different position, that can make the skill much more comfortable & easier to do. I second the thought of doing the entire course with a live instructor who can reassure you along the way & is patient enough to let you sort through your fears & progress at your own rate. The skills progress in a certain order to make it easier &, as much as possible, build on eachother. Best of luck to you.

 

[idocsteve]

With that much fear you're really going to be working against yourself.

I'm curious why you even want to learn how to dive if you're that afraid of the water?

One suggestion would be the following:

Next time you're at a tropical destination, find yourself a nice calm beach, and preferrably with a few buddies, throw on a mask and snorkel and gradually work yourself out from the shore. Get used to being in the water and looking through the mask and breathing through the snorkel. If you can do it in 3 feet of water, then work your way a bit deeper.

Scuba diving can wait a bit. Walk before you can run...

 

[oly5050user]

Nothing wrong with online training.Exactly the same as if you had read the book and watched the dvd at home,then went to the academic portion of your course.Adds convience for those that need it.When you do go to your class the instructor will admin a short review based on what you learned online.You must also bring the printout from the course that shows your quiz's and final exam.This is the time to go over questions or weak spots you may have.
Now you go to the pool and learn all the skills that are required for the course.Skills are introduced to you exactly the same way as you expect in a traditional course.As to getting your money back,that is a unreal expectation.If it is a PADI course you requested a product,product delivered.You are paying $120. for the online course,well if you went and purchased a crewpack-text and learning materials-dvd- the traditional way it would have cost you $95.and you would still have to sit thru 5-10 hours of academic classroom presentations.You are paying for the convience and instant gratification the online course offers.I find that online students have as good and often better understanding of the material,they get just as good grades on the exam as traditional students get.
If truly you are as afraid of doing this,I must ask,why bother doing it? Why not just do a discover scuba thing at a LDS or resort and see if the activity is for you before investing any more time or energy for it? If you still want to go with it,I would suggest a private course rather than a group thing.

 

[DiverDean59]

I might also suggest a discover scuba class before you would have taken the online course. Some places will apply the cost of the discover scuba class to the full class if you decide to go futher. The mask removal is unnerving at first but you will be so glad you learned the skill when you actually need to clear the mask. If you can get you money back from the online course, you should and enroll in an instructor led class if you decide to explore scuba.

It is so worth it to learn. It opens up a whole new world.

Best fishes.

 

[oly5050user]

One thing the online training usually fails to mention is that most instructors have little tips & tricks to help you perform the skills easier. They can bring these concepts that you are learning down to earth. Sometimes it can just be a mention of a slightly different position, that can make the skill much more comfortable & easier to do. I second the thought of doing the entire course with a live instructor who can reassure you along the way & is patient enough to let you sort through your fears & progress at your own rate. The skills progress in a certain order to make it easier &, as much as possible, build on eachother. Best of luck to you.

All these tips/tricks to perform the skill easily are still there.Instructor explains and demos skill in pool. Usually it is a live instead of a dead/zombie instructor doing the class Actual diving is taught in the pool and ow , as it traditionally always has.Only difference in online is instead of the student reading a book and watching a video, to complete the academics,they do the reading and watching a video online and complete their knowledge reviews/quiz and final online and print it out for class .

 

[TSandM]

Next time you're at a tropical destination, find yourself a nice calm beach, and preferrably with a few buddies, throw on a mask and snorkel and gradually work yourself out from the shore. Get used to being in the water and looking through the mask and breathing through the snorkel. If you can do it in 3 feet of water, then work your way a bit deeper.

I absolutely, totally agree with this. Take the pressure off yourself. You can buy a mask and snorkel for very little money, and go out and swim around and see if you can get comfortable breathing through the snorkel, and if you are intrigued by what you see. You need a reason to want to dive, and you need to get rid of some of this anxiety. Becoming comfortable ON the water precedes being comfortable IN it. There's no rush; take the time to approach this with anticipation and confidence, instead of apprehension.