When and how to "trust your instincts".

[Storker]

I trust my instincts/intuition to the extent they agree with my instruments.

Compass rules, I drool. Ditto depth gauge. Ditto nitrogen ticks around the edge of my hockey puck.

^^^ This.

It's been more than once that, after a scallop frenzy, I've ascended a couple of meters, thought "Hmmm... which way were we going?... That way?", checked my compass and discovered I was between 90 and 180 degrees off.

But unless my instruments tell me otherwise, I try to listen to my gut. Sometimes I do it a little too often (like when it says "feed me!").

 

[Basking Ridge Diver]

My thought is most of the folks including myself have done a fair amount of other outdoor activities. I believe that experience has helped in developing a situational awareness and I believe it can be learned. I also believe that some folks just don't understand or get it and they can get themselves further into trouble if they follow their intuition/instinct. Some folks just have poor decision making skills (intuition/instinct) and underwater you want to be careful with your gut checks - because they can be wrong.

That said - folks can learn the skill but it takes time (years?) to know when to check your gauges, when to trust your gut, when to call a dive, when to know to stop and take a minute to think about your next move, or just slowly back track your steps and remove yourself from the situation. Until you have been in those situations it is very hard in my opinion to trust your intuition/instincts if you have not had to use them in many different scenarios.
It all takes time and experience but you can recognize the signs or your own situational awareness if you start practicing it on every dive in all different types of environments. Be responsible for yourself and you will learn to recognize those subtle signs that you may be in over your head - stop - turnaround - and remove yourself from that situation. Over time you can poke on situations but not without some battle scars or healthy respect for knowing you are in a foreign environment and you want to tread lightly.

 

[kevindsingleton]

My first dive at Lake Travis Near Auatin TX cought me off guard and made me freeze in my tracks when the earth started rumbling and shaking. Sounded like an underwater rock slide or being under a train tressle and amtrack passing overhead. As it turned out it was the dam spinning the generators with water release. The sound does not bother me now but earlier I had an offer to dive the dam wall face to the suctions. The voice said lack of info--- not a good idea and i passed. The suction area for generator spinning was not near the wall where we would have dove. How far apart were they. As far as i was concerned it was about 2". The distance on an operator panel from one flood control switch to another. I dpont , to this day, know if that decision was life saving one or not. I do know I am making this post.

I've been close enough to the dam at Travis to see the silt moving sideways towards the outlets. It's scary, and cool, at the same time. I wouldn't get close enough to see the gates, though. I just don't have the need for that sort of thrill. We met the guy that cleans the driftwood and other debris off the grates, one summer weekend. He said it's pretty hairy, down there, and there are some big catfish, too!

 

[bergersau]

My Instinct says I can't breath underwater.

My Training allows me to overrule my instincts.

My Intuition sometimes tells me to skip this dive.. "Something feels off today".
I've listened to that little voice on a couple of occasions now and whilst I have mild feelings of regret for a lost opportunity to dive. I'm also here to look forward to the next dive.

 

[Kevrumbo]

My Instinct says I can't breath underwater.

My Training allows me to overrule my instincts.

. . .

The actual incident that happened:

Cozumel 2006, my adjustment knob assembly on the second stage blew-out resulting in a catastrophic nonfixable free-flow, on a single-tank dive in 6m of depth, during a solo weightbelt lead check. I actually could see the gauge pointer on the SPG sweeping from 200 through 150 bar literally in an instant before reaching back to shut-off the cylinder [against my instinct, but a solution commensurate with my wreck diving specialty training]. When the urge to breathe came, I cracked open the tank valve again to "sip" the torrent of air blasting out of the malfunctioning reg --and turned off the tank valve again. Switched out the malfunctioning reg for my bungied back-up reg around my neck and then proceeded to modulate/feather the tank valve behind my head on & off, taking breaths as needed, while slowly ascending to the surface.

The motivation after realizing that you can breath off a catastrophic non-fixable free-flowing 2nd stage reg, is to shut down the tank valve to stop further "hemorrhaging" of precious breathing gas. If you have a pre-dive Rock Bottom Gas Plan and you know how much pressure your tank has during all phases of the dive, then why would you let vital breathing gas bubble away because of an unfixable free-flow? Especially if you have the ability to reach back and manipulate your tank valve on & off to take breaths while not panicking, maintaining buoyancy at depth, spending a moment on the chance that your buddy will find you again? And if not, then how about a nominal ascent with a safety stop while still modulating your tank valve as needed for breaths?

To recap on an Uncontrolled/Unfixable Free-Flow:
Shut your tank valve down. When you need to take a breath, crack open the tank valve and shut it down again. Repeat as needed, switch to your back-up reg/octopus as well if the unregulated flow of gas from the malfunctioning primary reg is too much to handle. Perform this tank valve "feathering/modulation" technique while doing a CESA (if your buddy is nowhere to be seen and you're essentially solo). . .With your left hand, slow your CESA rate via BCD/wing hose deflator dump button . . .with your right hand reach back, feather/modulate your tank valve and take breaths as needed.

All it takes is practice (and although the technique is covered in tech & advanced overhead wreck/cave/ice diving training courses, IMHO --it should be a fundamental skill first taught in basic open water scuba . . ).

 

[wetb4igetinthewater]

I'd be curious to ask what people mean when they say "instincts". Is it a negative feeling whereupon they analyze why they are feeling that way and react to it? Or is it how one handles problems? Or ...? Don't mean to be pedantic, but I feel the term "instincts" can mean different things to different people.

 

[Kevrumbo]

I'd be curious to ask what people mean when they say "instincts". Is it a negative feeling whereupon they analyze why they are feeling that way and react to it? Or is it how one handles problems? Or ...? Don't mean to be pedantic, but I feel the term "instincts" can mean different things to different people.

A basic instinct like the Need to Breath, is simply an essential vital fact. Actually, it's the automatic evolutionary emotions like stress, fear and worst of all -Panic- that reduces situational awareness and causes perceptual narrowing to fixate only on these most basic instincts in an emergency.

You have to control these primal emotions and turn to your conscious mind which is uniquely capable of deliberate & creative problem solving. While automatic emotions can quickly focus on the most immediate variables like the instincts, the learned & rational brain is able to expand the list of possibilities to resolve the situation and to do the most reasonable thing.

Obvious example: Fear of drowning and resulting panic in an Out-of-Air Scuba contingency compels to conserve one's breath (or "hold" your breath), and make for the surface as quickly as possible. But proper training dictates that even in this dire emergency to never hold your breath and instead perform a CESA --that is to rationally overcome the panic, and utilize the learned skill/technique that will give you the best chance of a viable outcome.

(see also Post #25 . . .)

 

[Z Gear]

I'd be curious to ask what people mean when they say "instincts". Is it a negative feeling whereupon they analyze why they are feeling that way and react to it? Or is it how one handles problems? Or ...? Don't mean to be pedantic, but I feel the term "instincts" can mean different things to different people.

In short your instinctive reaction or "instincts" is not the choice for diving. Since we have been gathering knowledge and training/ skills our "intuition" has been developing. This is a sixth sense that you can use to alert you when something is not right, and it should replace your basic "instincts".

The action you take when using your intuition is one that evaluates the situation and is then connected to what appropriate action to take. The intuition is only as good as the combined knowledge/training, protocol, and past experience you have acquired. IMO

Frank G
Z GEAR - Z Gear Dive Mounts

 

[glassbottom]

In short your instinctive reaction or "instincts" is not the choice for diving. Since we have been gathering knowledge and training/ skills our "intuition" has been developing. This is a sixth sense that you can use to alert you when something is not right, and it should replace your basic "instincts".

The action you take when using your intuition is one that evaluates the situation and is then connected to what appropriate action to take. The intuition is only as good as the combined knowledge/training, protocol, and past experience you have acquired. IMO

Frank G
Z GEAR - Z Gear Dive Mounts

I use my "instincts" pre-dive on whether to thumb the dive or not etc.

but once under the training training training is supposed to replace that instinctual reactions most of us would have, and keep us calm to be able to handle a situation that is thrown at us.

 

[KeithG]

My Instinct says I can't breath underwater.

My Training allows me to overrule my instincts.

My Intuition sometimes tells me to skip this dive.. "Something feels off today".
I've listened to that little voice on a couple of occasions now and whilst I have mild feelings of regret for a lost opportunity to dive. I'm also here to look forward to the next dive.

Agreed - I use my instincts (gut feeling) before a dive. Once underwater I use my training and scientific facts provided by my instruments...