How to not Panic?
- Thread starter xeptra
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Thanks for the update. I am glad things are working better for you. It just keeps on getting better and better.
Van Isle
Contributor
Hey guys,
Once again thanks for all the great advice! Just wanted to give you guys an update. Every time I've been in the water since then I have practiced switching my reg for my octo and vice versa only using the purge button to clear it. Each time I do this I become more and more comfortable in the water. Yesterday in a pool session while practicing going back and forth I completely lost track of my reg after I had replaced my octo in it's holder. At this point I was out of breath completely and needed air. I calmly knew since I couldn't get my reg which I was after just to grab the Octo and purge, then find my reg. A trivial thing to most people, but I was proud of myself, since this was my initial problem. I will continue to practice switching regs every time I'm in the water. I also practice holding my breath on land to know how long I've got, with air in my lungs and without. I really appreciate everyone who responded, being able to get advice and information like this helps me become a better diver.
Jen
It's awesome when we feel good about the "trivial" things - because we've MADE THEM in to the trivial things with practice and experience and being open to learning and developing. That lesson which we've shared here with you/before you/because of you can be applied across all of SCUBA, from regulator switching, mask clearing, valve drills, lost line, etc etc all the way through all skill sets.
Thanks!
VI
BabyDuck
Contributor
sounds like you're well on your way to fixing this little bugaboo, but i wanted to mention two (ok, three) tiny things either for you or someone else reading this later.
one is that even if you have no air in your lungs and can't get to the button right now for whatever reason, you can purge a reg by clicking your tongue. (thank you, walter.)
two is that when i started i thought 'continuous bubbles out' meant a strong stream, so without a reg in my mouth i just blew through a lungful of air in a jiffy. that's not it - a teeny weeny stream is just as effective.
and three is that 's-drill' stands for 'safety drill'. always good to practice breathing off your buddy's octo & donating to your buddy. *always*. you have three minutes of safety stop, good place to practice. you're swimming along, good time to practice. your buddy has drifted away from you, good time to practice & reinforce not going off on his or her own.
you're doing great!
one is that even if you have no air in your lungs and can't get to the button right now for whatever reason, you can purge a reg by clicking your tongue. (thank you, walter.)
two is that when i started i thought 'continuous bubbles out' meant a strong stream, so without a reg in my mouth i just blew through a lungful of air in a jiffy. that's not it - a teeny weeny stream is just as effective.
and three is that 's-drill' stands for 'safety drill'. always good to practice breathing off your buddy's octo & donating to your buddy. *always*. you have three minutes of safety stop, good place to practice. you're swimming along, good time to practice. your buddy has drifted away from you, good time to practice & reinforce not going off on his or her own.
you're doing great!
well done
Excellent and thanks for the update! Thanks for giving others a chance to learn from your experience! This thread will be seen and read by a lot of others who get to learn from you and the great responses you have received.
I would change the Stop, Breathe, Think, Act sequence if I had my way to Stop, Think, Breathe Act! Sometimes it is actually more important to Think before Breathing!
It sounds like you are using rental or unfamiliar gear. There is nothing like knowing your gear to build confidence. When I took my course I didn't know what I didn't know so.. I thought it was all my fault that I was struggling to breathe. The instructor tried my Reg at one point, said it was breathing terribly hard and put it aside for service. I didn't know enough to complain and didn't complain for fear of looking like I was a whiner! Your DI, DM and Dive Op are there to answer your questions and help you stay safe so don't be reluctant to take full advantage of that! My failure in that department sure made my first two dives awful!
I am glad you seem to be breaking the Panic pattern. Thought processes and visualization create reality. Olympic athletes and coaches will tell you how important schooling their thoughts, creating beliefs and visualizing every step of their activities are. When they aren't doing the physical practice they are doing the mental work and they get results!
Good luck and good diving!
I would change the Stop, Breathe, Think, Act sequence if I had my way to Stop, Think, Breathe Act! Sometimes it is actually more important to Think before Breathing!
It sounds like you are using rental or unfamiliar gear. There is nothing like knowing your gear to build confidence. When I took my course I didn't know what I didn't know so.. I thought it was all my fault that I was struggling to breathe. The instructor tried my Reg at one point, said it was breathing terribly hard and put it aside for service. I didn't know enough to complain and didn't complain for fear of looking like I was a whiner! Your DI, DM and Dive Op are there to answer your questions and help you stay safe so don't be reluctant to take full advantage of that! My failure in that department sure made my first two dives awful!
I am glad you seem to be breaking the Panic pattern. Thought processes and visualization create reality. Olympic athletes and coaches will tell you how important schooling their thoughts, creating beliefs and visualizing every step of their activities are. When they aren't doing the physical practice they are doing the mental work and they get results!
Good luck and good diving!
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