I suppose it was sort of like a neti pot (I thought they ran it in one side and out the other rather than spit?) not that I've done that before. But when I go swimming in a pool I goof around in the water a lot, and since I don't use a nose plug, occasionally that does result in water up my nose. I suppose that would have prepared me for the seawater up my nose. So a point well taken.You don't have to face something while diving for it to apply to diving. Was that your first experience like that? No saline sprays, nasal inhalers, swimming, neti pots, bath tubs, etc? If it was, interesting.
If diving is like other things I have done, that won't last long for some people. In rock climbing, there are things analogous to the buddy check, ascent, and descent procedures. Not doing them could result in injury or death. Most new rock climbers are taught them and follow them religiously. But I see very few people completely stick with them after they get more experienced. However I'm afraid of heights, so for the times my fear tries to kick in and say "Hey, you're way too high, what if you fall?" then I can confidently remind myself that I am properly secured, because I know I followed the right procedure, and get over the feeling.I also want o comment that I work with divers of all experience and certification levels, and contrary to what seems to be the prejudice of many posters against so-called "newbies," I find divers who have recently completed training are good divers. They almost all remember their training and apply it, even in problem solving.
Which brings me to...
That makes a lot of sense. I actually did experience helplessness during a dive, but it wasn't over anything life threatening. I was trying to find my console to check depth & air and I couldn't find it. The clips on the rental BC I was using weren't great at actually holding the hoses, so it was floating around somewhere behind me, and try as I might I couldn't find it. Eventually my fiancee retrieved it for me and clipped it back in, yet again. In retrospect I should have tried the same arm sweep used to recover the 2nd stage, on the other side, so that is one time I could have better followed training. I can see how that frustration and helplessness could easily have turned into panic if it had been something life threatening though. (I was fairly shallow at the time, close to the bottom, and knew I had plenty of air, I was just checking to be in the habit of checking.)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.