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What you're feeling isn't uncommon among OW students ... overcoming it is part of the reason for the training.
The nervousness is due to your brain's inherent instinct to not breathe while underwater. You'll overcome that by "reprogramming" that instinct through practice. Some people require more effort to do that than others ... all that means is that you have a very healthy sense of self-preservation, which isn't a bad thing. Practice as others have stated above ... I usually have my students who have that reaction practice in the shallow end of the pool, where they can stand up if they need to while overcoming their nervousness. Start by removing your mask, closing your eyes, and with regulator in mouth just bend over and put your face in the water and breathe. Take as many breaths as you can and then take your face out of trhe water ... repeat as needed until you can breathe, maskless, for as long as you want. Now put the mask on, drop down below the surface, and practice the mask flood and clear. Repeat as needed until you no longer feel nervous doing so. After a few attempts, you'll be amazed how easy it becomes ... and wonder why you ever thought it was hard in the first place.
As for that "I can't get enough air" feeling ... Spectrum was probably correct that it's hyperventilating. This is the first time in your life that you've ever had to think about breathing ... so think about slowing it down a bit. What triggers your need to breathe is the buildup of carbon dioxide in your body. Carbon dioxide is the byproduct of what your body produces when it metabolizes oxygen ... it needs to come out. So give your lungs a chance to do their job by breathing deeply and slowly ... like meditating. If you're breathing rapidly or shallowly the carbon dioxide builds up and gives you that feeling. Once again, this is common among new divers. Once you relax a bit, your breathing will return to "normal" and you won't have to think about it anymore. It just takes a bit of practice.
From what you've described, there's nothing to worry about ... it's part of the learning process. Just keep practicing the skill until iit becomes as natural as walking (which also took some practice, although you probably didn't realize it at the time) ...
... Bob (Grateful Diver)
The nervousness is due to your brain's inherent instinct to not breathe while underwater. You'll overcome that by "reprogramming" that instinct through practice. Some people require more effort to do that than others ... all that means is that you have a very healthy sense of self-preservation, which isn't a bad thing. Practice as others have stated above ... I usually have my students who have that reaction practice in the shallow end of the pool, where they can stand up if they need to while overcoming their nervousness. Start by removing your mask, closing your eyes, and with regulator in mouth just bend over and put your face in the water and breathe. Take as many breaths as you can and then take your face out of trhe water ... repeat as needed until you can breathe, maskless, for as long as you want. Now put the mask on, drop down below the surface, and practice the mask flood and clear. Repeat as needed until you no longer feel nervous doing so. After a few attempts, you'll be amazed how easy it becomes ... and wonder why you ever thought it was hard in the first place.
As for that "I can't get enough air" feeling ... Spectrum was probably correct that it's hyperventilating. This is the first time in your life that you've ever had to think about breathing ... so think about slowing it down a bit. What triggers your need to breathe is the buildup of carbon dioxide in your body. Carbon dioxide is the byproduct of what your body produces when it metabolizes oxygen ... it needs to come out. So give your lungs a chance to do their job by breathing deeply and slowly ... like meditating. If you're breathing rapidly or shallowly the carbon dioxide builds up and gives you that feeling. Once again, this is common among new divers. Once you relax a bit, your breathing will return to "normal" and you won't have to think about it anymore. It just takes a bit of practice.
From what you've described, there's nothing to worry about ... it's part of the learning process. Just keep practicing the skill until iit becomes as natural as walking (which also took some practice, although you probably didn't realize it at the time) ...
... Bob (Grateful Diver)