Anxiety Attacks at Depth

[Rooster1]

When gearing up I noted that my AL 80 had about 2800 psi in it. I am a big guy that usually hits 1000 before anyone else

Mouthbreather, if your a big guy that sucks a lot of air and some do, then you might consider a pony bottle (just in case) if your going to be diving past a 100 with an AL 80 or maybe look into a set of doubles, practicing on your breathing I know works for me.

 

[wetman]

Rooster1 once bubbled...
wetman it sounds like you were diving on the Arabia??

Indeed

 

[Mouth Breather old]

Today is my birthday (43rd) and the response to my question regarding anxiety attacks was a wonderful present.

Jonnythan: Yup, I should have let the guy above on the line or SOMEONE know that I was getting low on air so that they could be ready to share if needed.

PADIScubaPro: My regulator is a Mk25 and S600 that breathes really smoooth. I didn't have a headache after the dive. I was in fact looking forward to the 2nd dive (only 35 feet) that I did only 40 minutes later.

Uncle Pug: Good point about the 1000psi that I was supposed to have NOT JUST FOR ME, but to share in case of an emergency. I have always thought that coming up with little air was in a weird way, my way of being generous with my buddies...I'm sacrificing my air to give them more dive time. But you make a great point...starting my ascent at 1000 from that depth should be my way of saying that I CARE about my buddies as well as my own safety!

Walter: YES! Thank You! My job IS to set a good example.
Thank you for the kudos re: my chasing the kid down...yes it would have been much smarter and safer if I had 1000 instead of the 800 that I had when I gave chase. When I started after him, I remembered thinking, "Okay...this fast little sucker is going to get me killed if I can't catch him quick. If the chase takes too long I will head back to the line, and let the divemaster see my air and have him give chase." So....I believe that this was a FAIRLY lucid interval on my part and perhaps contradicts some of the assumptions that I was narced or CO2 loaded. But maybe giving chase with that much air was NOT a particularly smart thing to do. But I was by far the closest to the kid and correctly figured that I could catch him before he made me suck my air down too much further.

Dr. Paul: I agree I WAS task loaded. I didn't have any anxiety on any of the deep dives when I was just a student or diver sliding down a line...

Cave Diver: Good point re: what if the kid was OOA when I got to him? I would have been in a much better position to render assistance if I had more air myself.

Rooster: Pony Bottle? Yes that is the first thing I thought about when I was on the boat. How many of you guys use them?

Rockhound: Your story of how you drill was inspirational. I too have a swimming pool. I need to make better use of it.

Scubaturek: I agree "getting my mind right before a dive" is really important to me....I HATE feeling rushed. I like to check my gear AND my buddies gear, releases etc. but it seems like the boat captains and dive masters are always is such a damned hurry.

I appreciate the responses and the quality of the discourse more than you all could know. One thing that was not addressed during all the debate of Narc vs. CO2 vs. Exhaustion was that fact that I had the exact same psychological symptoms when descending my first cold water, low low vis. dive on a line at only about 15-20 feet. I know that I wasn't hyperventilating on that dive but definitely had the "impending doom, I shouldn't be here, I can't do this, I can't see, I'm going to die, feelings." They seemed go away once I reached the bottom and I could see SOMETHING...the rocks on the bottom of Monterey Bay. That depth was only about 60 feet. Fortunately I had a very good and experienced dive buddy with me at the time and knowing that he was right above me on the line was helpful. When that dive was over I couldn't wait to get back in the water again after our surface interval. So the effects of the "attack" certainly weren't lasting.

 

[Walter]

I'm proud of you. You are learning from your experience.

"So....I believe that this was a FAIRLY lucid interval on my part and perhaps contradicts some of the assumptions that I was narced"

One more lesson, when you are on a deep dive, youare narced. Being narced doesn't mean you can't think. You can't think as well or as fast.

 

[The Iceni]

Mouth Breather once bubbled...
Scubaturek: I agree "getting my mind right before a dive" is really important to me....I HATE feeling rushed. I like to check my gear AND my buddies gear, releases etc. but it seems like the boat captains and dive masters are always is such a damned hurry.

I think that this is probably the most important factor in the success of any dive and the avoidance of frank narcosis. If you are rushed you know you are likely to make mistakes and that buddy check is so, so important.

There are good skippers and there are good dive marshalls, who will ensure that their planning is such that there is no need to rush anything. For example the skipper could easily time the run to arrive on site at least 30 minutes before slack water. In my opinion the dive marshall should insist on this so his divers can prepare themselves meticulously.

I am sure I am not the only diver who has taken a couple of breaths from his regular and then jumped off the boat only to find just as I hit the water suddenly I had no air because my cylinder had not been turned on - all because the skipper had got his times wrong had arrived late at the site and wanted everyone in during the 40 or so minutes of slack water remaining, so there was insufficient time in the following mad rush for adequate buddy checks and mental preparation.

It takes less than a minute to perform an adequate buddy check, which includes Bouyancy, Air, Releases. If anyone is rushed prior to a dive they cannot be relaxed. If they rush or omit a buddy check there will always that liitle voice in the back of their mind saying "Did I miss something vital". I am sure I do not have to explain that this is a niggling anxiety, which nitrogen will amplify into a full-blown anxiety attack underwater.

Now I will not get in the water unless I am totally confident that everything is as right as it can be, including my buddy! The BSAC describes a phenomenon they term the incident pit;- small problems can amplify themselves into major disasters on ANY dive. The underwater environment is a totally alien environment so every diver is right to be wary, if not a little anxious, and as Walter rightly says narcosis is always present ready to catch out the unwary.


Narcosis is a state of mind!