I need help with my breathing!!!

[micah.eleazar]

Hello,

I finished my Learn to Dive course this past weekend. I am hoping to do my open water dives in the next couple of months to finally get my open water certification.

During the pool instructions, I had some minor problems with breathing. I find that I am constantly clearing my mask because of the water at the tips of my nose. It just bothers me! Does it bother anyone else?

Also, when I breathe, I feel like I am either breathing in/out too much or too little. I'm just a little freaked out that I had a hard time at the pool at 9 ft.! What's going to happen during my open water dive at 30-60ft.??? I know that I do not want to quit scuba diving, but i need help getting over this fear of breathing.

How do you all breathe without problems or without feeling like your hyperventilating? Do you think counting would help me? 3 second inhale, 3 second exhale. I need some sort of count or pace that I could go by so that I don't forget to breathe.

This whole breathing thing freaks me out a little bit. I need some help and advice!!!

 

[rustyshakelford]

i just breathe noramlly. are you claustrophobic?

brett

 

[battles2a5]

It is perfectly normal to feel this way after your first try dive. It was your first time breathing from a demand regulator, under water in an alien environment, give yourself a break. Your instructor should work with you to get you comfortable with the breathing during your pool work and they will explain this in much more detail than they did during your try dive. A lot of this will have to do with correct weighting and bouyancy along with an overall comfort of being underwater. Your comfort will build as you get through your check-out dives. After that, the comfort continues to grow as your experience increases. I consumed air at a scary-fast pace during my first dives. Now, I forget I have a reg in my mouth have the time and my air consumption is probabaly 1/5 of what it used to be. Just keep mental tabs on what works, what doesn't, and give yourself a change to get the hang of it.

 

[Dry_Diver]

How do you all breathe without problems or without feeling like your hyperventilating? Do you think counting would help me? 3 second inhale, 3 second exhale. This whole breathing thing freaks me out a little bit. I need some help and advice!!!

First thing that I would say to you is that it WILL get better ! This happens to a lot of people including myself. Its all about being comfortable in the water. The only way you will get comfortable is to be under water more. If you are anything like me, I was soo excited durring my OW class. I am sure that had a lot to do with the fact that I went through 2 1/2 80's on my first night in the pool. I still find it hard to admit that, but I am much much better at that now. I am 5-11 260lbs so I know that had something to do with it. After a few hours under water my air consumption dropped quickly.

About the whole breathing thing freeking you out, if you are like any of the rest of us you have been breathing your whole life, I promise I think that the worst thing you can do is try to count your breathing. You don't count it while you are walking down the street do you, just relax and have fun in the pool.

So here is my opinion on how to fix your problem. Remember the first and most important thing to do is have fun. If it stops being fun you will eventually stop diving. Relax, have fun. Your breathing will take care of itself. All of the DM and instructors that I have had in all the classes I have taken have all said the same thing, on one dive you are going to suck air like a hoover and on the next dive you are going to think that your SPG is broken because you didn't use much air. No one can tell you when that dive will take place......but it will. Good luck on your open water class. Hope this helped. See you on the bottom.

 

[DiverBizz]

Just relax follow the recommendations from above posts and have fun. Practice more in the pool before you do your open water and you should have a wonderful time. This is not unusual.

 

[masterof0]

It all comes down to time and practice. I have only been diving for about six months and can remember the first time I went underwater (during my confined water dives). You have to remember it is a very unnatural act to breath underwater. For so many years, you have always held your breath, so instinctually, that is what your mind still wants to do. As you continue to dive, you will become more accustom to it and breathing will be much easier.

Even today, when I first get in the water, it takes a second for me to remember that I CAN breath underwater. So there is an initial state of anxiousness. Each time I dive, more of the axiousness goes away.

 

[Jim-SAR]

First...Welcome to the ScubaBoard I'm new to the board also, but while I've been lurking around, I've found a TON of good info.

Six years ago I went through almost the same thing, but the patience of my Instructors got me through it. I was on the short bus for qualification that day. My problem was pure anxiety/panic when water went into my nose while trying to breathe. Luckily you can stand up when you're only in 4 feet of water. Looking back, I don't know how the Instructor didn't laugh.

I have since become a PADI-Master Scuba Diver, Public Safety Diver, and now a Divemaster Candidate. If can get through all of that after freaking out in the shallow end, then so can you. :cool2:

The key is time, practice, and experience. Like the others said above, try to get more pool time before your open water dives. Whatever you do, be COMPLETELY HONEST with your Instructor BEFORE the dives. They will take it at a slower pace, and make sure you're relatively comfortable before starting your skills. This also gives them and the Divemasters a heads up that they may need to react quickly if you start to panic at depth. It's just better for everone involved to be prepared.

Things to help you out:
1. Make sure your mask actually fits your face. The temple area is a good source for leaks, as well as the upper lip area if you have a moustache. I trim/shave my moustache down to help with sealing.

2. Sit in the shallow end of the pool, and just breathe. No skills practice. Just breate.

3. With a Divemaster/Instructor as your buddy, try to do #2 without wearing a mask at all. You can hold your nose at first, but then as you get more comfortable, let the water go where it wants to. This will help re-enforce the mouth-only breathing, and get you used to having water in your nostrils. If it gets uncomfortable, then exhale through your nose a little to clear it.

***NOTE: When doing this, if the bubbles from you regulator are bothering you, then tilt your head to one side, or lay face down like you're doing fin pivots. This helps me a lot.

4. When you're comfortable with the above, then have a buddy (DM/OWI) guide you as you swim around without a mask. You could wear swim goggles for this.

5. Now practice flooding/clearing your mask as well as removal/replacement.

6. Just breathe normally. Don't try to pause between breaths to conserve air. Physiologically, your body will want to breathe more due to the build-up of CO2, so you're not saving much air.

Good Luck! Don't give up. It WILL get easier.

 

[aascubagirl]

What he said!

Seriously, Jim-SAR has some great recommendations. First, as several others have stated, don't be so hard on yourself. Secondly, voice your concerns to your instructor if you have not already and schedule some extra pool time to practice Jim's suggestions. A good instructor will help you work through this and yes, you will work through this. I experienced many of the same issues you described and it took me around 20 dives to get rid of the anxious breathing and near-panic due to the water in my mask. I've since learned a few breathing techniques that I now share with my own students and also got a better mask. Getting a great mask that doesn't typically allow water in will go a LONG way towards alleviating your discomfort.

Best of luck to you and I hope you stick with it. Being able to be a part of the underwater world is worth it!

 

[micah.eleazar]

Thanks guys! I know I will love scuba diving!!!

 

[Jim-SAR]

You're Welcome! Glad I could help

Post up and let us know how it goes, and what works or doesn't work for you. This way others can learn also. Someone might be afraid to ask the question, but they'll still find what they need by searching.