Fear of Drowning
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Hell IM afraid of drowning, in fact i suspect most people are. Its not exactly something to choose to do.
In a diving context the fact id like to survive what i do is why i train, practice and attempt to keep my equipment in good order.
FWIW id opt for wearing fins definately, mask is your choice.
In a diving context the fact id like to survive what i do is why i train, practice and attempt to keep my equipment in good order.
FWIW id opt for wearing fins definately, mask is your choice.
Xanthro
Guest
The sky is one big regulator. You don't have to swim or float in any particular style. If you can float on your back, I'd suggest that. That way you're not seeing the water. Just remain calm.
You've already conquered the hard part, learning to breath underwater. Now you just need to take what you do every day, breath air, and apply it while in the water.
Remember, no matter what, you are not going to drown, there will be plenty of people there to help you should you need it.
Xanthro
You've already conquered the hard part, learning to breath underwater. Now you just need to take what you do every day, breath air, and apply it while in the water.
Remember, no matter what, you are not going to drown, there will be plenty of people there to help you should you need it.
Xanthro
RELAX if you are fine and comfortable under the water then you got 90% of the problems licked. Most Newbies have the exact opposite prob; OK on surface but freak at depth. If you feel confident in your skills UW then doing 10 or so laps on the surface should just be some good swimming exercise. You can do any style stroke you want, so if swimming freestyle or breast stroke makes you a bit nervous (cause your faceis in the water) then do the ol backstroke or float on your back and kick, this way your face is up out of the water, and you can breath at will.
If you are worried about going under take deep longer breaths in, and short quick breaths out, this way your lungs are full of air and you are more boyant (no sinky, no drowny). Remember your boyancy training it works on the surface too.
Remember there are no waves, currents or mysterious sea creatures to pull you under it is just a pool, take your time relax and do your laps.
Even if for some crazy reason you do go under you WILL NOT DROWN, you have the instructor (who knows you are a novice swimmer) the AI and the rest of the class there, I don't think they will just sit and watch you drown (at least I would hope not)
You need to overcome this phobia NOW in confinded water before you go out to open water. As I tell all my students (GED and Computer students NOT SCUBA) it is better to make the mistakes in the class where you can learn from them and gain confidence by making an error and then learning how to fix it, this way when you're in the real world (not class) you have the confidence you need to deal with problems.
There is NO 1 tip or way to overcome your fear (and hey it is a real and rational fear) you just have to do it. Practice will make it easier and more and more practice will make it eventually a thing of the past. So then you can worry about the real dangers like the Giant Man-eating Seahorses. :wink1: :wink1:
Just try to relax as much as possible, and you'll do fine
If you are worried about going under take deep longer breaths in, and short quick breaths out, this way your lungs are full of air and you are more boyant (no sinky, no drowny). Remember your boyancy training it works on the surface too.
Remember there are no waves, currents or mysterious sea creatures to pull you under it is just a pool, take your time relax and do your laps.
Even if for some crazy reason you do go under you WILL NOT DROWN, you have the instructor (who knows you are a novice swimmer) the AI and the rest of the class there, I don't think they will just sit and watch you drown (at least I would hope not)
You need to overcome this phobia NOW in confinded water before you go out to open water. As I tell all my students (GED and Computer students NOT SCUBA) it is better to make the mistakes in the class where you can learn from them and gain confidence by making an error and then learning how to fix it, this way when you're in the real world (not class) you have the confidence you need to deal with problems.
There is NO 1 tip or way to overcome your fear (and hey it is a real and rational fear) you just have to do it. Practice will make it easier and more and more practice will make it eventually a thing of the past. So then you can worry about the real dangers like the Giant Man-eating Seahorses. :wink1: :wink1:
Just try to relax as much as possible, and you'll do fine
baltimoron
Contributor
xsbeech:
HEY!!!! an ex-Baltimoron!!! well i will have you know that O'Malley really screwed us over. Education Budget cuts galore. a City College Senior like me is going to have MANY a problem with the city this year! we might not have enough books, teachers, or resources for the school year.... it really is an issue. its alright though, beacuse the school system has students like me that will cut class to go to north avenue and protest! (luckily the principal doenst mind!)
Diverwilliams
Registered
Just wanted to comment on Shakazulu comment that you need to inhale water to drown. This is my first time on this site, so not sure if I sould interrupt but here goes.
Drowning is defined as death by suffocation due to being immersed in water. There are two classifications of drowning: wet and dry. In wet drowning, the person has inhaled water which interferes with respiration and causes the circulatory system to collapse. In the less common instance of dry drowning, the airway closes up due to spasms caused by the presence of water. Near drowning may result in neurological damage and successful recovery depends on prompt rescue and resuscitation.
Baltimoron, Pamjscuba and Shakazulu have been giving you good advice to overcome this small obsticle.
Drowning is defined as death by suffocation due to being immersed in water. There are two classifications of drowning: wet and dry. In wet drowning, the person has inhaled water which interferes with respiration and causes the circulatory system to collapse. In the less common instance of dry drowning, the airway closes up due to spasms caused by the presence of water. Near drowning may result in neurological damage and successful recovery depends on prompt rescue and resuscitation.
Baltimoron, Pamjscuba and Shakazulu have been giving you good advice to overcome this small obsticle.
Thanks to everyone who commented! While I am swimming tomorrow - instead of panicking I will just think of the informative and funny comments you all made. I will think of bananas, and man eating seahorses...and i love this one "the sky is one big regulator" ..
You guys rock!
Xiomara
You guys rock!
Xiomara
How well do you do floating and swimming on your back? When I did my OW, there were no rules that said I had to do any particular kind of swim, just swim. Same with the float. Also, there is a technique called skulling which is done on your back. It fills the bill for the treading water requirement.xsbeech:
RonDawg
Contributor
xsbeech:
Actually your problem isn't all that rare. I was perfectly fine at 40 feet, but at the surface it was a much different story!
While my fear of drowning IMHO is no worse than any other sane human being, during my first OW dives I either had to be fully submerged, or completely out of the water...being at the surface made me extremely uncomfortable. A lot of it was due to the choppiness of the water, and I simply hated the splashing of the water against my face (and the occasional gulps of water that came with that).
As a result, there was this urge for me to keep my head as high above the water as possible. That resulted in quite a bit of thrashing that not only tired me unnecessarily, but at times was interpreted by the DM and my instructor as the sign of a panicked diver.
I finally got over this by simply keeping my BC inflated and my reg in my mouth. I slowly realized that a sufficiently-inflated BC will keep my head above water so I don't have to thrash about, and that the reg will ensure that I will always have air so long as there's enough in the tank. Sounds simple, but easy to forget when one of your primal instincts (keeping from drowning) takes over.
Even though I don't have that many dives, I've gotten over this to the point that I rarely use my reg at the surface, and that the splashing of water on my face doesn't bother me as much.
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