First Night In The Pool

[beachit]

Got the first pool session in last night. My husband, of course with his second gills, took right to the water like a shark.

Me...ugh! I had a panic attack 1 inch under the water. Weird, because I snorkel all the time with no problems.

Once the instructor got me to 12 feet I started to relax ... a little. Just don't ask me to flood my mask again! :11:

Has anyone experienced a panic attack like that? What did you do?

I think I will be better next week, now that I know what to expect.

Looking forward to it!

The coolest thing that the instructor said all night was "don't give up"...I heard that on here today too. Great advise!

 

[Far_X]

Hey, well done. You got to 12 feet. It is such a big step so don't worry about your reaction. It is all about having confidence in the equipment and for some of us, it takes us a while to feel that. Now that you know it is okay to leave the surface you'll probably see next week you'll be waiting for your husband. It might be a good idea to try the mask flooding a few more times - that way you know if it happens for real, you are not going to panic. I would rather know that I am relaxed with my mask off.

Good luck and we look forward to congratulating you on your endeavours.

 

[Dave Zimmerly]

Next time you take a shower, put on your mask...but fill it with water. Learn to breathe throught your mouth. It takes time and practice to get comfortable. Learning how to clear your mask is one of the most important and neccesary skills of diving. There are many threads on panic and how to prevent it and how to control it.

Practice, practice then practice some more.

For what it's worth, women in general have a harder time with mouth breathing than men.

I'll put on my flame-proof suit on now....

Dave (aka "Squirt")

 

[orangelad]

beachit, my girlfriend and I just completed our OW certification course Monday. I've been snorkeling and swimming since I was very young, and I'll admit that the first time I got 8' under with the reg in my mouth, I panicked a bit. By the 2nd and 3rd day, I just didn't want to come up! I was relaxed and lovin' every minute of it.

My g/f and I agreed that by far our least favorite skill was mask-clearing. Again, it's something you'll likely get used to. The best tip our instructor gave was to tilt your head downward so the bubbles travel up the left-side of your face vs. right up your nose. It sounds silly, but for some people, bubbles up their nose gives them more of a sense of "drowning" and not being able to breathe ... and thus they're more prone to panic.

I couldn't agree more - don't give up!

Hope this helps.

 

[divingjd]

Your reactions are very common. Try standing in shallow water with your reg in your mouth, but no mask. Bend over and put your face in the water. Just breathe in and out through your mouth. Hold your nose if you need to until you get the hang of it.

Practice usually makes everything better. If you are still having problems after another session, tell your instructor about it and he or she will have some suggestions for you.

 

[sskasser]

I have been in and around water all of my life, so when I geared up for the first time and sat down with my instructor in the shallow end of the pool, my full-blown panic attack surprised the heck out of me. He handled it perfectly (aka calmly but firmly) and I went on to get my c-card with no more problems.

You'll be there in no time, don't sweat it. Best of wishes!

 

[TheRedHead]

My OW instructor had the class breathe through the reg without our masks with our faces in the water before we were allowed to use them. No one in the class had trouble clearing. Is that a coincidence?

Mask clearing is an esstential skill that must be mastered. There are many, many threads of tips and techniques to browse.

 

[divingjd]

Next time you take a shower, put on your mask...but fill it with water. Learn to breathe throught your mouth. It takes time and practice to get comfortable. Learning how to clear your mask is one of the most important and neccesary skills of diving. There are many threads on panic and how to prevent it and how to control it.

Practice, practice then practice some more.

For what it's worth, women in general have a harder time with mouth breathing than men.

I'll put on my flame-proof suit on now....

Dave (aka "Squirt")

What, get flamed for saying men are mouth-breathers and women aren't?!? I would guess most of the women out there would agree that we are all a bunch of knuckle-dragging mouth-breathers. Well, that's why I dive, might as well make use of my strong points.

 

[ckjacques53198]

Congrats on sticking with things after a bad experience. A flooded mask is unsettling even for certified divers. I didn't struggle with it but could see myself freaking out under the right circumstances. You kinda have to keep reassuring yourself that no matter what you can still breathe with the regulator in your mouth even with a flooded mask. I found my pool classes more difficult than my checkout dives. Bouyancy was tough to get under control in my 8' pool. It was much easier in the pond I dived.

 

[TSandM]

I'm a year past certification, and 170 dives, and although I can do them, I still hate mask skills. You just have to keep working on it until it comes easier, and there are a ton of threads here with some superb advice for ways to become more comfortable while mask-less.

If you want to get a chuckle, and some moral support, you can read the journal of my open water class which is found at the link below. I was remedial EVERYTHING in the pool, but I've gone on to find this sport one of the most wonderful things I've ever learned to do. It's worth the effort.