Very new and starting to feel anxious

[Ejcaswell]

Hello all,
I have just enrolled todo a PADI open water course after doing a dive experience a few weeks ago.
Ive started to go through the online learning, but now starting to wonder if this is for me.....and i am starting to feel very very anxious! Is that normal?
Ive done a fair bit of snorkelling, off beaches and boats with no issues, but when it comes to going under water i do get a bit anxious.
During the experience dive, i was ok, but my breathing did go funny on occasions and I had to try and control it (managed but not sure why it did that).

Was really keen to go ahead after the experience dive, but now starting to feel like backing out......now sure what to do!

Is this for me?

 

[Marie13]

never mind. Good luck.

 

[Compressor]

Welcome to ScubaBoard Ejcaswell. Learning to dive can be intimidating at first; after all you are going in a foreign environment. Give it some time and take it slow. Many problems will come and all will be solved. Then you will enjoy diving for what it is: Underwater freedom.

Remember: You can be open water certified and be a happy and content diver. You do not have to take more courses after your beginner's course. Many do because they want to learn and that of course is admirable.

 

[Norwegian Cave Diver]

We all start out nervous and excited. Relax. Listen. Enjoy. Update us when you are done your course.

 

[Snoweman]

Just sit back and enjoy the ride. It will take a little while to figure out if this is for you. Just don't buy all your gear on the same day you get certified. Wait and see what you "need" as time goes by. One of my dive buddies bought all of his gear right away. He hasn't dove in over two years. I didn't think it was going to be for me, but I own everything I need - except tanks and weights. I'm very happy with almost all of my purchases.

 

[Barnaby'sDad]

We all start out nervous and excited. Relax. Listen. Enjoy. Update us when you are done your course.

This. Get through the OW class, think about your experience, and go from there.

Breathing wise...you’re going to be anxious/excited. I still have to work on that. I’m still new enough that the first ~5 minutes of a dive...I’m as excited as a kid in a candy store.

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

I always recommended that someone interested in diving should freedive for a year or two before putting on scuba gear. And I mean real freediving not just snorkeling. Start small and before you know it you’ll be doing breath holds down to 30’ or so and be able to cruise around. That experience is a super confidence builder and makes scuba so much easier.
It’s too bad they all but eliminated skin diving from training. Now people start right into scuba cold and seem to get overwhelmed.

 

[txgoose]

I really do not want you to quit before you begin. My wife, an otherwise "water baby", had some nervous issues starting out. She went slow. She allowed her time underwater to build her bank of experience. And now she'll do any dive I can concoct as long as it isn't cold water. She's done 93 consecutive minutes underwater, and that was with me buddy breathing for the last four-ish minutes. Point being is that she is crazy calm to have that low of air consumption. That is an example of progress that you need to allow yourself to have.

Unless you're in the tropics, your first experience in the water will likely be in the shallow end of a pool. Let yourself breath and use the gear you'll be trained on, in that amazing four feet of water. If you get nervous, you just stand up. Even as a "non-nervous" diver, it took me 20 or so dives before that first breath underwater didn't make me think about it. We've been trained all of our life to not breath underwater. Give that instructor a chance to slowly re-calibrate your noggin. I think that you'll be happy if you do.

Scuba may not be for you. But at least allow yourself to get wet and get trained before deciding.

 

[Esprise Me]

Interesting that the dive itself didn't trigger your nerves the way reading the materials did. Do you remember what you were reading about when you started feeling anxious?

 

[flyboy08]

An absolute natural emotion. Now go conquer it!