Afraid of fish . . . how to deal with it

[Bev Stayart]

This is all new to her. She is probably afraid of more than just the fish. As she becomes acclimated to diving, she may begin to lose her fear. She may be displacing her general fears onto the fish. The fear she is experiencing is common to many new divers.

 

[parkhill13]

I am not a fan of fish and thought that I would not enjoy diving because of it. But actually, I enjoy diving reefs the best because of all the beautiful sea life. Once I realized that the fish want nothing to do with me and stay far away, I had no problem. And being underwater as opposed to snorkeling and just floating on top of the water made it much easier to maneuver away if a fish or two start getting too close.

I don't know how intense her fear is, so this may or may not be helpful. I am not deathly afraid of fish, I just don't really like them. I don't like that they can move so quickly. They remind me of underwater bugs also.

All she can do is try and if she likes it, she likes it, if not the at least she knows.

 

[Guy Alcala]

Hola!

My son is certified OW, has about a dozen dives. His gf is willing to go through certification . . . but she is afraid of fish. (Don't know if it matters, but she is also afraid of bugs.)

How does one deal with this? Take her to the beach a lot? Buy her an aquarium?

I'd hate to get her trained, to only find out she won't be able to get in because there are fish . . .?!?!?

Maybe reading Dave Barry's account of his scuba experience will help, maybe not, but at least she should get a good laugh:

Blub Story

HTH,

Guy

 

[spectrum]

UsryTregre

I have to say this caught my eye...

I'm not a big critter person either. Fish however were almost never a real concern of mine. I was always confident enough that anything around here would rather swim away than deal with me. Also diving here in Maine with common visibility in the 15-20 foot range just the sound of bubbles keep some of the fish out of sight and out of mind. Before traveling to Bonaire to dive I had a mild concern as to how I would react to all of that visibility and the ability to see thousands of fish all around me in a glance. As it turns out I as more in awe with a school of barracuda than I was concerned. We had a real nice time.

A common way of overcoming concerns is to become gradually desensitized. In this case since you live inland there should be some nice novice diving where the likelihood of encountering any remotely threatening fish will be slim. Knowing this should be enough to allay fears initially and that's probably all it will take. She should soon find that diving will keep her mind relaxed and occupied and even if startled a few times initially will soon know that the local fish pose no threat.

I think this would be a good reason to get certified locally as opposed to in a tropical mecca.

As to whether she is being pressured or not I bet that will come out in the pool. If she is good with diving except for the fish she will be hooked and with support she'll deal with it. If in her heart she does not want to be a diver nothing will come easy and she can step back saying she tried.

As for limiting the $$ risk you might want to see if a local OW discover dive is possible. It could backfire or allay her fears but it's small money. The instructor should know of a pond location where nothing remotely threatening will be encountered.

Pete

 

[Abb27ster]

my boyfriend was extremely afraid of the fish when we went snorkeling in Grand Cayman. When the opportunity arose to get certified, he accompanied me in class. It took him a couple of dives to realize that the fish are not going to hurt him or bite him and now he loves it.

 

[adurso]

My son had the same fear. He was certified at 15 in a quarry and was uncomfortable with the sunfish and bass. He was REALLY uncomfortable in the ocean diving wrecks with the presence of bigger fish.

I taught him to use a pole spear and we went back out to the wrecks and speared some fish.

He never speared fish after that but was never afraid of fish again because he had the power, he knew he could drop into that water any time with a spear in hand and kill any of the buggers he desired.

Convincing a younger person of their ability to control their environment may take different forms; it is up to you to find the mechanism to do so.

 

[Wayward Son]

have her shoot some fish.

 

[Texasdivechick]

I'm not scared of fish.... except those man-sized catfish in Lake Travis and Bermuda Chubs. Oh, and I don't like fish swimming too close to my head. Also, Triggerfish scare the bejeezus out of me. Other than that, perfectly fine! I've learned to remain very, very still and I see more without disturbing the fish into a frenzy.
I would say that if she could get desensitized to the small fish in a quarry then progress to snorkeling in the ocean before diving she may be able to overcome her fear. I would hold off on the night dives for a while and have her watch some of the documentaries about the ocean (Sharkwater is educational and should alleviate some fears about them). If she does decide to dive, stay very, very shallow for the first couple of dives until you're sure how she will react when faced with schools of fish. Also, avoid diving through any baitballs for a while when she is with you and your son. Good luck!

 

[Papa_Bear]

Have some nice Halibut and a good white wine! Your more dangerous to them than they are to you! You could always get an aquarium?

 

[BKP]

My wife was afraid of descending when she was first certified... We gave her some *slow*, and very gentle persuasion... (Pool first, then quarry, then ocean). Now, she *is* a fish.

I agree that pressuring her isn't the way... Let her discover how benign the marine life is on her own, and slowly. It would be a shame to miss out on a lifetime of diving, due to what may be a very short-lived reluctance...

(Just keep her the hell away from Triggers, and hungry lake Brim... jeeez...).