Dealing with Dive Anxiety: How I Overcame My Fears and Fell in Love with Diving

[waxyourboard]

Hi all,


I wanted to share something personal that might resonate with some of you. When I first started diving, I had a lot of anxiety about being underwater. Even though I had done all the training, the idea of descending into the deep made my heart race. I know many new divers struggle with this, so I thought I'd share how I worked through it and how diving has become such a rewarding experience for me.

• I remember my first few dives – I’d often feel nervous, especially when it was time to descend. It’s so easy to ignore or push through fear, but acknowledging it was the first step toward overcoming it. Realizing that I wasn’t alone in feeling this way helped me a lot.

• I started with short, shallow dives and gradually built my confidence. My instructor was great at going at my pace, and I never felt rushed to push myself further than I was comfortable with. It’s amazing what a couple of slow, easy dives will do to settle your nerves.

• Breathing is such a simple thing, but I found it to be the most effective tool in managing anxiety underwater. Focused breathing really helped me stay calm and remind myself that I’m in control. Practicing breathing techniques on land first gave me more confidence.

• Having a buddy who understands and respects my pace was key. Whether you’re a seasoned diver or just starting out, diving with someone who’s encouraging and calm makes a world of difference.

• Before each dive, I would visualize myself enjoying the dive and being calm. I know it sounds a bit “woo-woo,” but it really helped shift my mindset.

• Every dive was a little victory. I made sure to celebrate the milestones – whether it was staying calm on a dive or successfully completing a challenging dive.

Today, diving is one of my favorite hobbies, and I’m no longer anxious when I step into the water. I can’t say that I don’t ever feel nervous (especially before deep dives), but the anxiety no longer takes over. If you’re someone who struggles with dive anxiety, I just want to say – you’re not alone, and it does get better with time and practice.


Does anyone else here struggle with anxiety before or during dives? How did you work through it?

 

[Painter]

I struggled with anxiety as well. The best thing that I did was to take a buoyancy course offered by a dive shop in CT. We did four sessions of intense time in a pool with videos of what we were doing and a lot of helpful criticism. It completely changed my diving experience.

 

[chillyinCanada]

Do mind exercises, the way downhill racers run the race in their mind's eye, before leaving the chute.

See yourself, sitting relaxed and gear up. See yourself backroll and descending equalizing as you go, the stop at depth, the dive, the ascent, etc.

See yourself having that relaxed dive.

Start to recognize your breaths underwater, as yoga zen breaths. Very soothing.

 

[Cthippo]

I get pretty bad anxiety and it rends to build during the preparation for the dive. By the time I am fully geared up and about to splash I am pretty miserable, but once I get in the water I am generally fine.

 

[njl]

Hi all,


I wanted to share something personal that might resonate with some of you. When I first started diving, I had a lot of anxiety about being underwater. Even though I had done all the training, the idea of descending into the deep made my heart race. I know many new divers struggle with this, so I thought I'd share how I worked through it and how diving has become such a rewarding experience for me.

• I remember my first few dives – I’d often feel nervous, especially when it was time to descend. It’s so easy to ignore or push through fear, but acknowledging it was the first step toward overcoming it. Realizing that I wasn’t alone in feeling this way helped me a lot.

• I started with short, shallow dives and gradually built my confidence. My instructor was great at going at my pace, and I never felt rushed to push myself further than I was comfortable with. It’s amazing what a couple of slow, easy dives will do to settle your nerves.

• Breathing is such a simple thing, but I found it to be the most effective tool in managing anxiety underwater. Focused breathing really helped me stay calm and remind myself that I’m in control. Practicing breathing techniques on land first gave me more confidence.

• Having a buddy who understands and respects my pace was key. Whether you’re a seasoned diver or just starting out, diving with someone who’s encouraging and calm makes a world of difference.

• Before each dive, I would visualize myself enjoying the dive and being calm. I know it sounds a bit “woo-woo,” but it really helped shift my mindset.

• Every dive was a little victory. I made sure to celebrate the milestones – whether it was staying calm on a dive or successfully completing a challenging dive.

Today, diving is one of my favorite hobbies, and I’m no longer anxious when I step into the water. I can’t say that I don’t ever feel nervous (especially before deep dives), but the anxiety no longer takes over. If you’re someone who struggles with dive anxiety, I just want to say – you’re not alone, and it does get better with time and practice.


Does anyone else here struggle with anxiety before or during dives? How did you work through it?

Thanks for sharing this — it really resonated with me.

I definitely felt that same kind of anxiety when I first started diving, especially when it came to trusting the equipment and just the idea of breathing underwater. It felt so unnatural at first.

I had issues with equalizing and so working on that in the pool was helpful. I also found that just getting more bottom time helped — like you said, short, low-stress dives really helped build confidence without feeling overwhelmed.

Did you find there was a particular type of dive that helped you break through that anxiety the most? Or was it more just the steady repetition of "normal" dives?

 

[The Chairman]

Does anyone else here struggle with anxiety before or during dives?

I've taught a number of people with diving stress. To a one, they were determined to push through their fears. Phobias are not rational. It takes patience on both ends, but it was always worth it. For them as well as me.

When Jaws came out, I had been diving for 5 or 6 years. I was fanning sand off an old wreck just north of the Ponce DeLeone Inlet in Florida. There was a deep drop off and my back was to it. The shark hit me from behind and rolled me. I saw belly, sand, belly, sand, and got the hell out of there. No, it really wasn't an attack. I think the shark was just as surprised as I was, but I walked on water all the way to shore.

The next year, we're gigging flounder in the shallows off the same shore, just outside the surfline. I was with a buddy, unusual for me back then, when he hits me in the shoulder, and points backwards with his gig. There was a huge school of spinner sharks behind us. I doubt any of those sharks were bigger than 3ft, but there were so, so many of them. We walked back on shore. That was my first year at UF, and frankly, almost all my dives after that were in fresh water. Then around over 20 years later, a wife and two kids, I took a NitrOx course, which back then required some dives. We were about 200 miles offshore, so it seemed, and I could see fins slicing through the water. Big fins. As I approached aft, the deck hand asked me if I was OK. I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and splashed. I was down 20 feet before I opened my eyes and spun around looking for the charging bastards. Meh. Except for the bubbles coming from below me, I was alone. It was great. However, on the second dive the idiot instructor showed me how to ride a nurse shark. Grrrrrrr! I've been OK ever since.

 

[boulderjohn]

So what will happen over the coming years? Here is a story that might be instructive.

I was on a dive boat heading out for the dive site, and it was a pretty long haul. I was sitting next to two gray-haired veterans, divers I had seen before and knew to be highly skilled and experienced. I couldn't help but hear this part of the conversation.

One said he had been very nervous when he started diving, and now, he said, "after so many years and so many dives, when I start gearing up, I still get worried."

His buddy said, "That's funny. When I see you start to gear up, I get worried, too."