How did you know you were narked?

[Scott]

Depending on depth, visibility and water temperatures it varies.
Task loading becomes difficult and response time to situations becomes slowed.
Tunnel vision
Reverberating wawa sounds in my head. Either that or it's boats overhead and I'm too narc'd to know the difference.

Feeling narced, thinking your narced and being narced are 3 very different things occasionally. Handle with care.

I like it.

 

[ScubaJill]

The angled sandy bottom at 100' or so folded in on itself. And I thought, "How cool is that!" Looked around to see how others were reacting to this, and they weren't reacting at all. How could that be, I wondered? Looked back at the area with the sandy bottom and it did it again! WoW! Looked back at the other divers and no reaction. I remember thinking, something isn't right here. I ascended about 10' and all was well.

Btw, I was on a dive boat in Belize and one of the DMs said that the only reason divers get narced is because they are mentally weak. I declined to share my story with him since I thought he might be a little judgmental.

 

[RyanT]

one of the DMs said that the only reason divers get narced is because they are mentally weak

Ah, so Jedi mind tricks will work on you Jill! Seriously, the idea that only the mentally weak get narced is one of the dumbest things I've ever heard. I would have told the DM that the fact they are spouting such garbage indicates where the mental deficits are!

 

[sunnyboy]

Our dives in the PNW are mostly lower vis and very dark when you get deep. That probably doesn't help with narcosis.

Back when "deep air" was actually taught, I noticed my own narcosis as reading my SPG, immediately forgetting the reading and having to repeat, this time "with concentration" to remember. Sometimes it took 3 readings to "get it".

These days I won't dive open circuit below 100ft. When diving my rebreather, I won't dive air diluent below 100 ft.

 

[ScubaJill]

Ah, so Jedi mind tricks will work on you Jill! Seriously, the idea that only the mentally weak get narced is one of the dumbest things I've ever heard. I would have told the DM that the fact they are spouting such garbage indicates where the mental deficits are!

Susceptible we are, even the strongest among us. Anyway, not sure about your first sentence, RyanT.

I did feel bad because he essentially shut down an opportunity for other, newer, divers to discuss their concerns, particularly since we were supposed to dive the Blue Hole the following day.

 

[sea_otter]

Ah, so Jedi mind tricks will work on you Jill! Seriously, the idea that only the mentally weak get narced is one of the dumbest things I've ever heard. I would have told the DM that the fact they are spouting such garbage indicates where the mental deficits are!

I'd ask if he uses the same excuse to justify driving after a few drinks... let's hope not for the safety of others on the road.

To the OP's original question, often realizing that you're narced comes second. I've caught myself a couple times being overly fixated on my surroundings, either enthralled by a single critter or just in awe of the ocean landscape to the point where situational awareness of other things starts to suffer.

I've also experienced the paranoid feeling that something isn't quite right. That one is a much less pleasant experience, and it's only happened to me in cold dark waters when I'm swimming a lot and building up CO2. That one may not be fair to blame exclusively on nitrogen.

 

[ColoDale]

I think I have only experienced it once noticably around 100 feet in Caribbean waters. I had this creeping sense of fear and doom that something bad was about to happen but didn't know what exactly. There was no immediate danger or problem. I ascended about 20 to 30 feet and it gradually went away. I have been to 100 feet many times and deeper and never had the same issue since. I attibuted this to nitrogen narcosis since I can't come up with any other explanation.

 

[mbs]

I remember a dive where approaching the bottom at around 110' I noticed this purple coral on like a pedestal. As I got closer it looked like a purple monkey sitting in lotus position. Loved it, but also knew I was narc'd. Mean time my buddy/wife had bottomed out and started up the wall. Then I noticed she was going up too fast. I raced over and grabbed her fin to hold her down. Later on the surface she asked me about that down current pushing us down. She had no clue she was narc'd!

 

[olphart]

I wasn't even sure if I was narced. Drifting along at 100' after coming out of the dragons throat, I wondered why I felt so comfortable. I remember thinking, "Shouldn't I feel at least a little stressed?" I checked my gauges, my buddy, my gear and all was sop, so I went on enjoying the dive.

 

[Jerome O'Neil]

Btw, I was on a dive boat in Belize and one of the DMs said that the only reason divers get narced is because they are mentally weak.

You should have sent him to get you some coffee.