Fear of Deep/Open Water

[TSandM]

I think it can be quite disconcerting to do a long, free descent in low viz. I didn't like them AT ALL when I was a new diver. Descending along a slope or along an anchor line is much easier, because you have a visual reference at all times.

We don't know where you are, but if there is any shore diving nearby, why don't you start with that? No boat ride to upset your stomach, and you can use the bottom as a reference. We have a lovely local site where one can either swim down from the shoreline, or swim out a bit and do a descent of pretty much any length one wishes. It's a good way to work up to being comfortable with the long fall.

 

[fnfalman]

Don't go too deep. Just because the bottom of the dive site is 60-70ft deep, it doesn't mean that you have to go all the way down there. If anything, go down half way will force you to practice some good buoyancy control skills.

 

[DevonDiver]

...assuming that the site is sloping. Otherwise, he'd be spending his time floating in low-viz mid-water....seeing nothing except the bubbles of other divers rising past him.

 

[WetBoy101]

I personally find that being at 0 feet with 80 feet of water beneath me in 20 foot vis is much more stressful than being within 10 feet of the bottom in 20 foot vis at an 80 foot depth. Humans seem to like to see the bottom so that they know that the fall is not infinite. (For me) once you get to the bottom, it isn't that scary. I also find that being at 50 feet in 20 foot vis is more stressful than being at 90 feet in 100 foot vis.

It's very similar to night diving. Until your torch can light up the coral (bottom) it's a little spooky at first. What helped me was following my instructor ( or anyone else for that matter) down to the bottom. It gives you a visual reference, and some comfort knowing that if there is anything down there it'll get them first!!

 

[Quero]

I've seen this kind of reaction among divers who were trained in relatively shallow, low-viz conditions when they jumped off a boat in clear, deep water. (One diver told me that by being able to see the bottom he suddenly realized how far down it was--I guess the anxiety is something like standing on a curb with the knowledge that the drop is only a few inches versus standing on a roof and seeing that the drop is many feet.) As others have written, it's a matter of gaining enough confidence through experience to get past the mental hurdle.

When I've worked with hesitant first-time boat divers in deep water, I have found two things to help, depending on the dive site. First, on sites that are fringing reefs along the shore of an island, jumping off the boat, swimming on the surface to shallow water, and then descending along the sloping bottom to the deeper water can get a new diver past the hurdle of a direct descent in blue water. Secondly, on sites that are not fringing reefs, such as sea mounts, I have found a descent along a mooring line to be very helpful as it gives the newer diver a focus that is absent in blue water descents.

 

[aquaregia]

It's very similar to night diving. Until your torch can light up the coral (bottom) it's a little spooky at first. What helped me was following my instructor ( or anyone else for that matter) down to the bottom. It gives you a visual reference, and some comfort knowing that if there is anything down there it'll get them first!!

No kidding. I just did a night dive in good vis and it was sort of scary because there was nothing reflecting light back at me.

 

[Tonyroberto]

I must admit my first dive off a boat in only 30 meters of water was scary for me because i could not see below me (uk waters) about 6 m viz. but when i was in the red sea and had 30 meters below me and could see it all was a relief. I think the fear was not knowing what was there. And just incase there is,,like wetboy said follow some one down so they get it first.

Tony

 

[I Dive]

Another "tactic" that I have used for years and still do to this day is upon reaching the bottom, I will lay on my stomach for a few minutes and adjust my gear, check my gages, etc. I noticed many years ago, while river diving, that laying flat on your stomach, on the bottom, calms the nerves tremendously.

Please don't do that on a reef...

A mental thought process that may help is this: You have a straight shot to the surface. Given even the most extreme emergency there is nothing in the world that can keep you from going straight to the surface and surviving.

I think better advice is to have the training, equipment, experience, comfort, and buddy skills necessary to never need to go straight to the surface. Yeah, technically recreational diving is no-stop, where you can head straight to the surface if needed. Unfortunately, embolisms don't always listen to the recreational training agencies...

 

[dumpsterDiver]

It just takes time to expand your comfort zone. I am very comfortable snorkeling in 100 feet of water, but not too long ago, we jumped off the boat in the "middle of the ocean" where we knew the depth to be 2,000 feet deep and visibility was 200 feet.

It just felt different. more scary, more vunerable, we didn't want to get too far from the boat even though there was no wind. Of course having a bottom 100 feet below us provided no actual security; is was illogical to FEEL much different.

Your mind and emotions are naturally somewhat irrational and it helps to recognize and accept this. Prepare for it and expect it. Also doing mental exercises where you visualize these conditions (while sitting in your living room for example) can help a lot. That is why doing the dive once successfully can give you the 'mental data" to rehearse similar dives in your head many times and this can improve confidence, performance and comfort level.

It simply takes time and gradual experience to expand your psychological comfort zone and your dive skills also need to be developed adequately to deal with the situation. I view diving as a "fun" activity, it is not supposed to be scary or even "thrilling" in my mind.

 

[AfterDark]

I've read that ginger also helps with sea sickness. As I'm sure you noticed, getting into the water can relieve sea sickness symptoms pretty quick also. Free falling in low vis is something you'll get accustomed to the more you do it. You could try closing your eyes intermittently while you descend. I love to free fall into the black water with my light off during a night dive. Relax, enjoy.