Drysuit cert dive -- Near panic

[Fish_Whisperer]

Oh yes... I was sweating like a dog before I hit the water. It was worse getting it OFF than it was, putting it on! Yeesh....

 

[letterboy]

The important thing is what you learn from this, you did learn something right

 

[Fish_Whisperer]

Oh yes. By my second dive, I was more comfortable and conversant with the suit inflator button, and I avoided the squeeze and subsequent panic. I think if I used a properly fit drysuit a couple more times, I'd be completely comfortable with it.

 

[dlndavid]

When I first got my DS , getting it on and off was difficult. The more I practiced the easier it got. And before I trimmed the neck seal, it was like being choked to death, not good. The heat factor once inside the suit really makes you plan you predive better. Once in the suit, have your gear ready, gear up and get in the water. Shade helps too.

 

[Fish_Whisperer]

Yep. Fortunately, it wasn't that hot in Ponce De Leon, Saturday. I can only imagine if it would have been mid-August. *shudder*

 

[dave4868]

I did my drysuit certification dives, this weekend, at Vortex Spring. I had no problems donning, descending, or managing my buoyancy. Everything was going "swimmingly," until we dropped to 45'. At that point, I couldn't breathe.

Thanks for sharing your very personal incident so openly.

Your openness and honesty is a significant asset for a scuba diver to have. That's the kind of diver I try to be.

Makes for a safer diver.

This was my first incident of being that close to panicking. It wasn't a nice feeling at all... And yeah... I'm still pretty ashamed and embarrassed over it. *sigh*

While diving, I've been close to panicking a couple of times. Luckily, I was able to "slow" things down enough before doing something unthinking and dangerous.

There's no reason for you to feel "ashamed and embarrassed". Seriously. I'm not just spouting some Richard Smalley psychobabble of self-affirmations.

Most people are susceptible to the occasional triggering of panic. It's the emotional and physiological biochemically-driven "fight or flight" response. It's natural.

It's simply a natural adaptive response that becomes mal-adaptive in some of our modern settings.

I may be a bit more prone to panic than you or others, so I've learned my limits and take deliberate steps to keep myself below the panic threshold.

My personal solution is to watch my emotional state and/or level of physical exertion. It takes a bit of honest self-appraisal and self-control, but it works wonders.

If I'm doing a solo scallop dive at 80', and really getting enthralled with the "hunt", I've occasionally lost track of my rising heart rate and breathing rate, which puts me closer to the panic threshold.

It finally dawns on me when I begin to hear my heart pounding or see my field of vision narrowed like a tunnel or find myself overbreathing my regulator. :11doh:

It's almost too late, but, at that point, it's certainly time to "slow down" and take a "deep breath", as others have said.

I've had to deliberately "slow" things down by resting for a minute to get my rates down. I might "dub" around with my gear, look around and admire the scenery, stare at some scallops in the distance, try not to think about the air I'm wasting not chasing scallops....

You know what the worst factors are for me?

That would be such as when I'm trying not to disappoint others, or when I feel like I'll be embarrassed coming up with a small haul of scallops, or if I'm worried about a buddy, if I have one. Such threats to ego greatly increase the potential for me to be irrational. Okay, more irrational...

You might think about the emotional pressures you put on yourself during that drysuit certification dive.

As Rick Inman said, this is a "panic cycle". It's helpful to realize it usually builds up gradually as our body's emotional and physiological states ramp up. With good self-assessment skills, a person can detect these signs and symptoms early and defuse the "cycle".

Rick Inman presented the best advice I've ever heard about dealing with the panic cycle:

Oh, and BTW. IMHO, a good habit to get into is to try to solve your problems underwater and get a hold on the panic cycle, since, if you dive enough, it's bound to happen again. Remember, that feeling that you are going to die, when it is brought on by panic, is almost always a lie, and listening to it is the real danger.

Thanks, Rick! What an excellent way to take a "reality check"!

Just my ten cents (would have been two cents, but I talk too much).

Dave C

 

[Fish_Whisperer]

Thank you so much, Dave. (And Rick) Very reassuring. At around 50 dives, I'm still a brand new diver, so I don't have a "super-diver" reputation to protect. I just want to do things right, do them safely, and pass along whatever knowledge or wisdom I gain, so that others can safely enjoy diving. That's all I really want. Hiding my experience or trying to kick it under the rug, is of no benefit to anyone; least of all, me. I tend to think that candor, humility, and a healthy respect for what we're doing and for other divers, will go a lot further than to be "super-diver" who never makes a mistake.

 

[mikerault]

"Good stuff on your blog, Mike"

Thanks FW! I try to write things down I think will help folks out, also so I will remember them better myself!

Mike

 

[ClayJar]

I'm using a back-inflate. (Dive-Rite TransPacII)

The suit had a rubber neck seal.

It was a "Mobby's" suit.

Ah! That was your group fairly close to the fill station corner of the lodge, then? I recall seeing the TransPac and Mobby's suit. (I was, obviously, the guy with the pony tail making all the solo dives and walking around in my Bare Trilam.) I knew there were likely scubaboarders there.

(I was the little white car parked right by the bathrooms with my gear on the nearest table to them. Got my first five backplate and wing dives in Saturday, including a night solo dive for my 100th logged dive. 'Twas fun, indeed.)

 

[Fish_Whisperer]

Awesome, CJ!! Yes, the red Mobby's suit and TransPac fella was me! Congrats on the bp/w dives! Congratulations on your 100th dive, too!! Way to go!!