discouraged...

[Ringo]

Thanks everyone

So the consensus seems to be
warm water
good vis
better-fitting stuff.

I can fix the first two by not diving in the quarry.
The third I'm still working on...I recently got a hyperstretch suit that I haven't tried yet in the water, but at least was fitted by LDS.
I'm looking for equipment that's not bulky b/c I'm tiny (5'6" and 110 lbs). Based on what I've read on the equipment part of the forum I'm probably going for a Zeagle Zena b/c it's adjustable in several places.

Anyway, I'm just relieved to know that my diving career isn't over bc I wasn't "born" to dive like my fish-like buddy.

smash

Excellent advice from Atticus!Get your own equipment. Rental equipment will never fit perfectly.

Even here in Thailand with water temps between 29 - 31 degrees celcius (around 86 - 88 farhenheit) I dive in a full length 3mm wetsuit and many times I have to return to the surface earlier for getting cold. If I dived more regularly on a daily basis I would have to get a 5mm full length as do most of the regular Instructors and DM's here. Unfortunately I could never dive in colder waters.

For interested ladies I highly recommend the Seaquest Diva ladies BCD with built in bra area and soft back. Very comfortable!

 

[spectrum]

The right shop should be able to outfit you in gear that makes you perfectly comfortable for your checkout dives. The exception would be if you are outside of "off the rack" proportions. If I missed that fact I apologize.

Most here would warn aganst investing beyond personal gear pre certification. Once certified try what you can and get into your own stuff so you can hone your skills.

I'm also an advocate of being certified in the conditions you will be diving.

Pete

 

[Wristshot]

Smash,

The anxiety you speak of is probably a lot more common than you realize.

I too had major anxiety issues when I started diving. Oh, I was fine in the pool, and never sweated a second of any of that. I actually wasn't too bad for the cert dives, but each dive after that for a year or so was stressful. As I would drive down to Monterey, I could feel my stomach tying up in knots as I approached town.

I held off buying my own gear for almost a year because I wasn't sure if I was going to ever get over the anxiety. Eventually I have become pretty comfortable in the water, and it is not a problem.

Sometimes I still get a little anxious before a first dive somewhere, but that is not all that strange. Heck, I had to make announcements at a Ski Club BBQ last week, and the thought of speaking on a microphone to 60+ people ties my stomach in knots, but I am getting more comfortable with that too now.

When we dove Lake Tahoe a few years ago one of our friends borrowed a wetsuit from a friend, and she just couldn't get comfortable. The thick wetsuit, the cold water (not THAT cold, but cold to HER) and the nerves all kinda freaked her out. She thumbed the training session. I was quietly standing nearby feeling my own anxiety. Finally I got mad at myself because I had no reason to be nervous, and I just needed to get over it dammit! So I did. We ended up having two real nice dives.

If you truly "enjoy" diving, but have some stress and anxiety, then I suspect that you will get over it with time and patient exposure. Stick with it!


Wristshot

 

[mrobinson]

You know, you're getting some good examples of continuing. I think every dive I deal with the stress a little differently - just trying to manage it a little different everytime.

 

[labecs]

I love you all! It isn't easy to start doing this on your own, but now I feel like I have tons of company :07: You have really eased my mind. I have been dreading this dive so much I put it off two weeks in a row, but now I am actually looking forward to going this weekend.
To that coment about the boat.. I actually asked to be on a boat cause the though of carrying that tank on the sand terrifies me. I think that the stress of those two steps to the side of the boat carrying that heavy apparatus was worse than the dive itself. I am 5'4 and weight 120! I'm a whimp! I don't ever get seasick, but that day I got hungry and ate a donut for breakfast... bad choice...
Anyway, I will put off buying my BCD and regulators, computers and all that, till I am totally sure I'll be confortable. In the meantime I'll have a chance to compare and find out which one is the best for me. If anybody from here is in the LA area, let me know! I'm going to need buddies to go practice with.
Well, thanks again. I'll let you know how it went :10:

 

[Cacia]

Hi all,

Question for divers out there who have had "anxiety" problems...

Is it possible to overcome this?

I had a bad experience for my OW...lips froze after 45 min at 40 degrees in 5 foot vis...I started breathing in water and the DM took me up from 40 feet. And promptly got a speech about "fixing problems underwater", although I'm not sure what I could have done to stay warmer- my rental suit didn't fit well. Anyway, I've done 10 dives since then, each time practicing skills on the platform to get more comfortable and staying relatively shallow. I feel like I'm getting more comfortable, but the OW thing still haunts me.

One of my very experienced buddies commented that there are those who were born to dive, and those who were not. This hit me kind of hard. I'm clearly a "not", but I want to work through it b/c I'm a grad student in ocean engineering and diving will likely be a part of my career. Sooo......is it possible to get over the anxiety??? I want to be a good diver so badly, but I don't want to keep beating my head against a brick wall if I'm just not born to dive.

thanks for all input.
smash

You want this enough, it seems to me, to master diving safely. Most people that are not meant to dive just decide they do not want to. Keep practicing your skills and try to get to some relaxing warm water. When I learned at fourteen, (my Dad was making me) I had to buddy breath (Naui) at depth in a rock quarry that had ice on the surface. My mouth was numb from the cold and I had a problem sucking in water because I could not feel my lips. That was a long time ago, and I have loved diving for many years since. My best advice, try to stay around positive people. That is always an issue, no matter what level you are at. Best wishes for you!

 

[Teddy_diver]

Next time someone says he's a "born diver" -- ask to see his webbed feet.

Or their gills???

I too was a nervous diver at the beginning, caused my instructors no end of probelms! Six years later, 400 dives under my belt, I am now the instructor dealing with the problems! I hope that makes me more sympathetic to nervous divers remembering how I was. I general teach women and children (children are my choice, much more fun playing games with them!) but most women have said they were gald to have a female instructor.

My advice is take your time, have loads of pool or confined water experience and feel happy being under the water in a controlled environment and then move out into a slightly less controlled but good conditions environment.

 

[underwater daphne]

You're describing a bad dive with some real winner instructing staff. I'm sorry to hear that. I think you did great with the situation and shouldn't too tough on yourself. I can tell an incident like this will just amplify your desire to continue with diving.

I too had problems with anxiety. Apparently we're not alone.
http://www.scubaboard.com/cms/article3.html
http://www.deeperblue.net/article.php/236/12
http://www.diversalertnetwork.org/medical/articles/article.asp?articleid=38
http://www.seagrant.wisc.edu/communications/diving/panic.htm

"Are certain diving activities more likely to lead to panic episodes?
Yes. Diver panic is usually caused by such objective stresses as equipment malfunctioning, sudden loss of visibility, entrapment (e.g., seaweed, nets), threatening marine life (e.g., sharks), loss of orientation during a cave, ice or wreck dive, and so on. Therefore, diving with faulty or inappropriate equipment, or performing high-risk dives will have greater potential for panic episodes. However, it should also be noted that the problems resulting from high-risk dives can be prevented or minimized with appropriate training and cautionary actions.”
That is from http://www.seagrant.wisc.edu/communications/diving/panicQA.html


It's not just articles like these that help us out. I've found with more training, your comfort level will exceed. Good luck and I'm glad you've continued with diving.

http://www.seagrant.wisc.edu/commun...ng/panicQA.html
soooo discouraging.

 

[Teddy_diver]

Concentrate on the smaller detail right in front of you that you miss in good vis, if its a rummage dive you are looking for artifacts or something else. Its also a good way to improve skills.

For a lot of people too its all theyve got.

Hear hear.. So speaks a UK diver!! I too have dived in Wales, mid July got a good 12 foot viz at Criccieth but also had 0-1 foot at Bulls bay in May!! Doesn't stop me diving round the UK coast, off to Scapa Flow in September.

 

[m3830431]

"Anxiety"

As I remember it seemed as those once you start the dive it was allot better.