Anxiety for no reason?

[selkiesearchteam]

Hi all!
I'm a semi-experienced master diver in my late 20s with 170 dives in a very wide variety of conditions from tropical, cold inland lake 0 visibility, to wild Atlantic ocean conditions. Recently, though, I've been getting anxiety at depths below 40 - 50 ft with increased heart rate, breathing quickly, general discomfort feeling and wanting to just grab on to something, but I still have full mental capacity and can talk myself through it or distract myself with photography/the goal of the dive. I did worry that it has to do with my heart, as I have a very high heart rate when exercising, but the cardiologist gave me a clean bill of health. I've been doing more dry suit diving recently, so I feel like this might have to do with wearing the dry suit. When I got my current dry suit, I went and did lots of somersaults to practice getting out of a foot filling up with air and overall comfort with it. Has anyone else experienced this for a time regularly, and have any suggestions? Do you think it is just psyching myself out?

 

[northernone]

Anything to do with co2 retention, constricted breathing?

Anything similar experienced on the land?

Hope maybe one of those thoughts helps point in the right direction.

Regards,
Cameron

 

[Rred]

That's the sound of your subconscious trying to tell you something.

Seriously? Try a therapist or hypnotherapist to get to the bottom of it. Could just be your inner golfer is upset about the late tee times.

 

[boulderjohn]

There is no way anyone can give you an answer here. At one extreme, it could be a phobia developing. At another, it could be what Rred suggests--your subconscious has picked up on something about which you should be concerned.

Having given that qualifier, I am going to suggest something to think about. For some reason you picked out doing summersaults with your dry suit as one of the few things you thought important enough to tell us. They actually could be a factor.

The kind of fear that leads to panic is not just psychological--there is a biological component as well. In fact, that biological component can be 100% the cause of the problem. I am talking about carbon dioxide buildup. It is the need to get rid of carbon dioxide that causes us to feel the urge to breathe, not the need for oxygen. If I held my hand over your mouth and nose, that panicky desire to fight like hell for a breath is caused by carbon dioxide. When psychologists deal with people with panic attacks, they often work on breathing exercises. In moments of stress, these people often do not breathe properly. Shallow breathing leaves too much carbon dioxide in their system, and panic builds.

Doing summersaults greatly increases your carbon dioxide level, and if you are not breathing properly, then you will begin to develop a sense of anxiety. Come to think about it, failure to breathe properly can also increase your heart rate while exercising--it could be involved there as well.

I strongly suggest you pay attention to your breathing, particularly to the way you exhale. You need to get that old air out of you as much as possible.

 

[TMHeimer]

Agree with above about carbon dioxide. Maybe it does have something to do with starting drysuit diving (which I have never done). I imagine it feels weird being underwater and not wet (well, ideally....). Just a thought--as stated, you will get mostly lay person opinions here.

 

[tomfcrist]

Neck seal too tight?

 

[DaveJo127]

I experienced something similar during a class I was taking last weekend. My heart would start palpitating on me randomly, which is kinda scary when you're in deep with low viz. It went away once I managed to go to my happy place and start to enjoy the dive.

I've had it happen multiple times before, and the only thing that each experience had in common was me being in a new environment and/or situation, so I think mental stress/anxiety is the likely culprit for me.

 

[Carl_F]

Relating my own experience (which may or may not be directly applicable) ... I find that I get anxious when I am rushing to get ready, get in the water, etc. If I descend in that condition my breathing rate is excessive and my anxiety level is elevated. This is exacerbated when at a new site or in adverse conditions. Now when I recognize this, I take a moment at the surface before descending, breath deeply and calmly and calm the mind. Then all is good.

As others have indicated there could be a physical condition causing it so examine those, too.

 

[Colliam7]

Recently, though, I've been getting anxiety at depths below 40 - 50 ft with increased heart rate, breathing quickly, general discomfort feeling and wanting to just grab on to something, but I still have full mental capacity and can talk myself through it or distract myself with photography/the goal of the dive. . . . Has anyone else experienced this for a time regularly, and have any suggestions?

FWIW, I went through a period of symptoms not unlike yours. It was before I started diving dry, so I cannot relate it to that. But, I would all of a sudden go from relaxed to very anxious, almost to the point of panic. I found that pulling out my slate / Wet Notes, and writing (usually, a message to myself 'Relax. Breath!') helped me calm down and regain control. But, on several occasions, I simply had to ascend to 20-30 feet before I was comfortable again. At the time I first noticed it, I had probably 125 dives. And, although it was only intermittent, and gradually improved / resolved, it lasted for several years, through ~200+ dives. Haven't experienced it in a LONG time. But, I definitely went through a similar experience.

I don't have a magic bullet to fix the situation. I cannot say what caused it, I cannot say exactly why it gradually went away. In my case, it gradually abated, with experience / more diving. And, as I gained experience, and pursued additional training, I began to dive (much) deeper. Maybe, that had some positive effect, but I can't say for sure.

 

[Kevrumbo]

Comments in brackets & italics mine:

Cold Shock Response lasts for only about a minute after entering the water and refers to the affect that cold water has on your breathing. Initially, there is an automatic gasp reflex in response to rapid skin cooling. . . [Usually not a severe issue jumping in cold water in a drysuit with appropriate insulating undergarments]

A second component of the Cold Shock Response involves hyperventilation. Like the gasp reflex, this is a natural reaction to the cold. Although this physiological response will subside, panic can cause a psychological continuance of hyperventilation. Prolonged hyperventilation can lead to [CO2 retention, Hypercapnia and additive effects of Nitrogen Narcosis at deep depths], so the key thing is to concentrate on controlling your breathing. . .

http://beyondcoldwaterbootcamp.com/4-phases-of-cold-water-immersion#Cold Shock Response