Hank49
Contributor
Shaken_Bake:
Panic Attack During OWC - Had to Bail
- Thread starter Shaken_Bake
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Scubakevdm:
I believe it. Ever wonder why?
I agree.
During our OW cert dives, my son freaked out when he had to take his mask off. He went back into the pool, worked on it and tried again. He now feels comfortable in the water. It was the shock of the cold on his nose and face that I think caused that reaction. Be easy on yourself.
You have already read so many good responses to your experience. I struggled all the way through my pool sessions etc. and thought that this just wasn't something that was meant to be but I found a Relaxation CD. It talked about the importance of focusing in long slow even breathes. I was doing shallow breathing and started a huge string of events that made me want to bolt every time. After I learned that and found that purchasing my own wetsuit that actually fit. I was comfortable, could breathe, and felt more confident in my own wetsuit.
Hang in there, you'll be fine!
Hang in there, you'll be fine!
I was lucky enough to take my OW cert in nice warm water. I wore a 2/1 shorty. My first 60 dives were in nice warm water in the 2/1. Loved it.
Then I got into a 7mm with a 5mm hood/gloves. Argggg what a pain in the arse!!! But in 60 - 65F the ol shorty ain't cuttin it
I think diving in a full 7mm is a lot harder. I would probably have been hating life if my first diving was in a 7mm! Take a vacation in a warm climate and get your checkout dives there
Hang tough....
Then I got into a 7mm with a 5mm hood/gloves. Argggg what a pain in the arse!!! But in 60 - 65F the ol shorty ain't cuttin it
I think diving in a full 7mm is a lot harder. I would probably have been hating life if my first diving was in a 7mm! Take a vacation in a warm climate and get your checkout dives there Hang tough....
pbr
Registered
Hey shaken_bake,
Reading thru your experience was like re-living my first open water dive. Did great in the classroom and pool and then WHAM, I had the check out dive from hell!
Like you, I was doing the check out dive in cold water (a NJ quarry where the water was 45 degrees at 50 feet). I had on a farmer john 7mm wet suit which means I had 14mm on my upper body. The hood felt like a death mask and, to make matters worse, it was 90 degrees and humid! So, after donning all our gear (plus 28 pounds on my belt) we had about a 20 yard walk to the waters edge. It was like the Bataan death march, by the time we reached the water I was so overheated I thought I was going to stroke out on the spot. Then, on with the fins, gloves and mask and into the water for a 20 yard surface swim to the buoy. Needless to say, my mask was totally fogged by the time we reached the line for our decent.
We started down the line and I felt like I counld not expand my chest enough to take a decent breath (sound familar?). I too, had to surface and try to contain myself. My instructor came up and relaxed all of my BC straps. After that, I forced myself back down the line and was able to complete the dive.
My point? Stay with it if you can. I've got about 40 dives now and each time it gets easier and more comfortible. Also, I've never gone back to the quarry. Stick with warm, clear water and my guess is that you will do just fine.
All the best.
Reading thru your experience was like re-living my first open water dive. Did great in the classroom and pool and then WHAM, I had the check out dive from hell!
Like you, I was doing the check out dive in cold water (a NJ quarry where the water was 45 degrees at 50 feet). I had on a farmer john 7mm wet suit which means I had 14mm on my upper body. The hood felt like a death mask and, to make matters worse, it was 90 degrees and humid! So, after donning all our gear (plus 28 pounds on my belt) we had about a 20 yard walk to the waters edge. It was like the Bataan death march, by the time we reached the water I was so overheated I thought I was going to stroke out on the spot. Then, on with the fins, gloves and mask and into the water for a 20 yard surface swim to the buoy. Needless to say, my mask was totally fogged by the time we reached the line for our decent.
We started down the line and I felt like I counld not expand my chest enough to take a decent breath (sound familar?). I too, had to surface and try to contain myself. My instructor came up and relaxed all of my BC straps. After that, I forced myself back down the line and was able to complete the dive.
My point? Stay with it if you can. I've got about 40 dives now and each time it gets easier and more comfortible. Also, I've never gone back to the quarry. Stick with warm, clear water and my guess is that you will do just fine.
All the best.
saltwater taffy
Guest
I know you can do it!!! You had severaal strikes against you before you descended. I think the biggest factor was your tight fitting 7mm suit. Even a well fitting 7mm suit is not that comfortable. That coupled with experiencing the cold water. I don't think that I read where you are going on your cruise. If if is someplace warm and tropical, try it again in this enviroment. I absolutely hate diving in cold water. I'm a WWW (warm water wussie) Anyway, good luck to you. Have a wonderful time on your cruise.
SWT
SWT
Wow! So many diver who have the same kind of trouble in OW. Maybe there's something we could change in the way we train that would help.
What do you think Scubakevdm?
What do you think Scubakevdm?
aussiescubagal
Guest
To add my two cents, I had a similar experience - on my first open water "checkout" as you americans seem to call them (hadn't heard that term before) I suffered a panic attack/anxiety attack.
I'd been having trouble with my buoyancy, which I know now was because I was taking big, deep, huge lungfuls of air, then one of my fins came loose and in my panic to secure it (when you've just shelled out $150 for a pair of fins, its not good to loose one on your first dive in the ocean!) I overexerted myself, got a cramp in my calf, couldn't breathe, had to surface.
I dragged my buddy up with me, who was a bit confused - "Whats wrong?" and thankfully one of the instructors surfaced as well. As it was near the end of the dive, he secured my fin, removed my cramp, calmed me down, descended and got the rest of the group to ascend while I remained on the surface, then towed me back to shore.
I was so exhausted when we got to the shore that I couldn't fathom how I was going to get back to the dive shop, let alone back in the water. I was diving in a 7mm wetty with long johns and jacket = 14mm on chest, so I had like 14kg of weight on. I couldn't stand up at the end of that first dive and the rest of the weekend was streching ahead of me. I didn't know how I was going to continue.
Thankfully, the instructor sent everyone back and sat with me on the beach while I got some energy back. He talked me through what he had observed happening and we worked out a plan of attack to overcome my breathing problems. When I felt recovered, we walked back to the shop.
We had two instructors for our class and before that dive, I'd found this instructor stand-offish and felt like he thought he was better than us. Looking back on it, I seriously doubt I would have finished the course if he hadn't spent that extra time with me.
I learned to dive in what I feel are harsh conditions - cold, salt water on hot days (typical Melbourne summer, the water never heats up) and for this I am glad. My sister (been diving for years) told me that if I could dive in Port Phillip Bay, I could dive anywhere. I'm so glad I learned to dive in those conditions, as opposed to in tropical where I have since dived with just a lycra suit and like 6kg of weights. I feel it would have been very difficult to go the other way - from tropical to Melbourne!
Since my OW, I've clocked up 20 dives (not many I know!) and have just completed my Adv. I'm now looking to the future - instructor here I come!
Keep at it, shaken_babe!
I'd been having trouble with my buoyancy, which I know now was because I was taking big, deep, huge lungfuls of air, then one of my fins came loose and in my panic to secure it (when you've just shelled out $150 for a pair of fins, its not good to loose one on your first dive in the ocean!) I overexerted myself, got a cramp in my calf, couldn't breathe, had to surface.
I dragged my buddy up with me, who was a bit confused - "Whats wrong?" and thankfully one of the instructors surfaced as well. As it was near the end of the dive, he secured my fin, removed my cramp, calmed me down, descended and got the rest of the group to ascend while I remained on the surface, then towed me back to shore.
I was so exhausted when we got to the shore that I couldn't fathom how I was going to get back to the dive shop, let alone back in the water. I was diving in a 7mm wetty with long johns and jacket = 14mm on chest, so I had like 14kg of weight on. I couldn't stand up at the end of that first dive and the rest of the weekend was streching ahead of me. I didn't know how I was going to continue.
Thankfully, the instructor sent everyone back and sat with me on the beach while I got some energy back. He talked me through what he had observed happening and we worked out a plan of attack to overcome my breathing problems. When I felt recovered, we walked back to the shop.
We had two instructors for our class and before that dive, I'd found this instructor stand-offish and felt like he thought he was better than us. Looking back on it, I seriously doubt I would have finished the course if he hadn't spent that extra time with me.
I learned to dive in what I feel are harsh conditions - cold, salt water on hot days (typical Melbourne summer, the water never heats up) and for this I am glad. My sister (been diving for years) told me that if I could dive in Port Phillip Bay, I could dive anywhere. I'm so glad I learned to dive in those conditions, as opposed to in tropical where I have since dived with just a lycra suit and like 6kg of weights. I feel it would have been very difficult to go the other way - from tropical to Melbourne!
Since my OW, I've clocked up 20 dives (not many I know!) and have just completed my Adv. I'm now looking to the future - instructor here I come!
Keep at it, shaken_babe!
aussiescubagal
Guest
Sorry... didn't mean that to be so long...!
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