How to not Panic?

[xeptra]

I've had a few incidents where I've run out of breath without a reg and panicked. For instance:
Situation 1) I was in my OW class in a pool session and we were doing Buddy Breathing, my reg was out of my mouth and i was breathing out slowly. My buddy took a bit to find her alternate, and it turns out the hose was way to short. When this was happening I ran out of air, couldn't clear my reg (didn't even think of pushing the purge) and went up. I should have kept a cooler head and thought it through but didn't. I'm not to hard on myself for that becasue it was my first time doing anything like that.
Situation 2) This weekend I was diving with a rented reg set and when I was down about 5-10 feet the primary filled complelty with water when I breathed in, essentially I inhaled alot of water. I spit the reg out and looked for my alternate. When I couldn't find it quick enough I surfaced. This should not have happened. I panicked too easily. I'm just glad it wasn't deeper. I'm kinda embarressed by it, but to be honost I need advice on how to handle myself better in these situations.

They are both situations in which I had no air left to clear the reg and always forget about clearing the reg by pushing the purge. Is there any advice you can give me about better preparing for these situations? Is there anyway to practice this? The thing is I need to practice it with an element of surprise. If I know it's coming I can be more prepared. Would it be out of line or unethical to ask my Instructor to shut my air off in the middle of a training dive or pull my reg out? Sounds evil and insane i know, but it's the only thing I can think of that would be like those situatuions and let me deal with them in the water. Thanks for any advice you can offer.

 

[Blue982]

I'm no expert, but my thought in both cases is that if you can't breathe, your (and anyone's) logical thinking goes down the drain pretty fast. In normal situations, instead of clearing your reg with an exhaled breath, do it with the purge button. That way, when you only have time (or only give yourself time) to take one action, it will be one that does not depend on how much air you have in your lungs.

 

[Lee Taylor]

I think at this point I would develop a habit of putting the reg in my mouth, closing my throat, and pushing the purge button. Do this every time you put the reg in your mouth. Do it above the surface and below.

 

[JonBath]

Yeah, Just get into the habit of pressing the purge button everytime you put the reg in your mouth until it becomes so ingrained it becomes an instinctual response. As for the panicking, it comes with practice and experience. Consider them learning opportunities. Next time you'll know what not to do at least.

 

[apertyx]

From what you've written, I wouldn't advise anyone to EVER knock your reg out or turn off your air -- if your panic sets in, you could aspirate a lungful of water, or shoot for the surface again and really do some damage.

Both times you talk about not finding the alternate, and perhaps you might want to spend some time getting to know exactly where those are: both yours and your buddy's. Alternate air source drills do that, and you can practice that with your buddy at any time with your reg in and in no danger. As well, you can switch back and forth between your primary and your alternate during a dive at random times, until you're sure you know exactly where to find that one every time as well. IMHO, making those two moves second nature by constant practice is more likely to benefit you in a real situation than trying to "create" a panic situation: when you panic for real, wouldn't it be nice to know your brain knows EXACTLY where to find that second source of air? Just my opinion...

One more thing, and I think this is very important as well. NEVER be embarrassed - diving is a constant learning curve, and every situation is new to YOU when it happens. The trick is to be so prepared that you're not even consciously aware you're doing something to correct it - no different than adding or venting air from your bcd as you dive. Good luck - let us know how you make out!

 

[LeadTurn_SD]

Hi xeptra,

First, don't let your experiences "scare you away" from diving. Being underwater is an unnatural act, and it takes good training, practice, and then experience in order to control your natural reflex to "bolt for sky and seagulls" when something goes wrong underwater.

1.) Free diving (skin diving, snorkeling) used to be taught in more detail in years past as part of scuba training. Among other things, it allows you to get used to and accept an occasional mouthful of water and know that you are still "OK".

2.) As far as your current training: Air sharing needs to be "down cold" between you and your buddy. You and they need to know how to find/provide the backup regulator (octopus) with their eyes closed. It should be in muscle memory, no fumbling and searching required. This goes for finding your own backup regulator in the event your primary reg has a problem.

3.) The more you dive and practice, the easier all of this becomes. I'm assuming you are already certified, if not my apologies, but.... If your core skills like reg clearing, buoyancy control, mask clearing, air sharing, trim, weighting, etc., seem at all "shaky", you need to spend some more quality one-on-one time with an instructor. It will be well worth it as far as safety and comfort in the water are concerned.

Best wishes.

 

[Saudi-Diver]

I would advocate doing lots of snorkeling, then you will get used to the occasional mouthful of water. Doing lots of Regulator recovery drills using the purge button to clear the reg would help as well.

Also while I am diving or snorkeling I tend to keep the tip of my tongue in the roof of my mouth, just behind my front teeth, that makes a little barrier to decelerate the water particles that may come through the snorkel or the regulator. It seems to protect the airway a little from water inhalation.

 

[TSandM]

I would say that, every time you get in the water, you need to repeatedly practice regulator exchange. Drop your primary, pick up your alternate and put it in your mouth and purge it; take a couple of breaths, and sweep for the primary and put it back and purge it. As you get more and more comfortable with this, try dropping the alternate BEFORE you recover the primary. I would suggest beginning this in the pool. Do it until you are comfortable with a regulator out of your mouth, you can find your alternate with your eyes shut, and you don't even have to think about purging the reg.

This will help with the situations that made you panic, but they do not address the tendency to panic. Somehow, you have to get it out of your mind that the best strategy when you are stressed is to bolt for the surface. One thing that may help is getting your skills down cold. But outside of setting up situations to be stressed and coping with them (which has been a lot of my training) I'm not sure how to extinguish the reflex to bolt.

 

[xeptra]

Thank you all for your advice so far. I will definitly practice purging the regulator until it becomes second nature to me. I will also practice switching the primary for the alternate and becoming ulta familiar with my gear set up. It has definitly been a learning exprience. I wouldn't have let it scare me from diving though. I love it too much! I just needed some advice on how to overcome this obstacle.

 

[Bronson]

I like the idea of speaking with an instructor that you feel comfortable with and practicing in a pool. That is their job. As others said learn to switch between reg, alternate air source and the snorkel exchange is a good idea. Then remember your training when a problem occurs so it is natural. I like the idea of owning my own equipment because i know where it has been and how it is maintained and handled.