Anxiety

[amerz]

So I attempted to go diving this weekend only to find myself NOT being able to descend. Mind you, I have done this dive before so I was familiar with the wreck, HOWEVER, something in my head said "no" and there went that!!!!

When I went to the second dive, a reef, that was only 40" deep, it looked like an eternity to the reef... AGAIN, my mind said NO and there went that!

So my patient and yet amazing instructor (oh did I mention I am doing my AOW) asked how would I feel if we got dropped at 20-25" and swam to reef... I said, "let's do it" (I wasn't about to give up)....

So that's what we did and before I knew it, I was at the 40"...

SO what happened, why the freak out?

Did you ever suffer from this anxiety?

Is there something I can do before descending?

 

[k ellis]

Hmmmm I am a little the same way. If I pay attention to my surroundings especially in lake water it can make me a little ansy but I compensate by concentrationg 100 percent on my depth guage. As each foot passes you are ok with the next foot.

When I went to Molokini Crater they said it was 90 foot to the bottom and yea I got a little nervous at the thought. But once I made the full decent I was in paradise beyond any paradise I have ever experienced. Its all psychological so mind your gauges and control your decent. Of course occasionally look around for hazards too but go right back to your gauges you should be ok!

 

[hudson]

Probably just a self-confidence thing. Early on I would conceive of all kind of failure/screw-up scenarios (reading SB doesn't help ). Yeah, that's all possible given the lack of skills/practice and all, but you really have no reference point to gauge the likelihood of anything going wrong, so you tend to amplify potential mishaps in your mind (big time).

Truth is, stick to your training, especially the basics (check your equipment, watch your air, stay with your buddy, don't bolt to the surface etc) and you'll be ok. As you get more dives under your belt, the anxiety will go away.

Unless, of course, you don't feel 100%. If you think something's wrong either with you or your equipment or there is a real challenge about the dive (for example, lots of current, extreme depth, dangerous entry or exit) then screw the dive.

 

[ScubaDocER]

So I attempted to go diving this weekend only to find myself NOT being able to descend. Mind you, I have done this dive before so I was familiar with the wreck, HOWEVER, something in my head said "no" and there went that!!!!

When I went to the second dive, a reef, that was only 40" deep, it looked like an eternity to the reef... AGAIN, my mind said NO and there went that!

So my patient and yet amazing instructor (oh did I mention I am doing my AOW) asked how would I feel if we got dropped at 20-25" and swam to reef... I said, "let's do it" (I wasn't about to give up)....

So that's what we did and before I knew it, I was at the 40"...

SO what happened, why the freak out?

Did you ever suffer from this anxiety?

Is there something I can do before descending?

Every dive is different from every other dive. You can use the same equipment, same dive buddy, same location, and the dive will still be different. There are many things that can affect a divers mindset. Anything from new gear, not feeling well mentally or physically, or just stress about the dive or about life in general. The first thing to do is acknowledge the stress when it happens. If you suppress it or pretend that it does not exist, then you turn a small feeling of concern into a full blown panic!! Acknowledging your feelings allows you to deal with them more effectively. Once done, you can either decide that you want to try to do the dive anyway, knowing that you can end the dive if your concerns do not resolve; or you can decide to not do the dive, and wait until you have resolved your concerns. Never be afraid to terminate a dive if you do not feel that you are "into" doing the dive. Cave divers have a saying that any diver can call any dive for any reason. I think that applies to any dive environment.

Your Instructor did the right thing in allowing YOU to decide when you are ready to dive and to control your depth. It seems as if everything worked out well and you enjoyed the dive. There is a fine line between letting your ego suggest what you can do...and control what you should do. To borrow a phrase from Yoda..."Let the force flowwww through you". If you are not mentally into the dive, do not hesitate to avoid the dive at THAT moment or for THAT day. Does not mean you should not dive period, just that the forces have not aligned properly for you to be able to do the dive. When you're ready, try the dive again. Talk about your concerns with your buddy or Instructor. You may find that your fears are all in your head. Once you banish those mental demons, you'll be off to finishing your AOW, Nitrox, MSD, etc...

 

[TMHeimer]

I've done quite a few deep dives, most from boats. Maybe I was a little nervous the first time, as it was new to me. Though descending has never bothered me, I always concentrated on what had to be done-- releasing BCD air, checking depth (more important ascending, of course, as long as you know how deep the bottom is to begin with), using the anchor line due to current, etc. Before I was certified, snorkelling and even being in water deeper than chest level didn't scare me, but gave me a little bit of the heebee jeebees. Oddly, without scuba it still does to a small degree. I guess it's all mental, really.

 

[Puffer Fish]

Amerz - It's called being human. You have not been diving enough for it to become second nature... and until you do, sometimes it is possible for small differences (which you may not even notice) to cause that.

I don't think everyone has that happen, but more than half will, at one point (if they keep diving) experience it.

Kind of an interesting feeling, if you think about it...

Glad you went on that last dive.. excellect decision.

 

[Doubler]

Calling a dive when you feel "hinky" is a good thing not a bad thing. Hey it all worked out in the end. The ocean will still be there tomorrow. I don't know if you are a guy or a gal but a woman will call a dive in a New York second, when a guy a lot of times will let the "Macho" thing kick in and do the dive anyway even in unsafe conditions or when they don't feel right. You did the correct thing.

 

[amerz]

WOW!
You guys have made me feel so OK about the whole situation.....

I like the idea of looking at my computer to focus on descending....

It is DEFINITELY a confidence thing, which is why I can't give up

I will let the force flow through me,,,,, ha ha, good one!

Heebee Jeebees, perfectly stated... that's EXACTLY right!

I was once told by an excellent diver "never be scared to thumb a dive, if you have a gut feeling, CALL IT"

THANKS AGAIN YOU GUYS-all the posts really helped and let me see it's not JUST ME!

 

[k ellis]

Glad to help. Just be patient with scuba. Scuba is all about patience and relaxation. Its meant to have fun not scare the pants off of you.

 

[amerz]

I ALWAYS said it, if there was an elevator that I could take to get down there and to come up... I WOULD BE ON IT!!!

Thanks again.....

Glad to help. Just be patient with scuba. Scuba is all about patience and relaxation. Its meant to have fun not scare the pants off of you.