Nervousness

How does someone get over being nervous about diving? Short history...I bought diving lessons for my fiance and they were 2 for 1 so I went ahead and did it. I am not a fan of water. I like boats but not fast ones. I can swim, but not really one to horse around in water that I cant stand it. Tried diving once in Okinawa years ago, with other certified divers, but didnt like the bubbles and couldnt stay down. Not to mention that it was rough seas. Not smart, I know. Young and stupid. So here I am now. Certified. Got my open water in California. It was alright. Dont like the night diving that much. Went again on another live aboard out of Miami to the Bahamas. Had fun, but got caught in a drift and surfaced when I was low on air and found the boat WAY far away. Panic. Thank God for airhorns. The rest of the trip I was worried about the location of the boat the whole time. Navigation courses are definetly something I need. So here we are planning our next dive trip. Decided on Cozumel since we are getting married there anyway. A year away and I am already nervous. Got more nervous to hear it was all drift diving. How does someone get over the feeling of not being secure? I am not sure diving was a sport for me, but I am determined to get past my fears. I look forward to our trips and thank God everytime I surface, but my nervousness is nerve racking. Any tips? Any ideas?

From your post, I can't tell if you are enjoying the actual diving you're doing.

But assuming you are, and are nervous about specific parts of diving (ascents, rough water, etc.), I would say maybe do some easy dives (lakes or calm coves) to gain confidence in your diving and work on getting the basics down pat. Then start challenging yourself bit by bit, and continue to do skills practice.

BTW (and I'm sure you know this) if you don't think night diving is for you, just skip it.

Sounds like you've had some challenging experiences.

The best way to get over your nervousness is to dive more. From the sounds of what you have described above, it sounds like you've done some fairly advanced diving relative to the number of dives you have logged. The air horn incident sounds particularly scary, and it sounds like your caution about drift diving is justified.

What I would recommend for you is to get out and do some dives. They don't have to be drift dives, they don't have to be deep dives. It's really just a question of getting time in the water. The more time you have under water, the more comfortable you will be when you get to Cozumel (Congrats on the wedding, btw). You've got a year, which is a long time. If you get out for even 3 dives a month between now and then, you would have 36 more dives, which would do wonders to increase your condfidence under the water.

Cozumel is, with few exceptions, a drift diving location. Don't let that cause you anxiety. If you work with your fiance on your diving, and have confidence in each other, you will do fine on your drift dives. Number one on that list is that you should agree to stick together, so that you have the two of you together in the event of a separation. Obviously, staying with the group is helpful in a drift dive scenario, but if you get separated from the group, there are things you can do to make yourself more visible to the boat(s).

On the liveaboard, it sounds like you were well prepared for the separation that occurred, having the air horn. There are other safety precautions you can take to make yourself more visible in the event of separation from the boat during a drift dive. I'd recommend carrying a signal tube in a highly visible color (international orange is a favorite color of mine), and a whistle. These 2 items can be had for less than $30, and make finding you one heck of a lot easier should you get separated from your group. It's a lot easier to find the six foot orange tube that's making loud whistling noises than it is to find a diver's head.

Equipment aside, it's really practice that is going to make you more comfortable. Get out there and dive, dive, dive. Doesn't matter if it's in a pond, a quarry, a river, or the ocean. The more you dive, the more comfortable you will become.

~Will

Very few divers are natural when they start. It takes practice to get better. So go out there and practice. Take a reliable, experienced buddy along and have fun.

Don't worry about not liking night diving. Nobody's forcing you to. My wife doesn't like it either. No problem.

First, if you are not comfortable and diving is not something YOU really want to do, then you probably should rethink your participation in the sport. Don't dive to make someone ELSE happy. I see this ALOT in parents with their children and spouses/significant others.

A common expression that resounds with me and many of my instructor friends/colleagues is that a safe diver is a comfortable and conscientious diver. A dangerous diver is a nervous or over-confident/complacent diver.

If however, diving is something that you really want to do for yourself…here are some things to think about and some options.

1. Further your training with an instructor…sign up for private instruction so you can get the one-on-one attention

2. Hire a private divemaster/instructor to dive with you until you are more comfortable and build your confidence a little more

3. Don’t automatically let the term “drift diving” scare you. All this means is that there is a current (very mild to strong) and the boat follows you. I call it lazy diving…all you have to do is obtain neutral buoyancy, and let the current carry you the rest of the way. Most often in Cozumel, you won’t even notice the current…it just gives you a little boost so you don’t have to work at all.

4. Be TOTALLY honest and upfront with the operator/divemaster about your concerns, experiences, and comfort level. DO NOT let them force you into a situation you are not comfortable with.

5. Schedule a check-out/refresher dive in your destination prior to doing your first group outing…this will give you a chance to get comfortable and acclimated to your equipment and to see if/where you are having difficulties. The DM/instructor can work with you on these problems.

I feel like I left something out…but these tips will get you started.

Good luck, have fun, be safe…and don’t do it if you’re not comfortable with it. Diving is not for everyone and it doesn’t make you less of a person just weird…haha…just kidding of course

My fiance is the only person that makes me calm. He is the type of person that can do anything. So him being calm, cool and collected is great for me. He was the person who thought of the air horn. I was too busy being stupid to think of mine. We do have the safety sausages too. Cant say we thought of those then or even to this day.
As for diving more often. We really cant. We have 3 kids that go to a year round school. We are both in school now, along with work. Plus no money. So that is tough.
I took classes through SSI. I liked the way they took 6 weeks to teach you. I feel comfortable with all the emergency procedures. Not taking off my mask underwater though. Still dont like it. We practice in their pool a couple of times before we go diving because we can only go once a year. There isnt anyplace here in Arizona that I would want to go besides a pool.
Having all of our own equipment is a big plus. Dont have to worry about trying anything new. Or worring about it not working.
I am okay in the water as long as I am under control of my situation. Worrying about the boat ruins alot of dives. If I am not comfortable I dont go. There was a drift wall dive in the Bahamas that I wasnt comfortable going in. I didn't like the fact that everyone was hurrying to all go in at the same time. The wall started at 90 feet too. That just isn't for me. I did try another night dive in the Bahamas. It was alright seeing all the lobsters, but not seeing more than what my light put out isnt good for someone who is claustrophobic like me.
I like 40-60 feet. Calm water. And lots of fishy right around the anchor. That is the ideal dive.

BabyAnnaRe:

How does someone get over being nervous about diving? Short history...I bought diving lessons for my fiance and they were 2 for 1 so I went ahead and did it. I am not a fan of water. I like boats but not fast ones. I can swim, but not really one to horse around in water that I cant stand it. Tried diving once in Okinawa years ago, with other certified divers, but didnt like the bubbles and couldnt stay down. Not to mention that it was rough seas. Not smart, I know. Young and stupid. So here I am now. Certified. Got my open water in California. It was alright. Dont like the night diving that much. Went again on another live aboard out of Miami to the Bahamas. Had fun, but got caught in a drift and surfaced when I was low on air and found the boat WAY far away. Panic. Thank God for airhorns. The rest of the trip I was worried about the location of the boat the whole time. Navigation courses are definetly something I need. So here we are planning our next dive trip. Decided on Cozumel since we are getting married there anyway. A year away and I am already nervous. Got more nervous to hear it was all drift diving. How does someone get over the feeling of not being secure? I am not sure diving was a sport for me, but I am determined to get past my fears. I look forward to our trips and thank God everytime I surface, but my nervousness is nerve racking. Any tips? Any ideas?

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Unless I've misinterpreted, it sounds like you don't like the water, much less diving.

Its not for everyone.

Its perfectly acceptable to go on a dive trip with a diver and NOT DIVE. Hang out on the shore, snorkel (my mom does that when my dad dives)

As for being determined to get past your fears, good luck, but diving isn't the way to do it.

If, on the other hand, you like diving, the more you do it, the easier it will get. Make sure you have a plan for each dive and stick to it. Go slow.

I enjoy diving. I am always glad that I do it. I still get excited by going and by thinking about going. I get excited when I talk to other people about it. It is the water that I dont like. I have a pool in my backyard. This whole summer I think I was in it maybe 10 times. Once was to save my dog. My fiance has no problem going with other people if I dont feel comfortable so me not diving is something I have done. Any dive that starts at 70+ feet I dont do. Out of the week long live aboard, I only did one night dive. Just to be sure I dont like them. I didn't so I didn't go again. I think once I learn navigation I would be alright. Maybe I could just anchor myself to the anchor so I can always find my way back. Then I wouldn't be worried at all.

I can undestand your fears. I was the same way when I started. But I love to dive and diving with my husband is the best. My husband has been diving for about 23 years, and I have only 2 years.

My first day of class, my instructor ask if I was doing this for me or for my husband. Well, it was for me, but I had a couple of fears. The major one is snakes. When I see one on land, I go into a major panic attack. Well, imagine what would happen under water. Before my first open water dive, my instructor talked to be about this. To make a long story short, it took a great deal of work to get past this. I still do not like them, but when I see them, I simply go the other way and think of something else.

Back to the relax. For me, I like to be the first in the water so I have plenty of time to make sure I am breathing correctly, have everything in order, and ready to drop down.

As for Cozumel and drift diving.....my first drift dive was in March when we went to Coz. I also was nervous and not sure what to expect. Well, it was a very pleasant surprise how easy and fun it was. However, we did go back in August and some days the current was very strong. I could of gone into a panic, but the main thing to do is stop and think for a second. Stay calm and follow what you have been taught.

I have to agree, the more diving you , the less nervous you will get. Hope this helps.

Hi,
I've been to Cozumel last year and did 9 great dives there. I was a little scared because the last dive I did was a few weeks before in Costa Rica and I had trouble getting down (a little panic attack on the surface---bad visibility, one year without diving and it was only my 20th dive) but everything went well in Cozumel. They call it drift dives but like Christy said, it's more like "lazy diving". You start from one point and the boat is picking you at the end of the dive and the worst that has happen to me was that when the current was stronger, I did not have time to take photographs of a nice fish I just spotted because I was already away. All the divers were drifting at the same speed so we did not get lost and if you keep your eyes on your buddy and DM, you won't get lost. Also, try to pick small groups so that the DMs will be able to keep the group together but really, I thought Cozumel was easy diving and beautiful.

As for the advices, like the others said: tell the DMs that you are a little nervous... I generally like to be first in the water (holding to the boat so I don't drift away) so that I have time to take deep breaths and relax in the water with my equipment before going down...that really took away any before-dive stress.
Apparently, visualisation of yourself during the dive is helping too.
I used to be a little nervous everytime before the dives and now, I did 50 dives in the past 6 months (did my advance course in Montreal-cold cold water and did ~40 dives in Utila and Roatan in april and july) and I am really feeling more confident-- no more anxiety.
If you like the sport enough to try to overcome the fear, more diving will probably help you so that trip to Coz will hopefully give you a little more confidence. For your first dive as a strong suggestion: do an easy shore dive at ~20 feet with your boyfriend, don't go right in the ocean, especially if you haven't dive since a year. All the boat rides were not very long (max 30 minutes) in Coz so that's good for you. Also, try to choose dive sites that are easy to intermediate and don't dive if you are really not feeling like it. In the meantime, don't stress in advance (we ahve so many stress sources in our life already--this should be an exciting vacation with the wedding and everything--not too stressfull), do some yoga or relaxation!

As your next destination: I suggest Roatan, it's easy good diving and unexpensive and west end was pretty cool. Remember to always breath and when you feel anxious, over or underwater, just hold to your buddy, close your eyes and breath, relax yourself...diving has brought me some self control that I didn't have knew that I needed, I love it! It's the greatest hobby...
Congrats for the wedding!