finally conquered my fear of the ocean

[swan_diver]

hi all! I was traumatized as a 5yr old put in the wrong level swim class, got water up my nose and almost drowned (the instructors just shrugged and told me I was fine, NOT). was always left out at lakes, beach, pools etc. my whole life. At age 25 I went kayak camping for 5 days in northern vancouver island sound and it blew me away... orcas, bioluminescence... I was determined to overcome this fear of water. I taught myself to tread water and eventually backstroke and crawl in my pool, and in 2009 swam in the ocean unaided for the first time at Santa Cruz island (scorpion harbor) in socal. I since learned more advanced kayak skills and was super happy with that, but then last month a coworker poked me about learning scuba to join him as a buddy and I was like "hey why not, I'm 44 YOLO" and here I am haha.

This past sunday I made my first dive to 30ft as part of my first open water dive cert, coincidentally at Santa Cruz island again! The conditions were super rough for a first timer, 20mph santa ana gusts, choppy seas, cold and dark dive site due to limited options with the wind, poor visibility and massive surge. First attempt I panicked and surfaced. However I trusted my training and calmed my anxiety, went for it a second time and had a blast even though it was less than 10mins total lol. But I'm glad I didn't give up, despite hating the mask clearing which gave me flashbacks to my 5yo self, but now I see the light and am super excited to finally overcome the last of my lifelong fears. Looking forward to more dives locally and eventually abroad, esp. the Philippines (my ancestral country), Hawaii, and Yucatan. cheers!!

 

[Cthippo]

Hello and welcome!

 

[FLturtle]

Welcome & congrats. Hope you have many more enjoyable dives.

 

[chrisch]

Well done. I have always had a similar relationship with water since swimming as a kid. Once you get comfortable with scuba it makes all the difference. It took me a while to get OK with no mask swimming but that too comes easy over time. Hope it works out as well for you (and hope you are Ok with all the fires going on round you)

 

[TMHeimer]

You went back down with confidence. Great job. I've been in a few uncomfortable situations but always managed to "stop, think and act" as they say. You overcame a real bad situation in your youth to get back in the water, much less scuba. But--- you went to the ocean and learned to tread and swim -- BEFORE attempting scuba (unlike a number of students I observed who had no business jumping right into scuba). Way to go.

 

[LI-er]

I was traumatized as a 5yr old put in the wrong level swim class, got water up my nose and almost drowned (the instructors just shrugged and told me I was fine, NOT).

They meant "physically".

 

[Litefoot]

Early childhood trauma is deeply embedded. Pushing past those psychological barriers feels like a great personal victory. Good for you!