Panicked on my second open water dive.

[Catchdanielle]

Hi guys! I am new to this site and also new to diving.

I have never been a fan of water. I can swim, and don't mind jumping in water, or doing a bit of snorkelling, but the idea of breathing underwater and trusting gear is a bit freaky for me.

Anyhow, as I'm heading with my boyfriend to Thailand next month, we both thought it would be fun to get certified in open water. So we signed up and since then I have been taking my Padi at a dive center.

I struggles in the pool on my first dive quite a lot as I got panicky and hyperventilated when first using the reg. We were in the shallow end. Eventually I was at ease using this and we moved on to partial/full mask flooding and then eventually removal of the mask and breathing underwater without for one minute. I had such a hard time with this. I kept getting water in my nose, choking, and then would rush up to the surface. This continually happened until I felt my instructor was just getting fed up with me. I didn't manage to complete these skills, so we ended the day.

I can back two days later and trained with another instructor who was much more paitient and I felt very comfortable with him. I was able to swim with a mask on, flood it partially/fully and clear, and take it off and breath without it. I actually started to enjoy the skills and I could feel my confidence in myself growing. We finished all of our confined water dives and I was ready for my open water the next day.

On the day of the open water I had actually been up quite late the night before as I was finishing elearnings and my final assessment. I went to meet with everyone and we got our gear together and headed out. I could feel a pretty big sense of anxiety and a pit in my stomach before the dive. I think it was mainly because I would be doing some of these skills in open water and now not in a pool, but at 12m. There was no ability for me to quickly go up if I started to choke on water. Etc etc. Also, as it had been quite windy and rainy in Dubai that am there was a strong current at our dive spot, jellyfish everywhere which the instructor had to hit away as to not be stung or have me stung and freak out, and only 3ft of visibility. At the first descent I freaked out and had to go back up. I cried and bit and then calmed down and we all went back down together. I was able to clear my partial flooded mask and drop my reg and put it back in at ease. We swam around a plane wreck but I don't really em ever much as the whole time I wasn't really very comfortable or able to enjoy. I was more worried about where my instructor was at all time and if everything was ok. Super paranoid! At one point I couldn't see anyone else, just my instructor and I know maybe this is crazy but i got worried that something was wrong and that maybe I couldn't even trust him. Like maybe he would turn my air off. I know that is weird but I just get so vulnerable down there and totally not in my comfort zone. We did our five point ascent up and I had to be pulled back a couple of times to slow down my ascent. We were back in the boat.

The second dive did not go so well. I was to shake my buddy, signal that I had no air and then take his extra regulator (yellow one) I'm not sure what happened but upon taking it it seemed that I couldn't get any air from his reg. I was breathing and I just couldn't get a breath. I started to panic and of course this made things more difficult for me. I kept signalling up to my instructor and he was trying to calm me but then we went up. I aborted the dive even tho my instructor tried to see if I could continue. I was just too shaken up, got back on the boat and had a big cry. Just get like a complete failure and so stupid. We made our way back to the dive center to log our dives. My buddy asked me if I would be on the boat the next day and I said Uhm no I don't think so and my instructor agreed that I should take a break. I felt alittle annoyed though afterwards that my instructor didn't sit with me to talk about what went wrong or what happened. It just seemed like he just said no don't come tomorrow, you can try in fujeriah as its a better dive spot or try next week. But he didn't really do anything to make me fee better. I guess what I needed from him was a bit of reassurance. Now I just feel like he doesn't want to teach me and that maybe this sport isn't for me. Am I destined to never be good at scuba? I was really looking forward to some beautiful diving in koh Tao and seeing all the beauty below! Any information or advice super appreciated.

Danielle

 

[flyboy08]

You need one on one in a better environment! Thailand you'll have 100 ft viz....you'll love it! Like learning any sport..it takes time and practice. Having the right instructor helps a lot too. Find a new instructor and share the above like you have here with him...it'll go a lot smoother I'm sure. Your probably past the worst already....don't give up...I hear the passion in your writings.

 

[Catchdanielle]

Thanks so much. I think I need to be certified before my trip tho!
I'm going to call the dive center today and see if I can schedule my dives. I just wish my instructor would communicate alittle better with me. Maybe I was being negative or closed off after the day, prob because I was a bit embarrassed, but it would have just helped had he sat with me and gave a bit more reassurance. Am I reading into it too much? He said I did great, but then if I did so great, why didn't he want me to come the following day for some more dives?

 

[Caveeagle]

Perhaps you need a much slower progression than what you get in a typical OW class. It does not sound like you were ever 100% comfortable in the confined water phase.

In OW, being stressed in advance is a very bad thing. Especially given your lack of comfort in the previous phase.

On a technical note.. Your trouble accepting donated air from your buddies "back-up" is exactly why many promote the practice of "primary donate". This is where the OOA diver is given (or expected to take) the regulator that is currently being breathed by the donating diver. Then the donating diver switches over to his/her backup 2nd stage. Practically, there are few good reasons for this..
a) As a OOA, stressed diver, you will be more comfortable accepting a reg that you know will breathe for you immediately.
b) You do not have to worry (as much) about purging the reg. (still a good idea), but with a quick transfer, it will probably breathe for you right away.
c) 'Tribal knowledge' says that a panicking diver will tend to grab the reg from your mouth anyway.. So you might as well train for that circumstance.
**I know this not how all OW divers are trained, and is something you should discuss with your buddy pre-dive and make sure you are both comfortable with this.

In any case.. breathing underwater does not come naturally for many people. Don't let them make you feel like a failure for having these issues. Perhaps you could pay the "nice" instructor for a couple additional pool sessions. Maybe try to find an OW option that is a little more 1-on-1 and in a much more controlled environment.

I live near a lot of Springs, in North Florida and think they are awesome options for OW training. You get excellent visibility and very controlled conditions. Might not be possible for you.. but there might be other options that would work for you.

Perhaps maybe even call ahead to your resort destination.. and see if there is a PADI instructor available to help with make-up check out dives. ..But be sure to tell them about your issues so they are better prepared to help you out.

Good luck!!

 

[SeaHorse81]

If you're going to proceed, by all means, do it slowly and with an instructor who will take the time you need, helping you to feel supported and understood along the way. Don't settle for any instructor with whom you're uncomfortable because this is far too important. Pay for whatever extra time you need so you don't need to feel guilty or rushed.

But the other thing gnawing at me from your writing is whether you really want this. If you've "never been a fan of the water," diving is not an obvious choice. It often happens that significant others get involved with diving either to make their diving partners happy or to be able to participate in a neat new experience with them. Sometimes that works out okay, but sometimes it really doesn't. Diving isn't for everyone. If you don't want it--really want it--for yourself, I hope you'll give yourself the opportunity to honestly reflect on what works best for you and then act on that, whatever it is.

 

[Catchdanielle]

If you're going to proceed, by all means, do it slowly and with an instructor who will take the time you need, helping you to feel supported and understood along the way. Don't settle for any instructor with whom you're uncomfortable because this is far too important. Pay for whatever extra time you need so you don't need to feel guilty or rushed.

But the other thing gnawing at me from your writing is whether you really want this. If you've "never been a fan of the water," diving is not an obvious choice. It often happens that significant others get involved with diving either to make their diving partners happy or to be able to participate in a neat new experience with them. Sometimes that works out okay, but sometimes it really doesn't. Diving isn't for everyone. If you don't want it--really want it--for yourself, I hope you'll give yourself the opportunity to honestly reflect on what works best for you and then act on that, whatever it is.

Yea I see what you're saying! I do want to be certified so that I can dive recreationally. I do a lot of travel and therefore I will be able to dive in some really cool places. I just have to get over my fear of choking on water and not being able to breath. Letting go and staying calm and trusting my equipment. I just find my mind races when I'm down there . I do beleive that I can overcome this though, and I think pushing ourselves to do things we are scared of can only be positive if done in the right ways. In my case, more time!

 

[KatieMac]

I had some struggles too. But I had a great instructor. First, I didn't do the mask clearing thing in a pool. I did it in the sea. The task was stressing me out and I ran into everything you said you encountered about this skill. The thing was, I was in the sea! I could see some of the things that I was interested in seeing rather than seeing the blue liner of the pool. This was motivation for me and I got me through that task. Touching on what @SeaHorse81 said, I was lucky to have an instructor that knew me, why I was doing this and what my apprehensions were. He also baited me a bit by saying "most GIRLS quit at this point". Now for you DIs who think this is horrible, keep in mind I have known this guy for years and he knows what makes me tick. I was about to quit but this strengthened my resolve.

Once we got through the mask clearing task we called it a day. He didn't do any more with me to make sure I was in a calmer frame of mind before continuing. The next day, we started with that skill and he reminded me that I could already do this. I completed the skill with ease and that gave me the confidence to do all the rest of the tasks which I found easy by comparison.

Secondly, I hated (maybe still do but I'm working through it) being on the surface. I have never been a swimmer. Jumping off the boat, I felt like I was dumped in the middle of the ocean with no rescue possible. Once I put on my mask and put my face underwater, the fear went away. I know it's irrational, but fear is irrational. My DI knew this and made sure he was on the surface with me talking things through.

Those were the only issues I encountered. But having an instructor who recognizes it's important to be in the right frame of mind is critical to the success of people who are apprehensive.

On another note, I come from a family with several divers. My husband has some apprehension about the science and technology of scuba. I never did. My delay was about my irrational fears rather than relying on the equipment. I "trust" the technology and understand that the skills they teach you (in part) are safety measures that on the off chance the equipment fails, you have skills to enact a backup plan. I never had a worry about that part. Millions of people do this every day. The reason I bring this up is because of your comment "I could feel a pretty big sense of anxiety and a pit in my stomach before the dive. I think it was mainly because I would be doing some of these skills in open water and now not in a pool, but at 12m. There was no ability for me to quickly go up if I started to choke on water."

There will be times you need to use the skills they teach you in OW. That's why they teach them to you. Trust the equipment (to some degree) but trust more in your own ability to learn the skills and employ them when necessary.

 

[Trailboss123]

It is not uncommon to get a feeling like you can't get enough air when using someone else's backup (yellow) regulator. Most dive shops do not rent or use high end gear for their classes and in most cases, the backup regulators do not breathe as easily or fluidly or "openly" as the primary regulator. It will feel like it is harder to breathe from and that you aren't getting as much air as with your primary. Maybe having this knowledge ahead of time and being able to anticipate that it is going to feel that way, will have you a bit more prepared and won't cause you to panic. You will be able to breathe from it and you will be fine-- however, it is going to feel very different and less open or fluid. Hope that makes sense.

 

[DiverAmy]

Yea I see what you're saying! I do want to be certified so that I can dive recreationally. I do a lot of travel and therefore I will be able to dive in some really cool places. I just have to get over my fear of choking on water and not being able to breath. Letting go and staying calm and trusting my equipment. I just find my mind races when I'm down there . I do beleive that I can overcome this though, and I think pushing ourselves to do things we are scared of can only be positive if done in the right ways. In my case, more time!

While I don't completely disagree with "and I think pushing ourselves to do things we are scared of can only be positive if done in the right ways," keep in mind that scuba diving is a dangerous activity and a panicked diver is at risk. Therefore, perhaps, take the time pressure off yourself to get this done before this trip. Let go of that expectation. Learn how to dive safely and comfortably. There will be plenty of other excellent dive opportunities down the road that you won't need to approach with the level of anxiety that comes through here. Good luck and dive safely.

 

[CAPTAIN SINBAD]

Here is what I would recommend:

1) Multiple pool sessions in which you try to swim laps under the water. You will have to do it till it becomes really easy and comfortable and you feel like you have no anxiety or pressure when it comes to swimming underwater laps.

2) Do a few of your open water dive in 20 - 30 feet of water where you feel like the surface is not too far off than it was in the pool. It is an anxiety reducing mechanism. After some time you will stop paying attention to the process of diving and start enjoying the underwater environment.

You are there! It is that simple.