I knew it! Scuba IS addictive . . .

[nomro]

If it's addictive , I guess this makes scuba board the support group

 

[nomro]

A brief self-test. Please answer yes or no to the following questions

1. Have you gotten into financial difficulties as a result of your scuba use?

This makes addiction ok if you can afford it ?

 

[DivemasterDennis]

So, since it is addicting now I suppose we will have to include warnings with the promotion and advertising of gear, trips, and classes. Something like these:
WARNING : Scuba diving may be habit forming
WARNING: Scuba diving may cause you to feel really good about yourself and about life
WARNING: Scuba diving may be infectious. Be careful when talking about your experiences in front of others, lest they become interested and then addicted just like you.
WARNING: Scuba diving may cause you to become environmentally aware and care about the preservation of our planet
WARNING: In extreme cases, scuba diving may cause you to quit your boring job, move to a tropical island, and live out your life doing something that you love to do with others who share your passion.
Finally, I wonder if a dive center giving a free Discover Scuba class in their pool during promotional events will now be seen as tantamount to the dealer giving a free taste of some addicting recreational pharmaceutical? I'm DivemasterDennis, and I am addicted to scuba.

 

[TracysaCADiver]

I'm "friends" with the Rubicon Research Repository on Facebook, and just about every day, those folks share links to what they think are interesting articles about diving research. This morning's paper went by the rather intriguing name of, "A review of recent neurochemical data on inert gas narcosis." Who could resist reading that?

Well, I found the abstract fascinating. The researchers were looking at changes in various transmitters and receptors in a very specific part of the brain of rats. Although single nitrogen exposures lowered the levels of dopamine, a neurotransmitter associated with reward circuitry, repeated exposures actually resulted in an INCREASE. One of the final sentences in the abstract was:

(bolding mine)

We all knew it, but there's scientific proof. Diving IS addictive!

Hmmm I think especially if the word "dopamine" is actually pronounced dope-a-mine....

 

[Saxatilis]

Interesting! I wonder if SCUBA would be as popular if everybody was diving HeliOx (Helium and Oxygen) instead of compressed air? Consider, Helium is commonly used in deep diving to REDUCE the narcotic effect of Nitrogen. HeliOx takes it a step further and REMOVES ALL Nitrogen, therefore no addiction? Food for thought...

Safe (addictive) Diving

 

[fjpatrum]

If it's addictive , I guess this makes scuba board the support group

Or the enablers... you decide.

 

[Ozwald]

I don't want to have anything to do with recovery!!

Recovery is for quitters !

 

[drbill]

Yep, without question... heck, I had to give up cigarettes 37 years ago so I could afford to continue diving!

 

[Lemna]

So those Santi t-shirts weren't a joke...

 

[DiverBeth]

Hello my name is Beth and I'm a diving addict.