Lost Confidence in diving

[aftershock109]

Listen first of all thanks all so much for you replies both good and bad, couple of things to mention I have knocked the Dm on the head for the time being as I dont want to out anybody at risk whilst i am still in the mindset I am. I have offered to help out in the pool if things get tight in the club as i am very comfortable in there as its easy diving.

Also i few people have ask why the rush to become a Dm the reason i really wanted to be a Dm came from two main reasons firstly due to years of playing golf and single player sports i have never been part of a team therefore never being able to help out my club, so by becoming a Dm in Diving I saw an opportunity to help out people help out my club in my spare time giving me a great sense of satisfaction and involvement within the Dive club, also another reason was the education involved within the course is very beneficial to any diver and teaches you allot of interesting and important information involved within diving, and in my eyes education in this sport is key to improving your safety and safety of others.

A couple of people have asked me about the regs involved and set ups used in the free flow incident My instructor was wearing twins with 2 Ds4's and 2 Lx supreme's primary was on a long hose setup well capable of handling the cold, i was on a single with dry sealed Fdx10 with Delta 4.1 and Alpha 8 octo and the other student was on Cdx10 with 2 Alpha unsure of the cold water rating on cdx10. All regs where serviced recently mine were only serviced 2 weeks previously and working well and setup well and retested after the incident the only thing reg wise i would do different would be to make sure the venturi knob is set to the hardest setting. Also in relation to the free flow all free flows where violent none were just a trickle. I have know purchased a pony bottle but still trying to get a few $'s together to purchase regs for it, but as somebody mentioned not to change your gear setup till confidence raises i totally agree and will keep that bottle in storage for the immediate future

This weekend I have bitten the bullet and booked in for a dive with the local Dive operator its a 10 - 15 meters light drift dive in a easy environment i am looking forward to it and apprehensive about it too, but should be okay, Vis is about 5 meters which is typical ''Irish Diving'' its really the best i am going to get. I will post tomorrow and let you know how i get on. In relation to Buddies it can be very difficult to dive with a regular buddy as I am new to the sport i dont know very many divers and the ones i do know are living long distances away or aren't diving much due to other commitments or both. So i nearly have to take whats handed to me within reason.

Once again thanks for all your replies and advice i have taken it all on board and hope to keep diving, I hope i haven't forgotten to address anyone questions if i did let me know i will answer them. Having said that if people have more information or advice the more the merrier

Thanks

Aftershock

@DandyDon Found that return key

 

[DandyDon]

Also i few people have ask why the rush to become a Dm the reason i really wanted to be a Dm came from two main reasons firstly due to years of playing golf and single player sports i have never been part of a team therefore never being able to help out my club, so by becoming a Dm in Diving I saw an opportunity to help out people help out my club in my spare time giving me a great sense of satisfaction and involvement within the Dive club, also another reason was the education involved within the course is very beneficial to any diver and teaches you allot of interesting and important information involved within diving, and in my eyes education in this sport is key to improving your safety and safety of others.

Well really, you can help the club just by being willing to dive with newbies as dive buddies. Try to be happy with that for a while

This weekend I have bitten the bullet and booked in for a dive with the local Dive operator its a 10 - 15 meters light drift dive in a easy environment i am looking forward to it and apprehensive about it too, but should be okay, Vis is about 5 meters which is typical ''Irish Diving'' its really the best i am going to get. I will post tomorrow and let you know how i get on. In relation to Buddies it can be very difficult to dive with a regular buddy as I am new to the sport i dont know very many divers and the ones i do know are living long distances away or aren't diving much due to other commitments or both. So i nearly have to take whats handed to me within reason.

Sounds great, and as I said - you're helping the club even then.

@DandyDon Found that return key

Have you met my stalker...?

What brand and size trash bag do you prefer? It seems like anything over 13 gallons would be difficult to fill in an emergency. do you risk disconnecting your "air whistle" to fill the trash bag or is this done orally?

A white trash bad is a poor smb in itself, but in addition to the other items I carry to help me be found - it can be a nice additional signaling item. I got that idea from a Florida boat captain who lost his wife and best friend to the sea for half a day, but fortunately found them after they managed to swim to shore. They'd carried nothing and it was one of the items he mentioned that should be carried. Not very durable but seem to ride in my BC for a week at a time ok, then still hold trash in later use. Even if the one I am carrying leaks when I need it, it would still serve as a white floating marker on the sea for someone looking for me with their lights.

It is funny how my stalker follows me around. I hear he's a good diver with a good life, but still must have some problems to devote attention to me like that. I'm sure he talked about this with his dog pile cohorts in private discussions. I never have time for him, but oh well.

 

[berk]

How many dives in your log book say Egypt and how many say Ireland?

Given the conditions, you'll learn more in the first 50 dives in Ireland than you will in any course. I would say do more diving and less courses.

Being a buddy and active is just as valuable as being a DM to your club. A club first and foremost needs divers!

-Matt

 

[ameneon]

Would setting the venturi switch to - right before sharing air reduce the risk of free flowing regs when in very cold water? Or would that be a bad idea because of the increased difficulty of breathing in a scenario where the buddy might need alot of air?

 

[vshearer]

Someone mentioned earlier a wet fill. Considering the regs used that might be worth checking out. Check a tank or two.

 

[Matt S.]

To the OP: Over a year ago I was a first responder to a drowning diver, and participated in a recovery. I don't want to go into the details, but it was an awful experience. While I was not at risk, the whole thing quite honestly took the shine off diving. To this day I get a little case of the nerves when I am driving to the site, and diving overall just isn't as great as it used to be. That's a painful thing to deal with but it gets a little better every time.

I think I will heal completely in time, and I am sure you will too. You have been given some good advice in this thread. Don't be discouraged if your attitude doesn't improve quickly. It may take a while.

 

[aftershock109]

Hey folks

Just back from my dive max depth 13m with 41min bottom time poor vis of about 2-3m and very silty but from a confidence point of view I felt good very nervous before dive but once I got in the water was okay had one or two moments where I felt I couldn't get enough air but I just stopped relaxed and got my breath my sac rate was actually very good too so all round happy this shallow easy programme seems the best way and I'm going to keep it up for sometime yet

Thanks again

Aftershock

 

[vshearer]

Hey folks

Just back from my dive max depth 13m with 41min bottom time poor vis of about 2-3m and very silty but from a confidence point of view I felt good very nervous before dive but once I got in the water was okay had one or two moments where I felt I couldn't get enough air but I just stopped relaxed and got my breath my sac rate was actually very good too so all round happy this shallow easy programme seems the best way and I'm going to keep it up for sometime yet

Thanks again

Aftershock

Congrats Aftershock, not just for the report and continuing your diving, but also for providing such interesting intermission entertainment while we all waited with the Chip 'n [-]Dale[/-] Don show on your first SB thread!

 

[lamont]

Hey folks

Just back from my dive max depth 13m with 41min bottom time poor vis of about 2-3m and very silty but from a confidence point of view I felt good very nervous before dive but once I got in the water was okay had one or two moments where I felt I couldn't get enough air but I just stopped relaxed and got my breath my sac rate was actually very good too so all round happy this shallow easy programme seems the best way and I'm going to keep it up for sometime yet

Thanks again

Aftershock

keep that up, and get a bunch more of those dives in until you start to feel relaxed doing those dives again.

and please keep in mind what i said that diving below 21m can cause anxiety due to physiological reasons dealing with CO2 hits. if you start doing that too soon you're probably going to wind up conditioning yourself to associating diving with anxiety when it doesn't have to be that way. when you do start doing deeper dives, keep your dive plans so that you can just take short excursions below 21m and ascend above that level if you start feeling anxious (profiles where there's stuff to see below and above 21m). you'll probably find that if your mind starts spinning into anxiety below 21m for no particularly good reason that if you ascend and take a few good deep breaths that your brain magically clears up...

i'd also suggest doing a bunch of skills + drills while doing shallow ~10m dives.

 

[lamont]

BTW, what you're fighting is just classical conditioning.

because of the highly negative emotional experience you had, your brain is training itself to associate anxiety with diving.

while working through little hiccups of anxiety like you had on this dive can be constructive, if you really start to spiral into anxiety its going to be counter-productive to try to 'work through it'.

if you have persistent anxiety that isn't a flash or a hiccup, while you're still largely in control and its not emotionally impactful, i'd suggest immediately ascending 10m or so, or else just ending the dive and cutting it short. if you try to power through it you're more likely to just have it spiral out of control and start associating diving with anxiety and panic again, and reinforce your brains association between diving and anxiety (causing more anxiety in the future). don't get suckered into the ego-driven idea that you're 'weak' if you end a dive due to a bit of unexplained anxiety -- you're not weak and your brain is being perfectly rational -- you had a bad experience when you were diving before and its giving you feedback (anxiety) to make sure you remember that.