Hi there!

[Lauren S]

Hi There, I'm Lauren. I'm new to ScubaBoard! I would like some advice and wondering where I should post about a negative dive incident I had... I also would like get others thoughts on diving with anxiety.

 

[RockiesFan]

There is an incidents and accidents section.

Accidents and Incidents

 

[Schwob]

Welcome.

What thoughts on diving with anxiety are you looking for?

I think (disclaimer: I am not educated in the matter and merely am presenting some of my thoughts) an anxious person who is aware of what is going on and so well in control to never even remotely approach out of control may make a much better diver and in time also a better educated diver (knowledge and practice help with anxiety - right?) than a reckless scared of nothing person.

But a person so anxious that a state of uncontrolled panic is an even remote possibility, should think hard about not diving except for in such controlled slow learning steps that allow the anxious person to be certain they are and will be fully in control. The buddy or the instructor soley weighing in with "don't worry" yet not with splitting up the big task into small enough manageable steps, is a potentially very troublesome approach. Imho it is better to adress every small level of anxiety with practice and "deepening understanding" until it is well managed by the anxious person themselves, not by someone else.

 

[Lauren S]

Welcome.

What thoughts on diving with anxiety are you looking for?

I think (disclaimer: I am not educated in the matter and merely am presenting some of my thoughts) an anxious person who is aware of what is going on and so well in control to never even remotely approach out of control may make a much better diver and in time also a better educated diver (knowledge and practice help with anxiety - right?) than a reckless scared of nothing person.

But a person so anxious that a state of uncontrolled panic is an even remote possibility, should think hard about not diving except for in such controlled slow learning steps that allow the anxious person to be certain they are and will be fully in control. The buddy or the instructor soley weighing in with "don't worry" yet not with splitting up the big task into small enough manageable steps, is a potentially very troublesome approach. Imho it is better to adress every small level of anxiety with practice and "deepening understanding" until it is well managed by the anxious person themselves, not by someone else.

Yes I agree. Here is my situation- this is going to be long I apologize. Any insight you have would be helpful.

I got certified in 2011- it was in a Rock Quarry so it was very dark but overall I didn't have any problems with anxiety. Since then I haven't dived very frequently so I still consider myself very much a beginner.

I went 2-3 times in North Carolina after getting certified to wreck dives. One of those times it had been a year since my last dive and the water was so choppy. I got really anxious because my skills were rusty and the water was so choppy but with the help of the dive guide through the charter I did one dive. I decided not to let myself go that long without diving or practicing in some way.

After that I did a pool Scuba Refresher (2016). Once again it was over a year since my Scuba Refresher when I went to a resort in Jamaica and wanted to dive (November 2017), so when my husband did the certification course I practiced my skills again as well and we went diving three days (using two tanks per day) and it was great, no anxiety and I felt super calm and confident. I loved it!!!

We went out of the country to Colombia earlier this month and I decided to go diving- my husband couldn't go with me this time so he snorkeled but I decided to do a Scuba Refresher (PADI discover scuba) before a 40ft open water dive with a company that has great reviews in a very touristy are (and the instructors are bilingual).

I took the course and did the dive with the instructor and two other divers who aren't certified but had been diving once before.

Long story short- the refresher was in a pool and I liked the instructor and felt comfortable and picked up the skills again. When we got down to the bottom I kind of felt on edge when one of the other two divers swam all the way up to the top, the instructor followed him (turns out he was having an issue with his ear) and I was left on the bottom with the other diver. I started feeling nervous and from that point on I could tell I was using my air pretty fast.

Before the dive, the instructor told us to tell him when we got down to 1000 PSI and then to tell him again when we got to 500 PSI/reserve air and that we would go up. I updated him a few times to let him know how much air I had. I let him know when I was at 1000 and then 800 and then 500- at 500 I signaled to go up. He signaled basically not to go up yet and then dismissed it pretty quick by pointing out different fish with his underwater tropical fish guide. I should have gone up on my own at this point because I was really frustrated and having terrible anxious thoughts because I felt like he wasn't taking my seriously and that I could drown. I was in control but my mind was getting out of control- I tried to calm myself down as best I could.
I have never gotten my tank lower than 800 PSI and even though we were 40 feet down, it felt scary for me to let my tank get down to 500PSI before going up. After a few minutes we all went up together (no safety stop but we were probably at 30 feet at that point)- I had 200 PSI left in my tank when I got back on the boat.

I was really freaked out and anxious. I have mostly had good experiences diving and that is what makes me want to continue to pursue it! Full disclosure, I do take medicine for anxiety/depression but haven't had a doctor sign me off to dive. When i've been diving previously and got certified they told me it wasn't a problem. If you have any advice or thoughts about these situations I'd really appreciate it. I love diving but I feel discouraged based on this last situation and how scared I felt.

 

[aquacat8]

Uh, running out of air SHOULD make you anxious. If you had reached your agreed upon ascent pressure and the guide did not want to ascend you can still take care of you and ascend. Communicate of course, and ideally they would ascend with you. But they may not have understood. Anxiety can make a person huff air. Part of diving is being willing to “call” the dive, which means ending it, based on how you feel or for any reason. The buddy is supposed to respect that.

 

[aquacat8]

Only you, and possibly your doctor, can assess whether your anxiety is a problem that should keep you from diving. Strangers on the internet don’t know. I’m not addressing that. Just affirming that low air is a legitimate rational concern that needs to be acted on.

 

[Lauren S]

Uh, running out of air SHOULD make you anxious. If you had reached your agreed upon ascent pressure and the guide did not want to ascend you can still take care of you and ascend. Communicate of course, and ideally they would ascend with you. But they may not have understood. Anxiety can make a person huff air. Part of diving is being willing to “call” the dive, which means ending it, based on how you feel or for any reason. The buddy is supposed to respect that.

Thank you! That is why I joined this forum. I wanted to get other more experienced divers opinions on this experience. Yes, I have anxiety but I don't think I was at fault here. This was an dive refresher course with a guided open water course. I don't think there is any reason I should have come up with 200 PSI left in my tank especially when he said we would go up at 500 and I was updating him all along like he asked.

 

[aquacat8]

No safety stop is also a bad habit for the instructor to model, even if it was a shallow dive.

 

[Lauren S]

Only you, and possibly your doctor, can assess whether your anxiety is a problem that should keep you from diving. Strangers on the internet don’t know. I’m not addressing that. Just affirming that low air is a legitimate rational concern that needs to be acted on.

I completely agree. I have had mostly great experiences diving! But now two situations (including this one) that made me really nervous. This was by far the worst. I was so panicky It made me wonder if I should ever dive again but I really think that situation should have never happened- there is no reason I should have gotten so close to running out of air.

 

[aquacat8]

You learned a great lesson, though not the one being taught, about taking responsibility for your own limits.