(08 SEP 04) Panic Attack

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Potapko

Contributor
Messages
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Location
The heart of Merica
# of dives
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After reading much of the wisdom shared here I decided to post my experience to see if any of you can relate to it, and/or offer advise on how to change it.

I have shared on another thread that my OWD training was quite lacking imo. That being said, I do not think I can blame my instructor for my lack of experience any more than I can blame my parents for what my life is today.

I was in Croatia in May of this year on a dive trip. We were going to dive on the wreck Baron Gautsh which lies in 40 meters of water. The top of the deck is at about 33 meters. I have an AOWD which I completed in Egypt last December. The sea was rough due to several days of storms. We had held off diving due to the weather and were trying to get the dive in before we had to head for home. There were 8 of us with one Instructor. I was buddy'ed with a person I didn't know well and had only dived with once.

We were in the water waiting to descend and everything seemed fine. We began our descent and at about 15 meters I started feeling "nervous" and began breathing deeper, we continued our descent to the ship. I had the feeling that I couldn't get enough air. Even though I was breathing very deeply and my regulator, (a new ATX 50) was working perfectly. My feeling of tension led to greater nervousness and then deeper breathing to the point where I was nearly hyperventilating. A thousand thoughts go through my mind. Panic was one of them. I am going to die was another. Pride was certainly an issue. I felt that I could not quit because the dive had cost my buddy a great deal of money and if I quit, he would lose out as well. I decided that I had to "stick it out" I did my best to calm my breathing as we penetrated the very large upper deck and swam the length of the ship. I was sticking so close behind my buddy that he gave me a glance or two wondering what I was doing.
I know I was glassy eyed with terror but pressed on. We swam back through the second side of the ship back to the anchor line and slowly made our ascent to a safety stop. I completed the dive and when back on the boat I was soo relieved. I didn't talk about the issue with the others, (mostly because I am only just learning the language and it was impossible to really explain)

I let it go and wondered what in the world went wrong. Thinking it to be some quirk of unexplainable fright or panic I tried to forget it and went home.

Two weeks later I went diving with a friend and the instructor I did my OWD with. The friend was doing his AOWD and allowed me to come along.
We went to a quarry for his deep dive. We went into the water at about 5 meters and the instructor began to swim away in the front (leading the way I guess) with the student, "my buddy" right on his heels. We were swimming fairly fast down into the cold water when at about the same depth I began to have the same feelings of not being able to breathe. Like I was drowning. This time there was no reason to continue so I signaled to my buddy that I was Ok but needed to surface. I tried to tell him to continue with the instructor and enjoy the dive. well, I was slowly ascending when the instructor caught up with me and asked if I was Ok. I gave him the swirling finger by the brain signal as well as Ok. He accompanied me to the surface and I told him I was calling the dive. I couldn't explain but I was not going down again just then. I was ready to quit. I told myself, if I cannot even go to depth without feeling like I am drowning, it is time to sell the gear and stay on the ground. Well, they returned and here I am ready to tell the instructor "I quit" when he asks me, as a statement really, "You are going to try again on the second dive RIGHT?
I said, Yes, sure, I'll try again. This time I explained as wel as I could to him in Czech what I felt and he suggested we do the second dive differently. We swam out to the buoy and slowly descended to depth. 30 meters. I was fine. we signaled ok and began to swim back towards the far end of the quarry. From 30 meters it gradually returns to 5 or so near the shore. The dive lasted around 35 minutes and I was fine.

Okay, all of that to get here. I "think" my problem stems from the feeling of the very cold water that seeps into the mask around my nose. It causes me to feel like I cannot breathe and so then I start to breathe deeper and faster thinking I am not getting enough air. I really do not know but this is my hypothesis. We went back to that same quarry a couple weeks later and began from the shallow end and at about 20 meters I began to have the same feeling. This time I stopped, ascended to about 13 meters and relaxed, got under control and we continued the dive without problem, even to 30 meters and 40 degrees.

I had one other event where I had the same feelings, stopped, calmed myself and continued without problem. All of these happened in very cold water. In the Red Sea, even to 33 meters I had no such feelings. I am trying to figure out the root of the problem. I think it is the fear of drowning and the feeling of discomfort caused by the cold water on and in my nose.

So, I have admitted to not enough practice and this is what I am trying to do about it. Every dive, in shallower water of course. I am practicing removing my mask and getting used to the feeling. Could it be this simple? Am I overlooking something? The instructor tried to explain it by swimming fast and getting a heavy dose of Nitrogen. Is this what has been meant by "dark narcosis" ?

Thanks for taking the time for the long read and for your advice.

TDP
 
Well... practice removing and replacing your mask won't hurt. Tip: Before even starting the dive put your face into the water without your mask on (eyes shut.)
 
So, I have admitted to not enough practice and this is what I am trying to do about it. Every dive, in shallower water of course. I am practicing removing my mask and getting used to the feeling. Could it be this simple? Am I overlooking something? The instructor tried to explain it by swimming fast and getting a heavy dose of Nitrogen. Is this what has been meant by "dark narcosis" ?

Well, I suspect your problem is a combination of self-induced stress and CO2 buildup. When you start to stress out, your breathing pattern changes ... as you noticed. Breathing rapidly ... even though perhaps deeply ... does not allow a sufficient exchange of oxygen for CO2 in your lungs, and the CO2 slowly builds up. Since it's the CO2 that triggers your breathing reflex, this buildup causes you to feel like you're not getting enough air.

The answer is to do what you suggested ... keep practicing your skills and keep your dive profiles shallower. By doing this you will improve your skills and but you will also increase your ability to relax, thus removing the source of the stress that's the root of the problem.

If you should experience it again, signal your buddy that you need to stop for a bit, then just hover (or grab onto something to stabilize yourself if you really need to) and concentrate on breathing deeply and slowly ... allowing a good exchange of O2 for CO2. After about 10 seconds or so the "out of breath" feeling should start to dissipate.

Yes, it could be that simple ... in fact, that's the most common cause of the symptoms you describe.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)
 
I agree with NW. It might well be stress. Since those don't happen on every dive, is it possible you were apprehensive about the dive before you even got into the water? For whatever reason: maybe you felt the dive was beyond your ability or experience? maybe it was the first time you ever dove in that location, so there was some sense of unease about the unfamiliarity? might it even be the depth?

If so, it might help if you return again and again to one dive site, a shallower one than 40 meters, and just dive.

Re: the water in the nose issue, I think I have some idea what you're talking about. You might be unconsciously breathing in that water through your nose instead of breathing only from your mouth through your regulator. Water up your nose feels like you're drowning, at least to me, anyway. It could be that, in which case, try pinching your nose and holding the pinch for as many breaths as you need to see if the drowning feeling continues.

If the pinching works, then you know what to do: practice breathing through your mouth only. The only time you use your nose is to exhale to equalize the mask if you feel a squeeze.

I hear what you're saying about cold water...it has a psychological effect that warm water doesn't. Anyone have any theories about this?

Let us know how you make out.
 
Uncle Pug:
Well... practice removing and replacing your mask won't hurt. Tip: Before even starting the dive put your face into the water without your mask on (eyes shut.)

Thanks,
This instructor also suggested sticking my face in a sink filled with ice-water and breathing through a snorkel. Then take my pulse and see if it elevates. SAme point though. Get used to cold water on the face before someone kicks the mask off in 40 degree water at 40 meters.

:wink:
 
Is water seeping into your mask??? This makes me uncomfortable too, periodically, just blow air through your nose to clear the water. It also helps to shave the morning before the dive. Goodluck..........
 
ShakaZulu:
Is water seeping into your mask??? This makes me uncomfortable too, periodically, just blow air through your nose to clear the water. It also helps to shave the morning before the dive. Goodluck..........

I am getting some seepage, Clearing it normally isn't a problem other than at the time I am trying to equalize, add air as I descend, and watch the depth. Stopping would probably be a good idea :eyebrow:

thanks,
 
Same exact thing happend to me but on 3 separate occasions:
1. 3 yrs ago, after haven't been diving for a while, went to Monterey, CA and dive in the cold water of North CA. Had a panic attacked but then I told myself, just relax and breath, after about 5 minutes or so I was fine.

2. This May, went to Baja, CA for first time freediving spearfishing, first time went down, I could not even get below 10 feet (2 meter?) before I bolted to the surface and breathing hard... told self to calm down and breath. after 10 minutes or so I was fine. Nailed 2 yellowtails 40# each :)

3. This June, went scuba in FL, went down fine, then I looked at my depth gauge, 115 feet !!!!! Hollycow, told self to concentrate on fish, not a problem, breath and ascend slowly, back to the 90 feet or so, and everything was fine after that.

I think the point I tried to make is that with new environments, new setup, you might get a little anxious and have a small panic attack. Normal for human behavior, well for me atleast. For me, I just try to relax, told myself it's not a big deal and I was able to enjoy the dives more. Hopefully with more dives under my belt, I will be able to control my anxiety better.

Oh, forgot about being chased by a 10 feet bull shark, but that's another story :)
 
i'm going to suggest that you're just narced. What you're describing sounds like cold water paranoid narcosis. I've found that when I get 'hit' by that kind of narc that inflating my drysuit a bit more often helps to warm me up and clear things up. Also ascending back to 70 ft / 20m will usually clear it right up (narcosis decreases, drysuit expands and gets warmer). Also, I can often choose to ignore the paranoia, focus on something in the environment and make it go away.

It sounds like you're letting the paranoia spiral out of control, increase your stress levels and possibly add CO2 narcosis to the mix from losing your breathing control.

And it did freak me out the first few times it happened to me before I started to understand how it behaved and how to recognize and control/manage it...
 
I had that happen to me this past Spring in the St Lawrence. On the first dive, it was cold, around 56 degrees, it hit me in the face and on the way down my reg slipped from my mouth a bit and I sucked some water in. I started huffing air, felt on the verge of panic and calling the dive. I was with two buddies with whom I've never dived before. I stopped signaled to them to level off. I closed my eyes and concentrated on slowing my breathing down. I relaxed, felt much better and continued the dive. When that happened I remembered my rescue course mantra: Stop, Breathe, Think then Act. I was fine on all subsequent dives. I was not that deep when it happened, maybe 60 feet or so, so I don't think it was nitrogen narcosis, I felt it was more like cold water panic. The water was cold with pretty good viz 40 feet or so but it was the deep green of the St Lawrence which I think contributed to the panic state I felt. Leveling off, closing my eyes, focusing on my breath was the key to overcoming it for me. I realized my gear was working fine and I had plenty of air. I always like to stop at the surface, relax and blow off CO2 before descending.
 

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