Worried about diving again

Hi guys, I've just signed up as I could really do with some help please...

On my last holiday around a year ago I witnessed a fatality on a dive trip (medical not accidental). I'd only done 20 dives at that point, was abroad on my own, and it really really shook me. I got back in the water before the end of my holiday and although I was nervous, after a few dives I felt like I got my confidence back (although thinking about it I was probably still in shock).

The thing is, I've booked a liveaboard in the Maldives for this month, and I cant stop thinking about things going wrong. I'm really anxious for my safety. Especially as I've heard about the strong currents there and have been reading various accident threads etc. I couldn't wait to go but now it's nearly here I'm scared rigid.

So I just wanted to ask if you have any advice, I want to be excited about my holiday and diving again, not tearing up at the thought of it

I'm no expert, but I would encourage you to do a couple things:

1) Go diving in a pool before your vacation. Or in some EASY place to dive. Take a friend or hire an instructor. Maybe start just by swimming. Confront your fear step by easy step.

2) Don't force yourself to jump into diving in a challenging location before you have built up some confidence -- and most of all, some relaxation about it.

3) Start the diving on vacation with EASY-PEASY dives. Go back into it slowly. Consider hiring a guide or an instructor to go with you on some of the first (all?) the Maldives dives.

4) Finally, consider not diving any more, or not diving for a longer time. I know this is heresy on this board, but there are many things in life that are good and satisfying and interesting, diving is one of them. But there are many others. There's nothing that says you HAVE to dive.


Hope that helps. Let us know how it goes!

Bill

You simply need to gain confidence in your skills. Hire a DM to dive with you and express your anxiety and concerns with him or her.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 2

Hi Finner1,
Bill is right, you don't have to dive. But if we stopped doing everything people die doing we couldn't even sleep. I'm old enough that I think about how many people die of heart attacks while diving. But people die of heart attacks while driving too! Current is just fun unless you have to swim against it. And I'm not paying any boat operator that wants me to swim against the current. When shore diving I study things very carefully to make sure I have a way out if the current is a problem.

Seeing people die is hard. We have tow trucks so I have seen my share. But it is good to remember that we all die. This does not make me crazy enough to rent a scooter on Cozumel. There are limits!

Brian

Any activity is scary if you focus just on the negatives and risks. Gotta keep things in perspective, and realize that while accidents do happen they are pretty rare, and that a lot of your safety is in your own control. Statistically, scuba is a very safe activity. Way safer than driving

billt4sf:

I'm no expert, but I would encourage you to do a couple things:

1) Go diving in a pool before your vacation. Or in some EASY place to dive. Take a friend or hire an instructor. Maybe start just by swimming. Confront your fear step by easy step.

Click to expand...

+1 on the pool dives!

I only have 6 dives in, and due to circumstances beyond my control, I can't do any OW diving at present. However, I have tagged along with the LDS and have done pool dives while they did their OW pool dives. Get in the pool with a plan to practice some skills. Try frog kicks, dive on your side/back, dive with just one fin, try to look at guages without your mask, try an underwater remove/replace, and I'm sure others can suggest more things to do. Basically, the point of doing all that is it will get your mind focused on the tasks at hand and give you something to do, while at the same time you're re-gaining confidence and improving your skills. And I'd be willing to bet that after a couple pool dives with diverse skills practice, your anxiety will be much reduced, if not gone altogether.

I've had a similar experience, although there were no fatalities. My first time whitewater rafting, I saw a raft flip, and we pulled the people into our raft. One of them had a pretty good bloody nose, but it freaked me out a bit. But later on when I was older (I was in my early teens at the time), I was able to whitewater raft again on several occasions... and I have been in a raft that flipped... and on two separate occasions. You just have to give yourself time and ease back into it.

billt4sf:

I'm no expert, but I would encourage you to do a couple things:

1) Go diving in a pool before your vacation. Or in some EASY place to dive. Take a friend or hire an instructor. Maybe start just by swimming. Confront your fear step by easy step.

2) Don't force yourself to jump into diving in a challenging location before you have built up some confidence -- and most of all, some relaxation about it.

3) Start the diving on vacation with EASY-PEASY dives. Go back into it slowly. Consider hiring a guide or an instructor to go with you on some of the first (all?) the Maldives dives.

4) Finally, consider not diving any more, or not diving for a longer time. I know this is heresy on this board, but there are many things in life that are good and satisfying and interesting, diving is one of them. But there are many others. There's nothing that says you HAVE to dive.


Hope that helps. Let us know how it goes!

Bill

Click to expand...

Great advice. Diving should be fun, and so should a vacation. Start slow and easy, save the challenging stuff for when you are ready.

Work your way through Rescue Cert. It will help you understand and deal with bad situations.

Reggie in NC


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

Rescue Diver might be a good long-term option. Diving training pre-Rescue tends to insulate students from harsh realities. On those very rare occasions when something does go wrong, that causes a bigger shock...and greater post-incident anxiety, simply because you weren't expecting it. Rescue, with a very good instructor, puts those realities into focus, but also gives you the confidence to deal with them.

Enjoy your holiday - once you get in the water on your atoll you'll have plenty of wonderful distractions. Do explain your circumstances and potential anxiety to your divemaster - and don't be shy to ask for special consideration.

First, the incident you witnessed was due to a medical condition and therefore could have happened while sitting in a pub, driving a car or (my favorite) while making love. Would you stop doing any of the above? Not trying to belittle your fear, but it was not a true dive death IMHO.

Do take the advice of others. Get in some non-challenging dives before the trip, take a rescue course before you leave, or start your holiday with some easy dives or a divemaster to accompany you.

I once had an unexpected out-of-air situation... my tank valve's debris tube clogged and delivered no air at 80 ft. For months after that, I experienced some anxiety while descending but was fine at depth. Based on that I can relate to your anxiety.