Underlying Fears

[Troyscolwell]

I was not sure where to post this. Did some gawking around the forums but maybe didn't look deep enough to find any help.

I began my diving a year ago with Enomis Divers in Roaton taking the Discover Scuba class. Fell in love with scuba. Then this past summer received my Scuba at a Sandals resort in Grenada (great time). Then My Open Water and Advanced Open water at Beaver Lake Arkansas this past November.

I felt great in the Ocean, pretty comfortable. Once I hit the low vis lake it seems as though every boogey man fear I have has since kicked in. My instructor fit me in during the week so it was just me and him. He was quit great at explaining the low vis and how to best not let it hinder my diving. He admitted he was not bothered in the least by low vis diving which I found abnormal lol.

I feel good when I know the bottom is within a reasonable depth (for me around 100', not that i have been that deep by far but some reason that seems a good choice for my brain to latch onto) but anything much deeper my head thinks is the abyss. Then the fear of uncontrolled descent kicks in (to many articles on the web).

First question is, is this a natural fear that just needs overcome by continued diving in the low vis. I know practice may not make perfect but should make it comfortable i think.

Any ideas or responses as to how anyone overcame their fears is appreciated. Doing my Rescue Diver Course next month and wish to make it to instructor overtime so I can winter someplace warm and at least make a dollar while I am there. (sorry for any grammer errors, I may speak english but barely passed it in High School haha.)

Troy Colwell

 

[Littlerayray]

Diving in low vis is nerve racking it took me about ten dives to get used to it after that I was fine as for the fear of not knowing where bottom is the fear of the unknown is a legitimate fear that most people have
One tip i find great is the second I start feeling anxious I stop everything and just concentrate on my breathing and this usually calms me down

 

[RJP]

wish to make it to instructor over time so I can winter someplace warm and at least make a dollar while I am there.

At least you've got appropriate expectations vis-a-vis earning potential.

 

[snowdog61]

Getting the Heebie Jeebies in low vis seems perfectly normal to me - part of the Fight or Flight instinct that we are pre-wired with. Repetition will help with the stress - know your kit and practice enough to get some muscle memory of where things are located. and RELAX! There is nothing there that isn't there in the clear water (except maybe a bull shark) and as long as you aren't pulling a bloody fish around you, nothing has an interest in you. If you can get comfortable in low vis, just think how much more enjoyment you'll get out of 100+

 

[Lorenzoid]

It took me YEARS before I realized I was no longer spooked by low vis. Then again, every step I've taken in diving has taken me years. Just take it a step at a time. Gradually build up a comfort level with depth and lack of vis.

 

[TMHeimer]

Though I've dived in the worst possible viz, plus some surge, I'm not crazy about it. I will continue the dive if it is a site I know--unless absolute 0 viz (then what's the point?). Only heebee jeebees I get then is that a shark could come and kill me. And we all know that sharks all naturally seek humans to eat, and your chances of a shark attack are many times that of a car accident driving to the site....

 

[TONY CHANEY]

I have dived so much in zero to low vis that it really does not bother me much. I is just something that you can get use to. The Cooper River is so dark that I have to ensure first time divers there that there is a bottom. You will not see it, usually until you hit it. I found it rather funny when my cave instructor asked if I was scared "down there?" I said, "nothing so far because it is the best vis I have seen outside the ocean." Good luch with and thanks for your service.

 

[tbone1004]

thanks for yours too Tony!

I was certified in not great vis 7 years ago and I still don't enjoy it. When I'm cave diving and the vis goes to hell I close my eyes because it is disorienting. In river dives when the vis is that bad, I have comfort thrown in because the screwdrivers are dug in the bottom. In blue water, it is just something you have to get used to, but you may never get used to it and that is OK. Remember the good vis and why you got into this in the first place, and treat the bad vis dives like a mission that you have to fight through.

 

[lerpy]

You will get used to the low vis thing the more you do, however I will still get the heebee geebees now and again diving on wreck I know well. If the vis is low and down below a thermocline where it can be dark, I get a bit skittish even though I know the wreck is there. When suddenly it appears out of the "abyss" it can sometimes startle me.

 

[kimmerscuba22]

I think the more you dive in low vis the more comfortable you will be, it's just about getting more experience. You can happily walk through your house with the lights on with no problem. Try it again in the middle of the night and you'll be wary about stubbing your toe on something!