Did anyone else panic the first time?
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reefrat
Contributor
Most of the previous posts discuss panic or anxiety states that occurred during their initial experiences and this suggests that such a condition is related to inexperience, it is not necessarily. Any cave diver will tell you that the one thing they really cannot afford to do when a long way in is lose their cool for any reason, and cave divers tend to be very experienced and cool people- but it happens.
My first encounter with an anxiety state was a few years ago and at that time I had about 600 dives and a pocket full of cards. I was in the Solomon Islands taking photos of a Jap shipwreck with a divemaster and two other, relatively inexperienced, divers. We were cruising along the main deck and I indicated to the divemaster that I was heading off on my own to get a shot that I really wanted and that we had discussed before the dive.
The bow of the wreck was the deepest part at about 110 ft and protruded out over the reef wall so what I wanted was a silhouette of the bow taken from underneath with the sun above it. The three divers continued along the deck and I dropped down the side of the hull until the rudder finally passed by.
Looking up there was the shot I wanted- beautiful, all I had to do was get it in the frame of my housed 35mm with a wide angle lens. So, staring up through the viewfinder I slowly descended further until finally the composition was good and then pressed the shutter. At around this point I started feeling a little weird, couldn't put my finger on it but just weird. A quick glance at the computer showed a depth of 130 or so feet and I jabbed the inflator again to get neutral. I don't know what it was- maybe narcosis was getting me more than usual, the panorama of being alone in the void with that old bow hanging above- I don't know. But all of a sudden I had a powerful urge not to be there and the only place that I wanted to be was way up there above.
I could feel my respiration rate increasing and everything seemed to form a tunnel with only the perceived need a rapid ascent filling my consciousness. With some effort I kept my breathing slow and regular while making a normal ascent until I got a hand on the hull of the wreck, all the time telling myself that everything was OK, that I had plenty of air and my equipment was working perfectly. Eventually I reached the main deck again at about 80 feet and stopped right there, got two hands on a rusted railing and focused on a lump of coral with a few small fish darting about. Within a few seconds everything seemed to fall back into place and the phantom of stress had vanished.
A few minutes later I found the other divers and we continued a great, and relaxing dive but the experience under the bow stayed in the back of my mind.
These days I have a few suggestions for divers who want to avoid unnecessary stress underwater:
My first encounter with an anxiety state was a few years ago and at that time I had about 600 dives and a pocket full of cards. I was in the Solomon Islands taking photos of a Jap shipwreck with a divemaster and two other, relatively inexperienced, divers. We were cruising along the main deck and I indicated to the divemaster that I was heading off on my own to get a shot that I really wanted and that we had discussed before the dive.
The bow of the wreck was the deepest part at about 110 ft and protruded out over the reef wall so what I wanted was a silhouette of the bow taken from underneath with the sun above it. The three divers continued along the deck and I dropped down the side of the hull until the rudder finally passed by.
Looking up there was the shot I wanted- beautiful, all I had to do was get it in the frame of my housed 35mm with a wide angle lens. So, staring up through the viewfinder I slowly descended further until finally the composition was good and then pressed the shutter. At around this point I started feeling a little weird, couldn't put my finger on it but just weird. A quick glance at the computer showed a depth of 130 or so feet and I jabbed the inflator again to get neutral. I don't know what it was- maybe narcosis was getting me more than usual, the panorama of being alone in the void with that old bow hanging above- I don't know. But all of a sudden I had a powerful urge not to be there and the only place that I wanted to be was way up there above.
I could feel my respiration rate increasing and everything seemed to form a tunnel with only the perceived need a rapid ascent filling my consciousness. With some effort I kept my breathing slow and regular while making a normal ascent until I got a hand on the hull of the wreck, all the time telling myself that everything was OK, that I had plenty of air and my equipment was working perfectly. Eventually I reached the main deck again at about 80 feet and stopped right there, got two hands on a rusted railing and focused on a lump of coral with a few small fish darting about. Within a few seconds everything seemed to fall back into place and the phantom of stress had vanished.
A few minutes later I found the other divers and we continued a great, and relaxing dive but the experience under the bow stayed in the back of my mind.
These days I have a few suggestions for divers who want to avoid unnecessary stress underwater:
- Stay sharp with basic skills- practice mask clearing and reg recovery at least every few months.
- Always carry redundancy- a spare mask and a spare air or other suitable alternative gas source and practice using them. It is incredibly reassuring to know that you are not totally reliant on one set of anything or anyone else's response.
- Remember that controlling respiratory rate is almost a silver bullet in relation to building anxiety- keep that in your mental emergency kit.
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reefrat, Thanks for that story. Certainly makes sense. I've got about the same # of dives and cards that you had at that time, so will beware, as that's exactly the sort of thing I have yet to experience.
The Chairman
Chairman of the Board
It's why I won't do them. If you want to try Scuba: TAKE THE CLASS. You'll start off in a pool where you can acclimate to the underwater environment and learn how to be neutral. Knowledge and skills will allow you to enjoy the open water rather than be scared half to death.
AdivingBel
Diver
I'm glad it's a big ocean out there. While they may not be for everybody, I for one hope there will always be instructors and agencies that perform and back open water DSDs. If done properly with individuals who are already comfortable in the water, they can be wonderful experiences and a great recruiting tool for future divers. Without trying a DSD on holiday, I'm not sure I (or several of my friends) would have ever considered the possibility of taking up scuba as a hobby. I'm sure glad we did. 
YMMV.
YMMV.
A year or two ago I was on a boat heading out toward the sea for a technical dive. All the divers were highly experienced, as you would expect on a tech dive trip., I happened to overhear part of a conversation between two long time divers next to me. One of them said that after all these years, he still feels some fear when he is about to start the dive. His buddy said, "I feel fear every time I see you about to start a dive, too!"
jonhall
Contributor
I have long felt that because I was around water in various capacities, for quite a few years before taking a scuba course, that it allowed me to be very comfortable when diving. I had no issues at all on my first dives and believe that I would have been okay even if it had been some type of introductory dive.
Having said that, several years ago on exactly my 37th dive, I did an entry off the boat, surfaced, and couldn't catch my breath. There wasn't anything wrong, as the water conditions were fantastic, other than I couldn't catch my breath. I swam over to the tag line, held on, and tugged my wetsuit away from my neck (like Rodney Dangerfield) and tried to take some deep breaths. Before everyone was in the water and the signal to go down was given, I was fine.
Panic attack??? I don't know. I wasn't panicky as I knew that had I not caught my breath, I would have made my way back to the boat.
Having said that, several years ago on exactly my 37th dive, I did an entry off the boat, surfaced, and couldn't catch my breath. There wasn't anything wrong, as the water conditions were fantastic, other than I couldn't catch my breath. I swam over to the tag line, held on, and tugged my wetsuit away from my neck (like Rodney Dangerfield) and tried to take some deep breaths. Before everyone was in the water and the signal to go down was given, I was fine.
Panic attack??? I don't know. I wasn't panicky as I knew that had I not caught my breath, I would have made my way back to the boat.
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The Chairman and AdivingBel make good points though on opposite sides.
I agree with Doc in that just taking the OW course is the best way to go. No surprises and diving without a chunk of skills learned. As well, you'd THINK someone would already be experienced with water activities prior to taking OW scuba. I know that's not always true by a long shot. If you swim, surf, etc., you probably don't need to take DSD to find out if you'll like scuba. I guess the only possible downside is you can pay for the OW course and for some bizarre reason find out you don't want to complete it, then try to get (part of?) your money back.
OTOH, AdivingBel points out what many many others have said in that without taking DSD at some point, a life of diving would not have occurred.
Safety is the thing. Instructor/student ratios. Very benign OW or pool vs. otherwise. One on one probably the only "safe" way. I have no experience taking DSD or teaching it, and agree with Doc that if I were qualified to teach it I would not.
I agree with Doc in that just taking the OW course is the best way to go. No surprises and diving without a chunk of skills learned. As well, you'd THINK someone would already be experienced with water activities prior to taking OW scuba. I know that's not always true by a long shot. If you swim, surf, etc., you probably don't need to take DSD to find out if you'll like scuba. I guess the only possible downside is you can pay for the OW course and for some bizarre reason find out you don't want to complete it, then try to get (part of?) your money back.
OTOH, AdivingBel points out what many many others have said in that without taking DSD at some point, a life of diving would not have occurred.
Safety is the thing. Instructor/student ratios. Very benign OW or pool vs. otherwise. One on one probably the only "safe" way. I have no experience taking DSD or teaching it, and agree with Doc that if I were qualified to teach it I would not.
Aren't you a certified Divemaster? What agency certified you that doesn't include conducting/teaching/leading a DSD as one of the things you are certified to do?
My very first time on scuba was a DSD off Maui. Open water. No prior pool sessions. And it was awesome! I would love to be able to give that same experience to other people.
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Stuart, Yes, I'm an inactive ("retired") DM--so I can't teach anything now anyway. During the DM course (well the "old" one I took in 2009 before it was revised to it's current form), you were shown the basics of teaching DSD while in the pool and had to perform some of these teaching techniques for the instructor. We all took turns with the instructor and other DM candidates playing the role of students. But to actually teach DSD, a DM had to take a short "internship", presumably observing or taking part in a real situation with an instructor and his/her class. Then you were qualified to teach DSD in the pool. There may have been something else you had to do to teach it in some way in OW, but at a ratio of 1 DM to a maximum of 2 DSD students as opposed to 1 instructor to 4 (I personally think either of these ratios can create problems should one of the students panic and bolt for the surface). I don't think it has changed much in recent years if at all. Irrelevant to me as I had no interest in teaching it--for the safety reasons I've mentioned before and because I'd make maybe $20 and spend $30 in gas getting there.
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