How to get over this fear!

[Kellykins]

Hey

Doing my Padi confined dive 4 on monday...and a little bit worried about skin diving!
I've always had a phobia of "diving" underwater.

It's fine with the scuba but this is without it...!!

So anyone know how i can over come this fear =\??

[D_B]

Is this with a mask on?

... much like other fears, you can get past this ... good instruction and practice builds confidence .. practice with your instructor near and the problem will be less severe knowing someone you trust is right there

I was very worried about the treading water part because I remember having so much trouble doing it as a kid
... I told my instructor and he gave me tips/told me what to expect .... turned out to be not as much of a deal at all :)

[ScubaRich]

Not to worry, Is your fear holding your breath or not being comfortable with a snorkel?

[Kellykins]

Uh well since I were little, I've always been scared of going head first. Like when you have to dive to get a bean bag.

I've never been able to actually lift my self up to swim down.

Fear of drowning really!

[NoVaScuba]

Breathing with the snorkel isn't very different than with a regulator. You just have to remember to hold your breath (after getting used to NOT holding it) when you go under. You don't have to stay down long and clearing the snorkel is just like clearing a reg, a sharp exhale (which you'll need to do anyway) and a cautious inhale.

I'm not minimizing your fear, I'm just pointing out that it's not as different from what you've been practicing as it seems.

[Kellykins]

Won't you just float back up if you hold your breath?

[captain]

Don't take this personally but I feel a person should be completely comfortable in the water before even thinking about scuba. Scuba may mask the fear but when things go wrong the fear returns along with panic.

[Kellykins]

Don't take this personally but I feel a person should be completely comfortable in the water before even thinking about scuba. Scuba may mask the fear but when things go wrong the fear returns along with panic.

I'm fine in water. I can swim fine, tread water etc.
It's just going head first that I don't like.

[NoVaScuba]

Have you practiced a horizontal descent in your SCUBA gear yet? Going a little head down in that might help you get used to it.

You might have to just brace yourself to do it and try in spite of the fear. Don't think about it too much ahead of time, you'll just work yourself up even more.

[Kellykins]

No never done it with the scuba gear.
i'll just stay positive and see how it goes.

[Hoomi]

The "head first" phobia may be due to a subconscious concern about smacking face-first into the bottom of the pool, which can be a very real concern when diving from the side of a pool.

If you have a local pool you can swim laps in, you might try doing laps while snorkeling. I do this at our local YMCA, primarily to work the leg muscles with the fins, and no one seems to have any problem with using the gear in the pool. From time to time, I go ahead and submerge and skim along the bottom. For working through your phobia, you could try this and just work on a quick shallow dive and right back to the surface. This way, you're getting small doses of the phobia response, rather than a longer experience.

This is how professional therapists work with patients to get beyond phobias - small steps at a time. An arachnaphobe would be exposed to photos of spiders at first, then, when they've brought the fear response under control in that situation, to spiders safely confined behind glass. The fear is dealt with progressively until the person can handle spiders in their personal space, and eventually, until they can allow a spider to crawl on them without feeling the fear and panic of the phobia.

In most cases, the biggest step in dealing with a phobia is to understand and admit that - while the fear is real, it's an irrational fear. Knowing the reality of our fear helps us to work through it. Each time we accomplish even a minor situation where we've worked through our fear, it helps weaken that fear's hold on us. We gain confidence that we are capable of handling the thing or the situation we are afraid of, and rather than our fear mastering us, we become the master of our fears.

[AZFlyingDiver]

It's good that you know what you want to work on, and just like anything else it can definitely be conquered one step at a time :-) Maybe just starting in the shallow end of a pool with snorkel gear gear and getting comfortable with simply floating face-down as normal and then swimming down to touch the bottom and back up. Really just a few times and you'll be able to naturally swim down more deeply - "doing it before you know it" (btw, worked for me). You're already in good shape staying positive - good luck! :-)

[Kellykins]

Was chatting with someone on the chat and apparantly you don't do the skin diving in confined dive 4!
Fingers crossed!

[Jim Lapenta]

As I recall that's correct. And that's a shame. Skin diving and swimming skills should be covered before allowing anyone on scuba.

[Kellykins]

Yeah. I'll just practicum next time I'm swimming. I'm okay at swimming.

[roturner]

Kelly,

Why do you have this feeling? You said fear of drowning but to get through this you need to dig a layer deeper than that. Why do you have the feeling that you're going to drown if you're head down?

R..

[diver 85]

Hey

Doing my Padi confined dive 4 on monday...and a little bit worried about skin diving!
I've always had a phobia of "diving" underwater.

It's fine with the scuba but this is without it...!!

So anyone know how i can over come this fear =\??


take up skydiving---almost never water involved, unless you hit the lake on a landing...

[smellzlikefish]

You simply need to get in a pool and do it. Forget your fear and follow the instructions given above. Skindiving should be a precursor to scuba, since many of the sub-basic and even unconscious skills of scuba are usually learned while skin-diving (for example, descending, the feeling of being underwater, weightlessness, clearing your breathing tube etc.). If you run into problems with your snorkel, you can always lift your head about water, take the snorkel out, take a breath and try it again. If you have problems with your regulator, that is not really an option.

[dwhthediver]

The skin dive does need to be done, whether you do it on confined 4 or 5 isn't as important as talking to your instructor and having them help you get comfortable doing it, stan in the shallow end and just put your face underwater till you are comfortable, then while still in the shallow end, float with your face in the water while breathing off your snorkel, then move to the deep end doing the float and snorkel, and finally dive to the bottom. Working up to the skin dive slowly will help allay your fear.

[Kellykins]

I didn't do it today!

Left home all fine and dandy...but came home with a cut to both knees and a bump to the head ¬.¬!

[CamG]

Hello Kelly I hope you are ok. I know that phobia's can be a real pain but stick to your guns. You can overcome this just take small steps and commit to seeing it through. Once your mind is made up to whip it, it is over! That is where phobias die when we determine to leave them behind they loose there power over us. Do not be surprised if your fears become your strengths. It is mind over matter once you conquer these issues you will feel empowered and confident. Good luck and stay positive! Keep us posted.
CamG Keep diving....keep training....keep learning!:)

[Jim Lapenta]

How deep is the friggin pool?

[Tom Winters]

I had a bunch of near-drowning experiences from both scuba diving and surfing. A couple of OOA ascents from 80' and 90', but it was the surfing stuff that really almost got me - this was in Hawaii in the big stuff.
Trust me - even when you're past the point where you know you're not gonna make it to the surface, a lot of times, you actually get pleasantly surprised to see the sun again.
So if no one is shooting at you and there's no big shadows blasting by you in the murk, hey - how bad can it be?

[k ellis]

The skin dive in Padi was alot easier then its made out to be. Just pay attention to whats taught and go through it. Just remember that no matter how bad it seems you only have to complete it once :)