Nervous about Diving

[ajduplessis]

Being nervous about anything that have the potential to hurt you, especially if you still lack the training/knowledge is 100% understandable. Once you are clear in your mind about what scuba diving involves and how you plan and execute dives, will things become less "nervous".

PS: Nervousness is not a bad thing and help you to stay alert when engaging id diving activities.

 

[lozadora]

I think through understanding as much as possible about diving, that knowledge will erase any irrational fears. And reading the helpful posts from experienced divers on this forum is a great place to start.

I am a newly certified diver and found on my first experience in a pool that I suddenly thought "OMG I AM BREATHING UNDERWATER, WTF", which could have turned into a real panic, but I just stayed perfectly still and concentrated on my breathing. Slowing your breaths will naturally calm you and if you remain motionless and not focus on anything but breathing slowly, you'll soon realise you're getting more than enough air

 

[USFpsychDiver]

Anxiety and stress affect performance like an upside-down (inverted) 'U'; too little stress and performance is poor, too much stress and performance is poor; the trick is to have just the right amount of nervousness. Sounds like yours is a little high now, but that's perfectly normal -- all this unfamiliar equipment and unfamiliar environments and unfamiliar actions. The more you do them, the more familiar they become, the more anxiety drops. Despite OW training that was supposed to give me the ability to plan and execute my own dives, I felt no way prepared -- I was nervous -- for for my first half-a-dozen or so post-OW training dives I hired a guide, basically a hand-holder, so I could relax a little more and enjoy the dives. This is supposed to be fun, right? If we're not having fun we're not likely to stick with it, so I payed a little extra to have fun. A year and a half later and I'm a certified cave diver. It does get better.

 

[Bratface]

Relax and breath. Concentrate on what you are doing. Mentally rehearse the steps. A few private sessions in the pool would probably be very helpful. Not only will you have to flood your mask, but you will have to remove it underwater and put it back on. You will also have to remove your regulator and retrieve it. Ask yourself how much you want to go diving and then just do it. The rewards are worth more than the anxiety you are experiencing right now.

 

[Dsix36]

A lot of good sound advice from the previous posters. Just remember when you are concentrating on slow deep breathing to make sure to exhale fully also. I had the problem of never exhaling fully and would soon end up feeling like I could not catch my breath. I had to stand up in the pool and remove my regulator more than once the first time I was in the pool.

 

[scubadivingsteve]

Breathing is the key, but being comfortable in the water is a must. Snorkel as often as you can like hootie suggested. Before long you will be clearing your mask like a pro. Relax and
enjoy yourself.

 

[Akimbo]

Why are you anxious? Are you comfortable swimming without any equipment in a pool? If not, see if you can stop the course and return when you are. Being comfortable and confident in your abilities will make learning a few new skills far easier… and fun. You don’t need to set speed records or know all the strokes, but you do have to be confident that you won’t drown. That might be treading water for 5 minutes for some individuals or swimming 100 laps for others. The goal is measured by how you feel.

Are you afraid of equipment reliability? Good, more divers should be. Hang around the dive shop and see if a repair technician will show you how things work that concern you — all of it is pretty simple and easily understood if you take the time to look at it. A good diver expects equipment failure and treats it as an inconvenience rather than life threatening.

If the whole Scuba experience is overwhelming, spend time in a pool with mask fins and a snorkel. Become comfortable freediving, which will make any Scuba diver better. Gradually add gear and master at your own pace.

We invest a lot of time and treasure to enjoy diving. It sounds like you are not. Don’t let instructors, peers, or your ego rush you or you will chuck the whole thing and miss one of life’s great experiences.

If becoming a great diver is really important to you, here is my recommendation. It was written in response to a conversation about panic in the experienced diver, but applies here.

…
1. Master buoyancy, not as a diver but as a swimmer: Understand that the only thing that needs to be above water during the times you are actually breathing is your mouth and maybe your nose. Any other part of the body, especially the high density skull, that is above water is a waste of energy.

2. Master swimming: You don’t have to set speed records or learn all the strokes; you are after endurance. The value here is knowing that you have plenty of time. An embarrassing number of diver drownings occur on the surface. It is incomprehensible to me how anyone can drown in a wet or drysuit at or near the surface. DUMP WEIGHT!

3. Learn basic diving physics and physiology: Pick up a book or video to learn about pressure, gas compressibility, displacement & buoyancy, and principals of oxygenation. By this time, much of it will reinforce what you have discovered in earlier steps. Don’t worry about decompression, embolism, and oxygen toxicity at this point.

4. Learn to snorkel and freedive: You can learn to snorkel from friends and gain a lot of experience. When you feel ready, pay the big bucks for a good freediving course. You will learn how to safely extend, test, and learn, your limits. Tell the instructor you want to experience hypoxic blackout under their guidance. Pool static training will give you ample opportunity. Again, the end objective is to learn you have time.

5. Buy an old used regulator and Scuba Tank: Put a paint-ball sticker on it if you have to in order to get it filled. Take the second stage apart and see how it works. Really play with it. Just don’t take it in the water yet. Try to take apart and reassemble the first stage if you are mechanically inclined.

6. Take Scuba courses through Nitrox, add rescue if you are inclined. Diving Nitrox is not the objective, gaining the in-depth understanding of diving physics, and to a lesser extent physiology is the goal. In the process, find an instructor who will guide you through free ascents starting in a swimming pool and graduating to as deep as you like. Avoid instructors who view BCs as elevators, free ascents and dangerous, and self-learning as lost income.

IMHO, this process will give most people the habituation, education, and most of the experience to make you self-reliant, confident, and capable. Individuals with the discipline and dedication to follow this path are also likely to become highly competent divers in a relatively sort number of logged dives.

This foundation will serve you well regardless of how much farther you want to go. At that point technical diving, rebreathers, or commercial diving through saturation becomes far more about mastering systems than diving.

 

[Jerrod]

Mask removal and flooding scared the hell out of me.

What I did is get comfortable flooding and clearing in the 3 foot section. The removal and replace. After that, I stayed in the 3 foot section and swam around with out a mask for 3 or 4 minutes at a time. Then I moved to the 10 foot section. Share your apprehension with the instructor, and if he or she doesn't understand it, move on.

You won't be comfortable diving until your 10 or 11th dive. My 11th dive I went on a 20-25 ft shore dive and forgot my defogger. I had to flood and clear every 3 minutes. Since then, I have it down.

If necessary, pay for a couple of private lessons where you can do some of the things described here and above.

Good luck.

 

[tracydr]

Mask removal and flooding scared the hell out of me.

What I did is get comfortable flooding and clearing in the 3 foot section. The removal and replace. After that, I stayed in the 3 foot section and swam around with out a mask for 3 or 4 minutes at a time. Then I moved to the 10 foot section. Share your apprehension with the instructor, and if he or she doesn't understand it, move on.

You won't be comfortable diving until your 10 or 11th dive. My 11th dive I went on a 20-25 ft shore dive and forgot my defogger. I had to flood and clear every 3 minutes. Since then, I have it down.

If necessary, pay for a couple of private lessons where you can do some of the things described here and above.

Good luck.

Learning how to swim around withou the mask on, breathing through the regulator, is so important. Also, learning how to flood, clear the mask, in shallow water, for an anxious diver, will make all the difference.

 

[CamG]

Greetings ascully88 I have a question for you, "Why do you want to dive?".
If you are putting yourself through so much stress why is it important to you?

These are important questions to answer for you to form just what your dive goals are.
Anxiety, Stress, Nervousness, these are the fuel that when managed by training tempered with experience allow us to achieve our goals and dreams.
You can gain mastery over these and use the strength to be an aid in your training.
Much of what you fear is the unknown so simply MAKE IT KNOWN TO YOU!

That is what your OW training will do.
Take your time and learn to not allow your emotions rule your actions but trust your training!
The 18 basic skills you will be learning need to mastered and kept sharp!

Relax, breath, welcome stress but channel it to drive you to train, study, be the best student you can be.
I started my journey thinking diving to be a vacation pass time but it transformed my life!
If you allow it to it can open your life unleashing dreams you have not come close to realizing.
Sounds pretty cool and it very much is but never forget that diving is a serious activity with risk involved.
Train to manage the risk and master your skills the rest is enjoyment!

CamG Keep Diving....Keep Training....Keep Learning!