augk
Contributor
I have no advice for you but I do wish you much luck.
I can't do this - Please Help!!!
- Thread starter palmtreefreak
- Start date
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mavjax
Guest
A suggestion that I used to get through it and have now used to get my kids through it (credits to someone on this board who posted the basic concept).
1) Swim around your pool wearing your mask and snorkel (shallow end only) concentrating on deep slow breathing.
2) When you are ready, take the mask off and hold the snorkel in your mouth. and one hand. Swim around with just the snorkel, breathing in through your mouth and out through your nose.
3) When you are ready, put your maskl back on, hold it away from your face and start swimming just like in step 2. When you are ready, please the mask on your face. You are already in the habit of breathing out though your nose so apply a bit of pressure to the top of the mask and it should start to clear. This seems to work because you start with a flooded mask instead of flooding it which seems to trigger the fear. Once you have done this a few times, then you can try having your mask on and then flooding it.
If you have trouble getting it to clear fully, you might want to try a purge mask that has a valve in the nose. As soon as my daughter had one she was clearing like a pro.
Good luck.
1) Swim around your pool wearing your mask and snorkel (shallow end only) concentrating on deep slow breathing.
2) When you are ready, take the mask off and hold the snorkel in your mouth. and one hand. Swim around with just the snorkel, breathing in through your mouth and out through your nose.
3) When you are ready, put your maskl back on, hold it away from your face and start swimming just like in step 2. When you are ready, please the mask on your face. You are already in the habit of breathing out though your nose so apply a bit of pressure to the top of the mask and it should start to clear. This seems to work because you start with a flooded mask instead of flooding it which seems to trigger the fear. Once you have done this a few times, then you can try having your mask on and then flooding it.
If you have trouble getting it to clear fully, you might want to try a purge mask that has a valve in the nose. As soon as my daughter had one she was clearing like a pro.
Good luck.
SueMermaid
Guest
I have found that without fail, this sort of anxiety dissipates immediately when it comes time to perform. I am guessing you will surprise yourself and do just fine. Really, I am not just saying that.
you CAN do this. This is *so* not a waste of your time. Trust me on that. You'll see for yourself soon enough. We don't all do this stuff because it makes us miserable and anxious.
you CAN do this. This is *so* not a waste of your time. Trust me on that. You'll see for yourself soon enough. We don't all do this stuff because it makes us miserable and anxious.
RonDawg
Contributor
Palmtree:
Don't feel bad. If you are extremely nervous about the O/W part you are right to say "I'm not ready for this, I need some more practice."
I had a bit of trouble with the mask clearing too, though my problem is that every time I THOUGHT I breathed out through my nose, I was actually breathing out of my mouth and through the regulator. No matter how hard I tried, I kept breathing out of my mouth rather than through my nose. It was hard to overcome as I finally got myself used to breathing in/out through a regulator, now I had to learn to breathe in via the mouth and out through the nose (the reverse of what I learned to do under stress). Finally, another experienced diver who was on the same boat with me told me a trick: when you need to clear your mask, pretend you are sneezing. That finally did the trick for me.
I am a bit surprised that your dive shop won't do a private lesson. They will likely charge more for it, but I've never heard of someone turning it down for the right price.
You've gotten good advice here, perhaps spending more time in the pool and waiting until the next O/W session may be the right thing for you. Or, if you want a private lesson but the shop still refuses to do one, perhaps you should ask for a "referral" form and do your O/W sessions with another instructor, maybe even in a resort-type environment away from home.
Don't feel bad. If you are extremely nervous about the O/W part you are right to say "I'm not ready for this, I need some more practice."
I had a bit of trouble with the mask clearing too, though my problem is that every time I THOUGHT I breathed out through my nose, I was actually breathing out of my mouth and through the regulator. No matter how hard I tried, I kept breathing out of my mouth rather than through my nose. It was hard to overcome as I finally got myself used to breathing in/out through a regulator, now I had to learn to breathe in via the mouth and out through the nose (the reverse of what I learned to do under stress). Finally, another experienced diver who was on the same boat with me told me a trick: when you need to clear your mask, pretend you are sneezing. That finally did the trick for me.
I am a bit surprised that your dive shop won't do a private lesson. They will likely charge more for it, but I've never heard of someone turning it down for the right price.
You've gotten good advice here, perhaps spending more time in the pool and waiting until the next O/W session may be the right thing for you. Or, if you want a private lesson but the shop still refuses to do one, perhaps you should ask for a "referral" form and do your O/W sessions with another instructor, maybe even in a resort-type environment away from home.
OP
palmtreefreak
New
First of all, I want to thank everyone who posted and wished me luck. I talked with my instructor and he reassured me that he thought I would be fine if I would just CALM DOWN. I decided to give it a try. I did panic at the mere thought of clearing the mask while we were just hanging around at the surface and almost chickened out. I decided to give it a try because I did not get all suited up to go out there and just turn around and come back to shore.
When we got down there, I was able to do it on the first try! I surprised myself immensely. I just took my time, and counted to ten in my head, reminded myself to calm down. Although the mask flood and mask removal took me about 3x as long as everyone else in the class, I was able to do it.
Again, thank you everyone for your words of encouragement and reassurance. I pick up my certification card tomorrow!
Diana
When we got down there, I was able to do it on the first try! I surprised myself immensely. I just took my time, and counted to ten in my head, reminded myself to calm down. Although the mask flood and mask removal took me about 3x as long as everyone else in the class, I was able to do it.
Again, thank you everyone for your words of encouragement and reassurance. I pick up my certification card tomorrow!
Diana
SueMermaid
Guest
See? We knew you could do it. Congratulations! 
MSilvia
Contributor
Congratulations!
augk
Contributor
Glad to know you didn't give up.
Happy diving
Happy diving
getwet2
Contributor
Piece a cake EH! Congrats!
Sideband
Guest
Ditto's on the congrats!
Joe
Joe
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