Nervous about Diving

[MXGratefulDiver]

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)

 

[DivemasterDennis]

Great suggestion here in the thread. When you are finally ready to do your open water dives (and don't do them until you do feel ready, even if that means some extra pool time) here are some suggestions to make that experience more positive. First, dont "overthink" the dives. By that I mean you may be focused so much on discomfort, or getting a skill right, that you are stressing out and creating problems that you might not otherwise have. My suggestion: HAVE FUN!". I am not saying to ignore an ear squeeze, or other comfort issue, but I am saying don't be preoccupied with it to the point of obsession. Also, remember you have done all the skills you are going to do in confined water, and can do them. In fact, many are actually easier to do in the open water dives than in the pool. Don't overthink them and create stress. Relax and enjoy the experience. Whether you are in a quarry in Illinois, or warm seas off the coast of Florida, you should have fun on those certification dives. Look around, enjoy weightlessness, as you pay attention to your instructor. You might have some issues to work through, but you will be less likely to have them, and fewer of them, if you relax and enjoy the experience rather than "waiting for something to go wrong." Your instructor and dive masters are there to help if it does. It probably won't. Be positive in your outlook and you experience is likely to be positive too! To reduce anxiety further, here are some more tips:

1.Check all you gear a day or two before the dive, to be sure you have everything, everything is working properly and everything fits properly. Put stuff on. If anything is too tight, too loose, looks damaged, or doesn't work, go to your local dive center and get it switched.

2. Be on time. Give yourself plenty of time to get to where you need to be. Lsee rush means less stress.

3. Don't schedule stuff for later the same day as you open water dives. You won't want to rush off, because you may well forget a piece of gear, or miss out on meeting new people, or conversations that would be helpful to you. Getting certified is a big deal, and also involves some physical exertion. Try and schedule yourself so you can be fully focused on the dives, not be rushed, and fully enjoy the experience and the achievement of open water diving.

4. Ask questions. If you have a question ask your instructor or divemaster. There are no stupid questions. If you want a "private moment" asks for one.

5. Report problems. If you don't feel well, a piece of gear doesn't fit right, or you have some other issue, tell your instructor. They need to know, and they can help.

6. Bring you paperwork ( including photo, written work not yet turned in,etc.) and log book and a pen. The job isn't over till the paperwork's done. Bring everything in your student kit. It's a great feeling to not only have done your dives successfully, but to have all the paperwork ready to go, your dives logged, and be a totally legitimate certified diver.

Think positive, take your time, do the open water dives when you are ready. Don't rush into them, and you will do fine.
DivemasterDennis

 

[TSandM]

CamG said the number one thing I wanted to say, which was to make sure learning to dive is something you want to do for yourself, and not for anybody else. If you really want to do this, you can overcome almost any obstacles, but if your motivation is shaky, it's going to be harder.

With respect to mask skills, they are the best ones to have trouble with, because they are the easiest to work on. You can practice breathing through a snorkel without a mask in your kitchen sink. You can practice mask clearing in the bathtub. One of the keys to mask skills is that, if you are sitting upright while you do them, do not tilt your head back! Those instructions are for the diver who is in the more usual diving position, close to horizontal in the water. There, you need to tilt your head back to make the bottom of the mask the lowest part of it, so the air can fill the mask from the top down. If you are upright, the bottom of the mask is already the lowest point, and if you tilt your head back at that point, all that happens is that water runs, by gravity, down the base of your nose and into the back of your throat. As someone who came close to panic on her 2nd open water dive from making this mistake, I really understand it!

In addition to what others have said about feeling short of breath underwater, I would also like to add that poorly adjusted equipment can make you feel this way. If you go for another session and have the same reaction, have your instructor try your regulator. A friend of mine did quite a few dives on a brand new reg, complaining about having problems with feeling anxious and not being able to breathe. We gave her all kinds of advice on how to relax and slow her breathing and the like, but when one of us actually tested her reg, we realized it was massively out of adjustment -- fixing the reg made all the issues go away.

 

[fnfalman]

You should be nervous. Man isn't meant to breath underwater.

However, that's why you're being eased into it via pool training sessions at the shallow end then gravitate to the far end. During OW checkout dive, you'll be doing drills at maybe 20-ft deep. Not much more different than the swimming pool.

 

[LowDrag]

I was nervous to...just take it slow and you will get better.

 

[AdamBorzy]

If others can do it, why can't you? Just overcome your fear Mate and everything will turn out just fine.
Arrive early to check all your gear before diving.
If you don't know something, throw in questions.
Good luck!

 

[CindyMac]

I was nervous too. In fact, my family wasn't sure I would actually complete my training, since scuba diving meant I had to get my head underwater. It took a fair bit of coaching to get the mask flood & clear skill down. The lead instructor passed me off to the DM candidate. After just a few minutes of one-on-one time, I got it!

I have a whole, whopping 9 dives under my belt, but I've loved each one for different reasons and for the things I learned on each one. Have to say though, I still get a little anxious when I start my first descent of the day. I usually take about 5 minutes to even out, then I'm fine. Intellectually, I know everything is okay, the emotional part (where I don't feel in control - bit of a control freak) just needs to catch up.

 

[LowDrag]

I was nervous too. In fact, my family wasn't sure I would actually complete my training, since scuba diving meant I had to get my head underwater. It took a fair bit of coaching to get the mask flood & clear skill down. The lead instructor passed me off to the DM candidate. After just a few minutes of one-on-one time, I got it!

I have a whole, whopping 9 dives under my belt, but I've loved each one for different reasons and for the things I learned on each one. Have to say though, I still get a little anxious when I start my first descent of the day. I usually take about 5 minutes to even out, then I'm fine. Intellectually, I know everything is okay, the emotional part (where I don't feel in control - bit of a control freak) just needs to catch up.

Me to Cindy, I am 9 dives as well. My first couple of minutes in the water are a little nerve racking but once I get leveled out I am good to go as well. I am sure that with time that will go away for both of us.

 

[TMHeimer]

It's always good to be cautious at the start of a dive (not that you should not be cautious during the whole dive). You are checking out the conditions as you descend/swim out from shore. I wouldn't exactly call it nervous, just being super aware. I try to treat all dives as my first, even if I've dived the site often before. Currents can be tricky, especially slight tidal ones. "Perpendicular" currents can mess up your compass navigation. I dived a new site last week with an ebbing tide and found myself a bit too far out from shore for my taste. Headed back to the bottom with a compass reading and went straight back in. You'll get over the general nervous feeling starting a dive but it's good to always be aware and take it slow. As my mom said to us kids: "You shouldn't fear the ocean, but always respect it".

 

[divergirl6]

I was really scared before my first OW dives, but remember that the dive instructors and DMs are there to make sure you don't get into any trouble. Like others have said, practice the mask clearing! You could even go snorkeling in your local pool - I've seen people do that. Just take it easy and breath slow and deep!

divergirl