Worried about diving again

[Donnah]

It also helps to gain control over your thoughts about diving caused by seeing someone die. You must have some good diving memories stored away in your mind. When you start reliving the scenario in your head (probably around 3 a.m.), switch your "channel" to some good memories. What you are experiencing is very normal -- it happens to nearly everyone at some point in life and is caused by a traumatic experience. Take it easy, work it though, and do what is right for you.

 

[Jim Lapenta]

This type of thing is why I wrote my article on PTSD related to diving rescues and incidents/accidents. It does not have to be a diving death. But now you or some part of your mind has associated death with diving. If it really is causing you to have such anxiety that you can't function or find yourself being taken over by these concerns it may be time to talk to someone. And not on an internet thread. Witnessing a death on a dive trip is a traumatic thing because as Andy said most basic training tries to gloss over stuff like that. They don't want to scare you off. Not realistic and does a real disservice to the diver but those decisions are based on profit more than anything.

Personally I refuse to do that so in basic classes we do discuss death, accidents, injuries, and the fact that they do occur.

 

[videofly]

While being a truly wonderful activity, there are potential dangers inherent to scuba diving. Complacency is a potentially bad thing. Anxiety which leads to double checking yourself and others, preparedness, and expertise, is a good thing. Anxiety which inhibits good judgment can be problematic. As with all other emotions, seek a balance; which might not necessarily mean putting an end to all anxiety.

 

[navi_jen]

Finner, first off, I am sorry this happened to you. Secondly, although I haven't had the same experience, I faced a similar fear returning to diving after a pretty good DCS hit and a 6 hour ride in a Chamber about 3 years ago. Given that I am someone who spent their entire summers in the water and a competitive swimmer for 15 years, it was quite unnerving. The fact that something seemingly so beautiful and relaxing could ultimately turn fatal. (I had great responses to a thread on here about 18 months ago here) http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/basic-scuba-discussions/444799-noob-returning-diving-after-dcs.html

I agree with the first 3 of Bill T's advice 100%. I was in Thailand for vacation and decided to start re-start diving there, and pretty much did those suggestions. Hiring a DM as my buddy was the best thing I could have done. Marcia really helped me think rationally thru my fears and what I could do in the water to alleviate them. Plus, they are trained to look out for warning signs and to keep me from hurting myself and to relax while diving. Was it expensive? Yes, was it worth it? Absolutely.

Also, even though I was on a liveaboard, I only dived when I felt like it....I think I ended up doing 15 dives in a week instead of the 24+. I generally picked the easier/less deep sites and spaced them out. Also, I did a lot of snorkeling and spent more time with turtles than anyone diving. Was awesome!

I would recommend calling your dive op directly (or speaking with them immediately upon arrival) about your concerns. They can help you plan your dives to make sure you get maximum enjoyment on your trip. I think Maldives has a mix of more challenging and easier dives..so you can plan accordingly. Also, if you don't have one already, get a computer and use it religiously. At least for me, knowledge is power/comfort I use to calm my fears and to make sure I do everything I can when in the water to avoid a bad profile and to avoid DCS.

Being in good shape can help prevent/alleviate the impact of medical dive accidents. Read up on this forum on what type of physical activity you should be doing beforehand to prepare your body for your trip. There have been several good discussions on physical activity here. Get a physical by a dive doc before you go as well, if at all possible.

And if you really want to be thoughtful..read up on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. It's a modality of psychiatric therapy that helps individuals overcome their destructive behaviors (like fear) by rationally thinking thru thoughts-actions-results. Helps you understand the root causes of the destructive behavior and the thoughts and deeds you can do to overcome them. Maybe more than needed, but who knows?

As a competitive diver in my youth, I cracked my head wide open...and after the stitches were out, I waited 9 months to dive again (it was the end of the season when the accident). That delay ended my diving career...too much time to think about it and I was too scared on the board to be a great diver again.

If you do want to eventually return to diving, do it slowly, recognize the fact that you are going to be scared, and move slowly to qwell those feels. It might take years (or it might take a week) but you are likely to overcome them...and may even become a better, more safety conscious diver because of it.

Good luck!

 

[nimoh]

On the liveaboard, plan on sitting out the first dive, and then after the dive engage the other dives in a discussion about what they saw and what a great time they had. Maybe sit out another dive.

My point is, take the pressure off. You booked the liveaboard, and you can still go and have a great time, but you don't have to dive. Perhaps you will get your confidence back just from getting to know the other divers and being around them.

I do agree with the above that you should explain your situation to the liveaboard staff, and you will likely find that they will be very accommodating.

 

[Wingy]

I can relate in some ways - the accident I witnessed was dive related and not fatal but left lifelong serious injuries for the diver. It did become psychological. I recently dived in the Philippines with people I didn't know and while their diving was great, there was a little tiny voice at the back of my mind that kept saying...is that going to happen again?. Fine diving at home but on a trip (which was where the accident I was involved in happened) I thought I had got past it...and found I hadn't quite. One thought was..are these guys safe diving with me or is it me? am I bad luck?. There are parts of that accident where I know I did things - I still do not know how I deployed two SMBs and to be honest havent touched an SMB again. That was one thing I meant to do in PI but didn't get a chance to. My SMB is in the same condition the french police gave it back to me in after they had examined all divers gear after the accident.
I found what I really needed to do was talk about it with someone who had been in a similar situation - unfortunately theirs was a fatality. By posting here you are opening up to talking it through.
The guy I spoke to suggested I have a good long chat to myself about it....was there anything I could have done better or to change the outcome? No. Was there anything I could have done to prevent the accident? No. If I was to go back to the same site with the same divers would the accident happen again? probably not. It was a cramp turned into a major panic turned into a massive DCS incident. Could any of this been foretold? No. Did I freeze or panic myself? No. After having this convo with myself...i realized that while it wont ever be totally erased from my head, It was a very very rare occurrence that the chances of it happening again are very low.
Dont go down the it couldve been me route. Dont go down the I could have changed the outcome route.
If pool work and refreshing skills is making you feel better, great. Just be realistic that what you saw was a shock and it is likely to always be there in the back of your mind, but YOU are not at fault and there was nothing you could have done. I found walking along a beach asking myself those questions helped. At least it got me over the what if its me that's bad juju thing. Take care of you too.

 

[iamrushman]

great read and very good advice from all.

 

[nolatom]

You might want to stop reading those various accident threads. I say this only half in jest.

We learn from them, but it you go there first, you'll think accidents are way more common than they are.

 

[Matt S.]

You simply need to gain confidence in your skills.

This is a common sentiment on the thread. I have also read, "would you stop doing X just because people die doing it?"

These replies are well intentioned, I am sure, but they are missing the mark.

I had a similar experience to the OP, and at 150 dives I towed a stranger's body out of the water due to an OOA accident. My dive buddy at the time was on dive #7 after certification, and had to deal with it too.

You folks who say just take it easy, go slow, get your skills sharp, don't dwell on it... Have you ever heard the screaming that goes on when someone is fighting for their life? Ever gone looking for a victim in 10 ft vis? Ever towed a body to shore?

It's often BS to say, "you can't understand if you weren't there" but this IS one of those things.

OP should go slow, and practice skills, and not dwell on it. But the fact is that it was a traumatic experience and it can leave lasting wounds. Saying "get over it" is about as useful as saying that to someone with a broken leg. Saying "it could happen to anyone" dismisses what happens when DOES happen. It's horrible.

Have some compassion, people. I hope you never have to learn the hard way how wrong some of you are.

Finner1, I seriously suggest looking for some kind of mental health support--counseling or something. I did not, but I should have. It would have probably helped me to become a happy diver sooner. This is a health problem, there are treatments.

 

[nimoh]

This is a common sentiment on the thread. I have also read, "would you stop doing X just because people die doing it?"

These replies are well intentioned, I am sure, but they are missing the mark.

I had a similar experience to the OP, and at 150 dives I towed a stranger's body out of the water due to an OOA accident. My dive buddy at the time was on dive #7 after certification, and had to deal with it too.

You folks who say just take it easy, go slow, get your skills sharp, don't dwell on it... Have you ever heard the screaming that goes on when someone is fighting for their life? Ever gone looking for a victim in 10 ft vis? Ever towed a body to shore?

It's often BS to say, "you can't understand if you weren't there" but this IS one of those things.

OP should go slow, and practice skills, and not dwell on it. But the fact is that it was a traumatic experience and it can leave lasting wounds. Saying "get over it" is about as useful as saying that to someone with a broken leg. Saying "it could happen to anyone" dismisses what happens when DOES happen. It's horrible.

Have some compassion, people. I hope you never have to learn the hard way how wrong some of you are.

Finner1, I seriously suggest looking for some kind of mental health support--counseling or something. I did not, but I should have. It would have probably helped me to become a happy diver sooner. This is a health problem, there are treatments.

so you are suggesting that the advice given has missed the mark, and then go on to give the same advice that has already been given?

I also don't see anyone saying "get over it"