Panicked on first deep dive

[geraldp]

It's nice to know that other divers have had similar experiences. Having never had a panic attack before, experiencing one alone at 85' was a very frightening experience for me. Hyperventilation caused me to lose vision and I came close to passing out, so I hit the inflator button. I arrested my ascent at about 50' and hung there until I could get my breathing under control. Lots of extenuating circumstances led up to that dive: lack of sleep, driving for 4 hours before getting on the 8 am charter boat, half-a-dozen cups of coffee, Advil for headache, <10' vis, and getting out of breath trying to catch up to and eventually being abandoned by dive buddies all played a part. Most of these can be addressed, like spending a bit more for a motel near the dive site so I don't have to get up early, less coffee, properly vetting dive buddies, and of course better dive planning. Still, since that dive I often am plagued by a nagging fear whenever I approach the 75'-85' level. Prior to that one dive I'd often been below that, down to 110'. Admitting that fear to other divers is embarassing, and I came close to hanging up my fins, simply because I was worried I would panic again. I came to the conclusion I was happy to stay above 80', which is apparently around where my narcosis fear hits me, and I simply plan my profile above this level. Someday I may go deeper, but I'm OK with shallower dives.

 

[nolatom]

I sort of don't want the latitude plus my depth to exceed 110 or 120. If I want to frighten myself, it's much easier done up North.

 

[Azjd1968]

Sheila, Well Done on working through your anxiety and not letting it deter you from diving! Keep at it and have a great time on your trip! I'm looking to forward to reading about it here!

BTW. The more that you dive the more comfortable you will be doing it.

 

[EFX]

There's a lot of good advice here however I'll put in my $0.02 worth. I would suggest going down on a line slowly and stop at the depth where you feel comfortable. It sounded like you were task loaded which can make divers anxious where shallow breathing may contribute to an already anxious state about the depth due to lack of experience. Explain to your instructor you need to take your time. When you stop take care of each task: adjust or clear the mask, adjust or check equipment (where's the dump valve, where's the inflator button,etc.), check surroundings (your eyes will adjust and you'll see further), and finally and most importantly slow you breathing down. This will help to relax you. Only then do you ascend and only 10 or maybe 15 feet. Repeat the above until you're at the required depth. If you still feel uncomfortable stay on the line and wait. Perform the above steps and try to relax. Slow down your breathing in a controlled rythem. Since you're not moving it will be easier to relax. Once your completely comfortable then try swimming away from the line. If not, stay on the line and repeat on the next dive. If the instructor is too impatient for this get another instructor -- it's your time and money.

---------- Post added May 30th, 2014 at 11:44 AM ----------

Sheila, I'm glad everything worked out. I should have read the last posts more carefully before responding above. It's not advice for you anymore but hopefully it will help others experiencing similar problems. Have fun on your trip.

 

[PhilaDallas]

I have not read the entire thread, and wanted to note my experience during my AOW deep dive.

I am a very new diver, but typically I do a good job of maintaining buoyancy on my way down to our planned depth. When I did my AOW deep dive a few weeks ago, we did some math problems and I thought that I had experienced what narcossis is. Then I saw the video, and noticed that I was finning like crazy to stay at depth. Even though I am new, this type of behavior typically elicits a shot of air into my BC.

At depth, I did not even think about it.
After seeing the video, I am disappointed in my instructor, myself, and my buddy. Instructor could have mentioned the possibility during the predive chat and/or told me while I was at depth, I could have discussed with my buddy to look for stuff I was doing wrong and to tell me, and my buddy could have signaled that I was blowing air by using force of leg rather than force of air in BC to stay at a constant depth.

 

[Timmyjoe]

Been a bit apprehensive the last couple of weeks, reading this thread and knowing I would be doing my AOW Deep Dive today. Practiced last week at Haigh Quarry and I'm glad I did. Last week we were diving to 50 feet with about 5 feet of visibility and it was 44.5ºF at that depth, and kind of dark. It wasn't pleasant, but it wasn't that bad.

Today we dove at Pearl Lake to 71 feet, with about ten feet of visibility and the temp at depth only went down to 62ºF, so it felt really pretty easy and relaxed. Practicing last weekend sure helped.

Best,
-Tim

 

[PCoetzee]

I agree with most of the posts. You should not rush into anything too fast.

I will however offer some practical advice as it is lacking in this thread:

1. Replace your mask as you've mentioned that it is leaky. Spend some time at your local dive shop finding a better fit. You should perhaps re-evaluate all your equipment. Having better equipment might eliminate some of your current issues.
2. Descent slowly while taking deep controlled breaths. Shallow breathing will build up carbon dioxide in your lungs that will increase narcosis.
3. Try your deep dive in better conditions. warmer water with better viz. This will eliminate some of the claustrophobia.
4. Make sure your next attempt is well planned and briefed. good planning, including emergency planning, adds to overall confidence.
5. Try not to load yourself with too much gear. Leave all cameras and unnecessary equipment. You should not have any additional task loading to worry about.
6. Focus on your trim and style perhaps on some shallow dives first. Complex diving is a lot easier if you already have good buoyancy and perfect trim.

Hope this helps.
Pete

 

[EFX]

It's nice to know that other divers have had similar experiences. Having never had a panic attack before, experiencing one alone at 85' was a very frightening experience for me. Hyperventilation caused me to lose vision and I came close to passing out, so I hit the inflator button. I arrested my ascent at about 50' and hung there until I could get my breathing under control. Lots of extenuating circumstances led up to that dive: lack of sleep, driving for 4 hours before getting on the 8 am charter boat, half-a-dozen cups of coffee, Advil for headache, <10' vis, and getting out of breath trying to catch up to and eventually being abandoned by dive buddies all played a part. Most of these can be addressed, like spending a bit more for a motel near the dive site so I don't have to get up early, less coffee, properly vetting dive buddies, and of course better dive planning. Still, since that dive I often am plagued by a nagging fear whenever I approach the 75'-85' level. Prior to that one dive I'd often been below that, down to 110'. Admitting that fear to other divers is embarassing, and I came close to hanging up my fins, simply because I was worried I would panic again. I came to the conclusion I was happy to stay above 80', which is apparently around where my narcosis fear hits me, and I simply plan my profile above this level. Someday I may go deeper, but I'm OK with shallower dives.

I'm glad geraldp that you came out of it OK. I had a similar problem although nowhere near what you experienced. I was diving in shallow water over and between coral ridges with a friend of a friend. The conditions were benign: >100 ft. viz, 78 degree water, my own equipment, and EAN32. My buddy had dove the sight before and was leading the dive. It started out fine but soon my buddy was flying through the water. At first I kept up but soon found myself winded. My buddy never looked back. I felt very anxious and knew if I tried to catch him I would get into trouble. So, I went to the sandy bottom at 25 feet and lay there until I could catch my breath. You would think my buddy would swim back to find me but he never did. Instead he simply waited for me. When I finally caught up with him I gave him the sign to slow down which he did, a little.

I was taught to stay with your buddy. But, what if your buddy doesn't want to stay with you? This is the bane for all new divers. If this happens don't chase your buddies if it means getting out of breath. Most buddies will eventually look for you and come back. If not, ending the dive maybe the best thing. The moral of the story for me is that my personal safety comes first.

 

[DiveShopBarbie]

Have to agree with previous posters, but just to reiterate...

Do not ever (please!) do a dive you aren't comfortable with. You can do that dive without going all the way down to 130, just have a buddy / guide to go to a depth you're comfortable with. Don't get AOW just for this - do it when you are comfortable. As everyone said, experience and diving more is the only way to get that.

The human mind is fighting years and years of evolution to stay underwater in the first place - the deeper you go, the more your mind can protest. You have to get yourself comfortable in recreational depths to overcome that.

That said - if you get comfortable, get more dives under you belt, and feel ready to try it again - I do have a few tips for calming down

I got slightly nervous on my first 100 ft + dive. I was okay, but I became very aware at how deep I was. So, I did what I do on land when I'm nervous and started singing a silly song on my head (happened to be Tearin' Up My Heart by N*SYNC.... I know I know) and it worked. It just calmed me right down, and I remembered all of my training, and was entirely distracted at how different the colors were and how beautiful the scenery became. Before I knew it, we were ascending again, and I was incredibly proud

Please don't underestimate the necessity for experience when it comes to diving, and don't push yourself into a dangerous situation.

Good luck!

 

[EMT_diver]

Sheila,
It sounds as if this trip is very important to you. Now you have to make a decision. Is it more important than your life? It will do you nor anyone else any good if you do not make it back to the surface. If this sounds melodramatic, it is because I am very serious. Your number of ascents should always equal your number of descents. There are many good comments here that I don't need to repeat but I will repeat one. Dive more; but do it within your comfort range. Low viz diving is not difficult once you get used to it. We do 10' of viz in CA all the time. I have been diving for 20+ years and have gone deep but a lot of my dives are in the basic OW range. There's a lot to see there. Talk to your instructor and see if you can find out why you are so nervous. Be safe and don't let anyone push you.