tomahawkpilot
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I received such good responses on my previous post, Scared. Am I cut out for this? that I thought I should follow it up by telling about my actual experience.
I was expecting a crowded pool class. When the store said there were eight students, they apparently meant three in OW class, and five in a Discover Scuba class with a different instructor.
As soon as I put my gear together, I jumped in the shallow end and started playing around. I was happy just being there using scuba again. Our first few lessons were simple, as you probably know. Put your face in the water and breathe off the regulator. Sit in the shallow end and just breathe. Etc. Well, one man in our group was having a very hard time with this. He kept coming back up, complaining of one sensation or another. The instructor ended up spending about ten minutes with him, during which I practiced all the skills I was apprehensive about -- mask flooding, regulator recovery, and so on. The scared student eventually gave up trying and exited the pool. I was sorry to see that happen.
I realized that I didn't give myself enough credit for how capable I really was, or how motivated I was to do this. I felt uncomfortable at times as well, but I was able to convince myself that I had everything under control, that I could fix a problem if it occurred, and also that it was normal to be nervous. And I did have a little trouble. I wasn't ready to remove and replace my mask in the deep end. It seemed like every time I did that, I felt like I was drowning. So the instructor took me aside and I did it again and again, each time purposefully doing something a little more uncomfortable, until I was ready to do it in the deep end, in which case I was able to swim with the mask off and even take my time clearing it. At no time did I allow myself to believe that I would be unable to breathe without a mask, or that it would be the one skill I can't do, or whatever. I believed that I could actually learn to like doing it. As crazy as it sounds, in the end, I did like doing it. But it took practice to get that way.
The OW dives were in a quarry. I was very nervous on the first one, but they got better and better until on the fourth dive, I was so busy watching the fish that I didn't want to leave.
I am glad that I took the class, and now I wish I had done it years ago. I record my experience here in case it will stop someone else who is similarly afraid from turning away from diving. I thought of all the scenarios that could happen. I made myself sick analyzing the equipment. I even bought a Spare Air (just in case). The worrying didn't make a difference. I had a clear vision of what I wanted, stuck to it, and not only did I end up making it through, I actually enjoyed it.
Thanks again for all the great posts to my original thread. They were all very helpful. I am glad that instead of sitting in the dark worrying, I was honest and unembarrassed about my concerns and talked to some nice people who had been there in the past. It made a difference. Thank you again.
I was expecting a crowded pool class. When the store said there were eight students, they apparently meant three in OW class, and five in a Discover Scuba class with a different instructor.
As soon as I put my gear together, I jumped in the shallow end and started playing around. I was happy just being there using scuba again. Our first few lessons were simple, as you probably know. Put your face in the water and breathe off the regulator. Sit in the shallow end and just breathe. Etc. Well, one man in our group was having a very hard time with this. He kept coming back up, complaining of one sensation or another. The instructor ended up spending about ten minutes with him, during which I practiced all the skills I was apprehensive about -- mask flooding, regulator recovery, and so on. The scared student eventually gave up trying and exited the pool. I was sorry to see that happen.
I realized that I didn't give myself enough credit for how capable I really was, or how motivated I was to do this. I felt uncomfortable at times as well, but I was able to convince myself that I had everything under control, that I could fix a problem if it occurred, and also that it was normal to be nervous. And I did have a little trouble. I wasn't ready to remove and replace my mask in the deep end. It seemed like every time I did that, I felt like I was drowning. So the instructor took me aside and I did it again and again, each time purposefully doing something a little more uncomfortable, until I was ready to do it in the deep end, in which case I was able to swim with the mask off and even take my time clearing it. At no time did I allow myself to believe that I would be unable to breathe without a mask, or that it would be the one skill I can't do, or whatever. I believed that I could actually learn to like doing it. As crazy as it sounds, in the end, I did like doing it. But it took practice to get that way.
The OW dives were in a quarry. I was very nervous on the first one, but they got better and better until on the fourth dive, I was so busy watching the fish that I didn't want to leave.
I am glad that I took the class, and now I wish I had done it years ago. I record my experience here in case it will stop someone else who is similarly afraid from turning away from diving. I thought of all the scenarios that could happen. I made myself sick analyzing the equipment. I even bought a Spare Air (just in case). The worrying didn't make a difference. I had a clear vision of what I wanted, stuck to it, and not only did I end up making it through, I actually enjoyed it.
Thanks again for all the great posts to my original thread. They were all very helpful. I am glad that instead of sitting in the dark worrying, I was honest and unembarrassed about my concerns and talked to some nice people who had been there in the past. It made a difference. Thank you again.
- who would know...
