Panic Attack During OWC - Had to Bail

[DandyDon]

I did that SR Blue Hole when I was brand new, in a 7 mil F-John, and I had to have 30#. Students and newbies take more weight, and a newbie in cold water is going to have even more buoyancy problems.

Shaken_Bake, there's an article in this months DAN magazine about diving in cold water. 62 degrees is not cold to some experienced divers, but since it is to you, it'll certainly apply. The article will explain a lot of your problems. I hope you and your hubby are both members, but if not - ask around for a copy. Oh, and join DAN.

One thing I forgot: I also always wear a neoprene beanie when I do that hole. Many of us don't like hoods, but the beanie will help prevent chilling. But don't forget the warm water down the inside back of the wetsuit. Relaxing.

BTW: Take your Referral papers to Belize with you. You might deicde to do your checkout dives there. Did you know you could do that...?

 

[FishLips]

Shaken Bake,

I was always afraid of the water, couldn't swim well, and the idea of scuba diving was the LAST thing I ever thought I could do. Well, several of our friends go to a great diving spot every year, and I finally decided to at least give it a try. I did pretty well in all of my pool work, with a few things I had to do more than once. Then we did our first three open water dives. I did better than I did in the pool, except I hated the giant stride. Still do. Then we came out another day on the boat for the fourth dive. I was seasick, and hadn't slept well. The minute I got in the water I started feeling like my chest was compressed and I couldn't get enough air. The waves were kind of bad, and the more I bobbed around the more panicked I got. I finally got underwater and my anxiety settled down a bit, but then I had to do my CESA, and I failed the test. Then I was really having trouble. I just couldn't seem to get enough air. I felt like my BC was constricting me and squeezing all the air out of my lungs. My throat was also constricting, because when I got back on the boat my voice sounded hoarse and wheezy. I believe the panic attack actually caused physiological changes in my respiratory system. Within five minutes I was back to normal.

Luckily my instructor agreed to do more dives with me that day and I eventually was able to get everything done, one by one. It was horrible, though.

Now for the good news! Four days later we left on our trip to Bonaire. The diving was so much easier - I can't tell you how much better it is to carry less weight, have a lighter wetsuit, be in warm water, and have excellent visibility. I didn't have one minute of trouble. We were with a big group of friends and my husband was my buddy. He was right there the whole time, watching me like a hawk, but turned out that I was fine. In fact, I ended actually having the best time of my life.

My advice is this: In addition to all the other great advice here, consider getting the rest of your certification while you are on your dive trip. Talk to your instructor to see what you need to do and take with you, so you don't have to do everything again. See if you can rent a BC that doesn't squeeze you too much when inflated; I've learned that different designs feel a lot different. Take small steps, because little victories give you the confidence to continue on. Practice the "stop, breathe, think, act" thing over and over. Pretend you are starting to panic, and go through the actual thought and action process. This will help you control the panic so that it doesn't escalate to a problem. Don't dive if you are really under the weather, or haven't slept, or are stressed out about it. It will only make you more anxious. But most of all, realize that it's really in our heads. We learn the safety stuff, and we can learn the skills to control the panic too. You'll do great - I can relate so well to what you said in your post. So I know you can get through it. The experiences you'll have will be awesome! All the best, Kelli

 

[Kayla]

I ahven't had a chance to read all of the posts yet, but I felt like I needed to post my story here too.

I had a very similar experience when I was getting my OW. I did great in EVERYTHING, class time, pool time, and even the first open water dives. However on the check out dives I ran into some troubles.

First of all, I couldn't get me ears to equalize completley, but was comfortable at the depth we were at. (About 20 ft.) I did the first few skills with no problems, but the reg removal where you let it drop and then recover it got me. For some reason, wheather I was distracted by my ears, or just couldn't do it at the time I'm not sure, but the point of the story is that the reg never made it back to my mouth.

After about ten seconds of sturggling, I got this overwhelming feeling of clausterphobia, and immediatley headed for the surface. On the way I managed to drop my weight belt, and when I finally got to the surface, I was in a state of total panic, which I think was what scared me the most.

I did the same thing you did. I DID NOT want to get back in the water, SCUBA was the last thing on my mind, and when I finally got out of the water, I sat in my car and cried because I felt like a total failure.

After everyone else came out of the water, I talked to my instructor, and we discussed my options. I chose to do private lessons, which were a life saver for me. I have been VERY happily ceritified for the last year and a half... almost two years I guess now.

The point of that whole thing was that I did the same thing you did. I decided that SCUBA wasn't for me, and I didn't want any part of it. I realize now that if I hadn't pushed myself to go back, I would have made the biggest mistake of my life.

You can do it, I know you can, but you have to want to first! Don't ever push yourself to do something that you don't want to do, its not worth it.

I hope I helped a little, if you want to chat more, my e-mail is kaylamaskell@peoplepc.com I would be more then happy to talk with you more about my experiences!


Have fun, whatever you decide!!!

Kayla

 

[Scubakevdm]

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?

I think that private instruction by an instructor who really cares about teaching you to dive well would eliminate this problem. Its one of the reasons why we only do private instruction. It's a bit more expensive, but there are tremendous benefits. Private instruction takes the focus off of learning SCUBA in a given amount of time, and puts it on learning to dive well. There's no class coming behind you... no deadline to finish by. You're done when you have demonstrated that you have learned the material. With only one student it is easy to determine any areas that need extra time spent and to determine how confident and comfortable a student is with any given skill. There is also the luxury of being able to spend time on more advanced stuff if a student is particulaly comfortable in the water. Thanks for the plug Mike, very kind of you.

 

[Foo]

One more thing to add, I think the advice to carry your referral papers with you on your cruise was important, you really should. I have a feeling that when you are snorkling above your husband in Belize, you're going to have a strong desire to be down there (been there, done that)! I also felt I had a time limit to get my certification before we went on a cruise last Feb., so I contacted several dive shops in each port, via email. There were lots of them that were more than willing to work with me. You can have the first day of dives in the first port, then finish up the second day of cert dives in the second port. I had that all arranged prior to my cruise, but a miracle happened and my LDS scheduled checkouts in a warm (72 degree) river before I left. Just wanted you to know that you CAN get your cert dives done in the warm tropical waters of Belize and Cancun, Cayman, Cozumel, Roatan... whereever your cruise ship is going. The dive shops will work with you. Best wishes and don't give up if it's something that YOU really want to do!
Foo

 

[DandyDon]

Good call, Foo.

If possible, though, check credentials of instructors before, and get a temporary card at least afterwards...

 

[milkathecow]

To add to Foo's and DandyDon's comments, Make copies of your File (papers you filled in, and what you did with an instructor ... each dive school has it). And take it with you, moreover ask your instructors (yes each one of them who went in the water with you to teach you skills) for an email or valid contact in case there's an issue... so that the last center who does the referral process and validation for your C-Card can make the checks and give it to you without any further issue for you.

Have fun and don't forget : "A bad day diving is always better than a good day at work"

 

[Dharshana Jayawardena]

Hi,

I had an identical experience. Before getting PADI OW I wanted to do a TRY DIVE in Bermuda. I was uncomfortable in the confined water training. But when they took me down to 10 meters in the sea I really flipped and couldn't take it! I had simillar feelings of claustrophobia and found it very difficult to breathe. I signalld that I wanted to come up and that was it. Everyone else had a good time and I was totally ashamed of myself thinking what a faliure I was. It was unfinished business.

About 6 months later I was determined to do at least one successful SCUBA dive. Getting the OW wasn't important. I just wanted to stay down and complete 1 dive. In this 6 months I improved my swimming & snorkelling skills as well and thus my familiarity with water (I couldn't swim when I did the first dive described above).

Finally I enrolled to a PADI OW with a friend. When I first got into the water I had the same experience. Fear, claustrophobia and the need for flight. But I took it VERY SLOWLY and somehow held on to the anchor line and took about 5 deep breaths and suddenly this anxiety and feeling vanished. THEN I HAD A BALL!. Within 1.5 years I have now logged 80 dives by diving in Maldives, Thailand, Great Barrier Reef and all over Sri Lanka (See ww.DiveSriLanka.com). I also earned my PADI RESCUE in Thailand in Feb this year. Now I am totally hooked SCUBA has changed my life.

YOU CAN DO IT. Just get in there. Don't rush. Take it slow. Breath slowly and deeply and just hold on and do nothing.... and suddenly... you will become a SCUBA Diver.

Dharshana
www.DiveSriLanka.com

 

[MikeFerrara]

I think that private instruction by an instructor who really cares about teaching you to dive well would eliminate this problem. Its one of the reasons why we only do private instruction. It's a bit more expensive, but there are tremendous benefits. Private instruction takes the focus off of learning SCUBA in a given amount of time, and puts it on learning to dive well. There's no class coming behind you... no deadline to finish by. You're done when you have demonstrated that you have learned the material. With only one student it is easy to determine any areas that need extra time spent and to determine how confident and comfortable a student is with any given skill. There is also the luxury of being able to spend time on more advanced stuff if a student is particulaly comfortable in the water. Thanks for the plug Mike, very kind of you.

Sounds good to me. I don't limit classes to private calsses but I keep classes small. As you point out it's important to laern skills well. If you move on because of the clock rather than mastery of the skill it's far more likely you'll have problems later.

 

[Scubakevdm]

Awww, Mike I'm gettin' kinda misty eyed... Hey look everybody me and Mike are playin' nice!