Does scuba diving ever freak you out?

[bookymad]

The more I read from this forum, the more I realize that really, the best way to be prepared is to know your game from the get-go.

I mean, I never paid any attention to scuba diving till I took it up, and started reading this board, but, it seems that the most common variable here all kinds of things do actually happen. That kinds of freaks me out in a way. I mean, here I was thinking that I'll never ever dive solo, and will always rely on a buddy, but still, even that doesn't seem good enough. You literally never know what will happen.

I had no idea how "dangerous" scuba diving is. Once I'm certified, if ever, I do plan to join dive groups, and practice on weekends as often as possible, and hopefully find a person willing to "mentor" me or at least babysit till I really am comfortable with it and hopefully correct any learned behavior that I might have picked up if it's wrong (of course, I will make sure that every behavior I do has a reason and hopefully will be correct in the first place, but you know what I meant).

I plan to be one of those kind of diver where I will be conscientious as possible and paranoid enough to make sure that the situation is really ok with my buddy and myself.

Still, it freaks me out how easily even experienced people panic. I get it, I'm not bashing them, I totally understand where the fear is coming from, but at the same time, for a newbie like me who's yet to even become certified, it's kind of scary. I'm not asking for reassurance here. And I get why so many of you scuba dive. I got that glimpse into it, but at the same time, doesn't it ever freak you guys out how quickly in a heartbeat your situation could change? I don't know. I don't know why I'm even posting this. It's just scary to me that even in 50', that's a whole lot of water over your head, what if you react wrongly? What if you misunderstood something? I could go on forever. And you know, not that many people out there are really prepared to deal with it! They may or may not have had the drills, but, still......and some of them are really not quite aware that they may not be ready and they go and jump overboard with all kind of situations.

I hesitate to post this as well, but I think that I also resent the fact that the responsibility ultimately rests on me. Don't get me wrong, I'm not the type to be flaky for this kind of "sport" or "activity", but at the same time, it seems kind of overwhelming that, wow, only I can figure out what to do. Or with a buddy if I'm lucky enough to be diving with a responsible one. Is that so bad to say that? That I resent it? I'm sure that with experience and knowledge, it'll melt away, but right now, honestly, eh.

Anyway, I really don't know why I even wrote this post. I guess it's just that this board is such an eye-opener that it's freaking me out a bit.

 

[Scubaguy62]

It's obvious you have a lot of reservations, and some skepticism. In it of istelf, skepticism, fear, aprehension, whatever you wish to call it, is healthy in a twisted kind of way; it keeps you from doing something stupid. Better yet, it keeps you within a given and personal comfort zone. If I had to put my finger on what you're feeling, I'd sum it up in four words "fear of the unknown."

There's nothing wrong with fear. There is however, something very wrong if you sucumb to fear. Fear can keep you sharp, as much as it can do you in. The thing to remember about how to apply it to scuba diving, is to always plan your dive, then dive your plan; always dive within the limits of your training and experience; never, ever, let someone tell you "it's ok," if you feel inside it isn't.

In flying there's a saying that pretty much sums it up; "there are old pilots, there are bold pilots. But there are no old, bold pilots." It's the same in scubadiving.

Keep yourself fit for diving, safe, and above all, trained and knowledgeable. This way, you will be better equipped, both mentally and physically, to handle fear, within your comfort zone, which will eventually expand, as you gain knowledge and experience.

 

[Damselfish]

Note that people will often post about a more "unique" dive where something went wrong. People post about an extremely low percentage of the dives where it was just another dive that went fine. Kinda like how the nightly news is mostly full of bad stuff yet most people have gone on living their lives uneventfully that day. So don't start having nightmares based on what you read here, you'd be getting the wrong impression and it's definitely counterproductive.

There's lessons to be learned when stuff happens (and to be sure, every last little thing will get analyzed to death on SB, because that's just what people do here.) But the reality is that diving is pretty safe. And if things start to go wrong, most people deal with it well enough. I don't think it's true that even experienced people easily panic, I'm not sure where you got that idea. I'm pretty sure there's statistics around that say recreational diving is safer than driving on the highway during rush hour, or bowling, or something to that effect.

You won't find a lot of people diving that are freaked about about being under the water or whatever. Lots of people have a hard time with some aspect of it at first, that's normal. But usually anyone who is freaked out about the whole thing and can't get past it, either doesn't finish certification (if they even start) or doesn't stick with diving. Lots of people do drop out for lots of reasons.

 

[TSandM]

Well, you can read all the "Accident and Incident" threads, and get the idea that we're all coping with emergencies on a daily basis.

Or you can read the many threads on how awful modern training is, and realize that poorly trained and prepared people survive a great many dives without incident.

The fact is that we can't breathe underwater, and we're dependent on equipment to allow us to go there, and sometimes things happen. When you are a brand new diver, you're maxed out just being there and managing weighty issues like buoyancy. That's why the first dives should be shallow and easy, and preferably in the company of an experienced person who serves as a solid, quiet benchmark.

But every person on SB who has 100 dives or more has survived being a newbie. All of us have been clumsy, awkward, stupid at times, and probably have lived through things that should have caused accidents. (I know I did!) Some are quicker than others, and some are more confident than others, but we were all new divers once.

You posted before that you totally freaked out about going underwater on your OW dives. If your fear of doing this is pervasive and persistent, you either need more preparation time, or you need to think long and hard about why you want to dive. Rarely do problems underwater kill or harm divers. What causes the harm is either major lack of skill, or worse, panic. You can work through a lot of things if you stay calm. You can get hurt from something ridiculously minor if you lose your composure. Being able to stop and THINK is critical, and if you are being pushed up against your panic threshold simply by being underwater, anything that goes wrong may be too much.

Just an anecdote -- On my 3rd OW dive of my life, I got separated on descent from my instructor, in about 10 foot viz. I got disoriented in midwater and began to tumble, and landed on the bottom on my back, all by myself. This was not optimal. But I sat up, thought about my situation, knew I had tons of air and a working regulator, knew I was at 45 feet, which was fine, and knew my instructor was never going to find me. I did a controlled ascent, and at no time during the whole experience was I particularly frightened. I had air, I had a protocol I had been taught that I could implement, and all was -- more or less -- well.

That's the mindset you want to be able to have. Keep up with the basic training until you feel that way.

 

[spectrum]

Anyway, I really don't know why I even wrote this post. I guess it's just that this board is such an eye-opener that it's freaking me out a bit.

You said it, now your eye's are open. Many enter this sport naive and uncommited.

Now go get ceertified by a good instructor. That training will fill in the blanks with incident avoidance and recovery techniques and this will all begin to be manageable.

Make no mistake there are risks in this sport just as in every acitivity and while drowning is a posibility geting hit by a car is unlikely so some of it is an exchange. A heart atack can take you no matter where you are.

Your plan to become certified, dive often and seek out a mentor is spot on. That is exactly what worked out for me. I set a personal goal to make 50 dives in my first year, I surpassed 100. I know what it is to call a dive on shore and in the water for a number of reasons and it is every divers perogative.

Become Open Water certified, dive a bit, do AOW and ASAP do the Rrscue Diver course. In some cases doing rescue before AOW is even an option since rescue involves very little "diving". It will depend on you, your agency and instructor but it may be an option. The course is very much about anticipating and preventing problems as well as dealing with incidents and accidents.

Hanging around here will do you a world of good. Remember that for every incident, accident or dificulty you read about there are 1000s of students and divers enjoying the sport without dificulty.

Good luck and we hope to be seeing a lot more of you.

Pete

 

[Kunk35]

Booky, are you trying to talk yourself into Scuba diving, or out of it?

You said several times that you didn't know why you were posting this. If you don't need reassurance, then what are you needing from the responses to your post?

I'm not trying to be insensitive, just want you to think about what is going on in your head. Did someone talk you into diving? Or is it something you've always wanted to do? What made you interested in diving?

I thought here recently that I might have the desire to get into public service diving after I get some experience. I went to that subforum, posted some questions, read a bunch of links the other divers sent me, saw a show the other day about PSD's on the science channel, and I've pretty much decided that I don't have as much desire to do that as I thought. Nothing wrong with that. It just might not be for me.

So, back to my point, why do you want to be a diver?

Good luck and most of all, enjoy what you are doing!

Kory

 

[spectrum]

bookymad,

Post 6 from Kunk35 jogged my memory, it's early here. I think you have mentioned in your earlier posts that you do want to dive and that you are doing this for yourself but it is a "stretch goal" and there is nothing wrong with that.

After looking at the prior threads you have opened I think you do need to step back. You state that you are not yet certified but you are in the process. Your work so far should be putting some of your concerns at ease. I really think you need to sit down with your instructor get this in perspective. Going back to do your checkout dives without this perspective is not a good way to approach that day.

A friend once told me, " once the seed of doubt is planted it will continue to grow". You need to put this weed in it's place.

Pete

 

[Walter]

it freaks me out how easily even experienced people panic.

People who have confidence in their abilities to deal with problems and who have studied the panic cycle are much less likely to panic. It goes directly back to a general lack of quality education in diving.

 

[Firebrand]

Booky, I just finished my rescue diver training a few months ago, and the number one reason for scuba diving accidents is poor judgement. It sounds to me like you have your head set squarly on your shoulders and don't seem the type to make rash decisions while diving (such as entering a wreck without the proper training). Also, if you DO experience something wierd, remember to handle one problem at a time. Usually if something goes wrong, it has a "snowball" effect. Learn to break things down and handle situations one step at a time. My favorite saying came from my brother (who is also a diver) when he was in combat, "Slow is smooth; smooth is fast." Meaning, slow down, take your time to work things out, and you'll handle the situation faster than trying to hurry through it.

 

[jbd]

Just an anecdote -- On my 3rd OW dive of my life, I got separated on descent from my instructor, in about 10 foot viz. I got disoriented in midwater and began to tumble, and landed on the bottom on my back, all by myself. This was not optimal. But I sat up, thought about my situation, knew I had tons of air and a working regulator, knew I was at 45 feet, which was fine, and knew my instructor was never going to find me. I did a controlled ascent, and at no time during the whole experience was I particularly frightened. I had air, I had a protocol I had been taught that I could implement, and all was -- more or less -- well.

That's the mindset you want to be able to have. Keep up with the basic training until you feel that way.

A truly wonderful post IMO. This is a clear, beautiful example of what scubaguy62 is saying about not sucumbing to fear.

Bookymad I hope you re-read the post this quote is taken from and let it soak in, it's a real gem.