Almost given up.....

[hopeful diver]

Have practised skills and don't feel quite so bad about them... however when I went on what was to be my first open water dive in the sea I could see wonderful fish below me but just couldn't summon up the courage to get down there.... as a result I got out of the water and quit for the day. I really don't want to give up - but just feel like I have reached a big stumbling block. It seems a bit like the 'fun' is actually 'torture' at the moment...

 

[Aquanaut4ata]

Hang in there....it's a wonderful world down there, and you are on the edge of getting to see the 70+% of it that most people never will. If I may make a couple of suggestions: Spend some time snorkeling, or even just go back to your dive shop, and ask to join another class for the pool sessions, or some shops even have a weekly "open pool day" where you can spend some time just working on your skills, and getting more confident. You might even try & get a divemaster or experienced diver to go with you & dive at your own pace to help you get comfortable. Most importantly, though....do it at YOUR pace. you have to be comfortable to be safe.

 

[Shasta_man]

Take your time. The ocean is always going to be there.

Find someone who will work slowly with you and you'll find more confidence.

Have practised skills and don't feel quite so bad about them... however when I went on what was to be my first open water dive in the sea I could see wonderful fish below me but just couldn't summon up the courage to get down there.... as a result I got out of the water and quit for the day. I really don't want to give up - but just feel like I have reached a big stumbling block. It seems a bit like the 'fun' is actually 'torture' at the moment...

 

[spectrum]

Yea, take your time, do some skindiving from a shore site, go back to do a shore scuba dive in the same place. If you don't have a buddy or mentor that your comfortable with hire a dive master for an orientation dive. If that's not enough then speak with your instructor. Remember this is a fun sport so take your time and get a little support to get you jump started.

Pete

 

[ScubaSixString]

Have practised skills and don't feel quite so bad about them... however when I went on what was to be my first open water dive in the sea I could see wonderful fish below me but just couldn't summon up the courage to get down there.... as a result I got out of the water and quit for the day. I really don't want to give up - but just feel like I have reached a big stumbling block. It seems a bit like the 'fun' is actually 'torture' at the moment...

Think back to your dive. Why are you having problems? If its a "Oh no, now i'm diving 'for real' or a 'the stuff counts now' "thing, then realize if you can do it in a pool, you can do it in the open water. If you're afraid that your instructor is grading you more closely now ,don't worry about it, you'll be fine.

If, on the other hand it is something else, like the thought of going deeper than you can in a pool genuinely scares you, you might need to have a chat with your dive instructor.
You can, and have, been told there is no reason to fear
1>equipment failure
2>marine life
3>DCS/DCI
4>AGE
5>Being swept away
6>etc

But if you do anyway and can't get over those, that can be a BIG problem. Realize, if you are able, that the above concerns are very very very unlikely to be a problem if you are trained and follow that training. Don't rush things. Get geared up. Take a few deep breaths to calm yourself down, and then splash.

But if there is some reason you just can't do it (and its too early to tell if thats the case yet, you could have just had a bad day) its ok. Most here can relate to being nervous before a dive (That happens on some dives after your 100th dive).

Talk with your instructor and relax. Remember this is for FUN, not torture

 

[Diver0001]

....snip..... just couldn't summon up the courage to get down there....

Just a couple of questions for clarification:

- why did you feel obligated to go down there?

- what were you feeling and was there a reason to be having that feeling?

R..

 

[Xanthro]

This is more common than you might think. It's reason some people have a hard time swimming in the deep end of the pool. They can swim just fine, but the thought of not being able to stand up in the water inhibits their ability to swim at all.

It just takes time to get over this feeling, and plenty of divers have felt exactly what you felt. Just remember, if you can do the skill in a pool, you can more easily do those same tasks in the ocean. Pool dives are actually harder because the depth makes pressure changes affect you more.

Perhaps try a beach dive, where you gradually go deeper, and think of it as a bigger pool with nicer stuff to see.

Sitting on top of the water looking down into depth can freak people out, and it takes time to overcome this apprehension.

 

[sharky60]

One thing that has helped with this type of anxiety is to make some more shore dives where you start your decent in just a few feet of water, even just sitting down submerged in 5-6' and getting comfortable, then swim slowly into deeper water not going into more than 25-30' of depth so you can still see the surface just fine. This is a real confidence builder. It also gives you a chance to practice your compass skills!!!

then when you feel comfortable enough doing this, do some more shore diving and snorkel out to 20' then 30' deep water and try dropping down from there. go with an experienced diver or instructor (if possible) and face each other, holding on to their BC if you need to, let the experienced diver or instructor control the rate of decent and you just concentrate on them rather than looking down at the bottom or up to the surface to see how far you've gone. This trick really works well it gets your mind of the anxiety of going underwater breathing and helps keep you calm.

Hang in there, take your time, there is no reason to rush this. Even after 24+ years of diving, I'll rarely, but occationally experience some closter phobic anxiety for no reason...it just comes on. I've learned to recognize it and calm myself down, so don't feel like the Lone Ranger, it happens and practicing is the best cure.

 

[hopeful diver]

Thanks for everyone's support. I was trying to do my first open water dive and although I can swim, I am not a very strong swimmer. Maybe the feeling of going deep and not being able to surface quickly may have something to do with my fear. I think trying to do it again and going down gradually may help. Or maybe I shall try snorkelling (which I have never done before) to maybe get used to the feeling of being with fins on and being horizontal there in the water. Either way I feel determined at having another go if I can overcome this fear.Thanks,folks!

 

[papps953]

Maybe try diving in a very shallow area. Some place where you can (or as was suggested in a previous post) have snorkeled.

Bill