DevonDiver
N/A
IMHO, there are two factors which, when combined, inevitably trigger panic:
1) Belief that you might die. (Threat) Regardless of the reality, if the individual perceives a risk of imminent death they will suffer an extreme degree of stress. That stress may be manageable, depending on their psychological tolerances, but is often dependent upon...
2) A sense of helplessness. (Resolution) Again, regardless of the reality, if the individual perceives no immediate resolution to their dilema they have no barrier against the instinct to resort to an irrational fight or flight response.
Factor 1 is dictated by psychological strength. Some people don't accept they will die, even in the worst circumstances. Others succumb to any hazard they encounter. Whilst generally 'pre-set' for the individual, there may be merit in the supposition that an increased tolerance can be 'trained' into an individual. A sort of 'nature versus nurture' debate applies. There is also merit in consideration that psychological robustness may be 'transferable' from other (non-diving) life experiences - but again, that would vary depending on individual psychological make-up. For a scuba diver, this factor relevant to personal experience: a flooded mask may scare a novice diver through the fear of drowning. With experience, they learn that the experience isn't potentially fatal. What matters is the belief.
Believing that you could, or can, die in a given situation is certain to cause a high stress response. That stress response may, or may not, be sufficient to cause panic, depending on the individual.
Factor 2 is heavily influenced by training and past experience. The more issues that a diver encounters ("survives"), whether in real life experiences or through sufficiently realistic training, the more likelihood that they will have a resolution/s at their disposal to a problem. Regardless of the psychological robustness of the individual, a culmination of believing death is possible, coupled with no resolution to the cause of that possibility, is highly likely to cause a stress overload. If a resolution is known to the individual, then panic may be averted.
As a novice diver, one can prepare against panic by addressing both of these issues.
Firstly, the understanding that a 'belief' or perception that death is possible/likely may be flawed...that inexperience may prevent you seeing the true nature of the problem. Stress-inducing training may help the individual deal with these situations. As they say in the military, 'train hard, fight easy'.
This is also, I believe, where advice like 'stop-think-act' comes into play. The process of stopping and thinking helps overcome an initial perception of danger and allows a resolution to be sought. It reminds the diver that they have time. A diver always has time, even if brief. This is why a "calm response to air deprivation" is a factor addressed within Divemaster training (is a performance factor in the 'scuba equipment exchange' assessment).
Secondly, the understanding that resolutions exist to most foreseeable scuba problems. Having 'stopped and thought', the diver has to find a resolution, before they can act. If no positive action can be determined, then panic remains likely. Training and practice is a means to access and retain these resolutions. The more you know...the more you ingrain and can remember... the more capable you become... the less chance that you will find yourself at a psychological 'dead end' in an incident.
They are two very different statements with two very different meaning which I have already explained. the latter statement being the case, I do not disagree. Which I also clearly stated. You just want to argue.
