Fear of Deep/Open Water

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I am relatively green to this diving thing too and can remember the butterflies and nervous feeling on my first boat dives where the bottom was at 60'. Our local boat dive conditions mean that when dropping down the anchor line there is no boat visible above and no bottom visible below for a good portion of the descent/ascent.

It was a bit un-nerving the first couple of times but that is all. It got better as I became more comfortable, and that only came with more experience.

Now, I look forward to that in between period and especially appreciate that moment where I am dropping down the anchor line that disappears in both directions and the bottom/wreck comes into view.

The only thing I can add fiveupstove, and this is pre-dive, is to find a mentor. A local dive club is a great place to start. That in addition to the above recommendation to complete AOW will go a long way to moving from uneasiness to loving and becoming obsessed with the sport.

And be sure to let us know how you are doing!
 
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's funny, I'm the opposite way. I went snorkeling in Tahiti, and realized I got VERY nervous when the bottom fell away from me. It was silly -- I was still floating on the same top of the water that I was 20 feet away where it was only ten feet deep, but all of a sudden, I felt VERY insecure.

Drop me in 100 foot deep water, where I can see the bottom, with scuba gear on -- no problem!
 
Recently I discovered scopolamine patches - WAY better than dramamine. Start them a day before diving. They rock.

A word of caution about Scopolamine, read the side affects " Blurring of vision, disorientation, memory disturbances, dizziness, confusion, changes in heart rate and so on. It also states to talk to your doctor if you plan to participate in underwater sports. I know this will not occur with everybody that uses it but it did with my wife more than once, we could not figure out what was going on and once we did some research and she stopped using it the issues went away. This all took place after she had about 150 dives in all kinds of conditions without any problems, we were lucky that I was there to help her in about 75 feet of water or she may not be here now. She was ready to quit diving because she thought it just wasn't for her but now she went on to become an AI and is a dive nut.
 
I have a problem with the use of the word "never". It is my opinion, regardless of the items mentioned, circumstances do exist where straight to the surface is your best alternative. In some cases, turning to a dive partner, in an emergency, will be your best path. Circumstances can also exist where turning to your partner will definitely NOT be the best path. I do not agree with the argument that a diver should always pursue their dive partner in an emergency. I personally will not give someone the advice that they will never need to go straight to the surface. My desire is that all divers have no incidents. BUT, when trouble does arise, my hope is the diver in trouble returns unharmed, however it is accomplished.

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. .
 
...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. :wink:

Or see plenty of marine life swimming around him.:idk:

The OP didn't say what the dive site looks like.
 
Thanks for the advice. It seems like I just need to take it step by step. The motion sickness + breathing some engine smoke from a malfunction on the way out + first time boat dive + first time in a dry suit + first time diving to that depth was probably too much.

This was out in Monterey, California. So the reef was about 75 ft down, and yes, there was just a big void below. Couldn't even see the DM's bubbles, just some jellyfish.
 
If you fear, then you just abort the dive.

Reason 1: Fear is a signal of something. Respect it. You will live longer.
Reason 2: If something goes wrong while you are already terrified, you could panic.

Descend only halfway. Stay within your comfort zone. If you venture further, then just a little more.

Look at the depth gauge. It tells you where you are and where you are going. The surface is easy to find. It's up. If you don't know the direction, then just remember that the bubbles lead the way. Or your BCD. The slowly counting decimals (depth) on your dive computer should give you some comfort.

I once ended up in a scaring situation: Newly certified AOW (still am), depth 30m, visibility around three feet (silt) and night dive. It got really scaring after the loss of visibility, but firmly looking at the depth gauge and controlling my ascent helped me to stay reasonably calm.
 
I think that you just need more experience.

Get some more dives in from the shore. Soon, you'll (a) have your buoyancy under control so that you won't really care how much water is below you, because you aren't going there (unless you want to) and (b) be much more comfortable in low vis.

After that, it's a pretty simple matter of jumping into deep water. You're comfort and control will ensure that you're in no danger of dropping to the bottom when you don't want to.
 
A word of caution about Scopolamine, read the side affects " Blurring of vision, disorientation, memory disturbances, dizziness, confusion, changes in heart rate and so on. It also states to talk to your doctor if you plan to participate in underwater sports...

Where I live scopolamine is a non-prescription, behind-the-counter drug. Scopolamine was recommended by my physician who knew that I would be scuba diving off a boat. Of course, consult your GP. I had three different anti-nausea drugs, and the treatment regimen was to start with scop. It that didn't work or had bad side effects, switch to drug 2. If still no joy, switch to 3. If that still doesn't work, it doesn't matter 'cause the trip will be over by then.
 
Every one has given good suggestions here. I took the advanced open water right after getting my OW. I did a boat dive in between without the benefit of a friend and was an insta-buddy to another diver. Although I was relatively sure I wouldn't be sea sick I took sea sickness pills. I tried to stay out of the exhaust fumes because even on land I get nauseous from fumes. I tried to remain calm and act like I knew what I was doing. First dive I did an uncontrolled ascent and could see my buddy swimming along happily below me. I tried to descend and locate her, but to no avail. I surfaced. A minute or so later she surfaced. Second dive I got tangled in kelp. Thanks to my insta-buddy I got untangled. Finally the third dive I managed to keep it together and find some neutral buoyancy for a minute. After that experience I have been very cautious and have tried to improve my skills. I completed my AOW and have a couple of deep dives, below 80 feet to about 99, but so far only mostly from beaches following the contour. I have avoided wreck dives because I don't feel comfortable controlling my descent. In fact I just posted a thread about that.

The most disoriented I have felt is with night dives for the simple reason that visibility is zero or so it seemed. I keep going out though and pushing myself. Not to the extreme, but enough to gain more experience and trust in my ability as a diver.

I have tried to dive with experienced divers and I always ask questions to learn how they do things. I also have maintained my log book because it is for me. I can refer back to it for weighting info, check my SAC rate, and reread notes on the dives of not only what went wrong and how would do it differently, but what went right!

Good luck and keep diving.
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/teric/

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