New and Nervous

[alwaysready2go]

Been lurking on the boards for a little while gathering information. What a wealth of knowledge and advice this board brings! I am currently taking my OW diving classes, last week was my first class. Hubby and I are excited about the whole learning process but I am pretty nervous about MY skills. He learns the hands on stuff much faster and I am more the book/test type. We will be doing our OW Cert dives while on vacation in March in Grand Cayman and Cozumel. Needless to say I am very excited but nervous that I will not be able to actually do it. Was anyone nervous at first? The first class I had a hard time just breathing (actually it was the exhaling thing I forgot to do concentrating on the breathing IN part - LOL) - removing the reg and clearing it no problem, equalizing took a few trys but was fine other than that. I am a little overwhelmed with how much there is to learn.

 

[Rick Murchison]

Being nervous is perfectly normal - if you weren't a bit nervous I'd be concerned. After all, you're breathing underwater, and that's just a bit unusual...
You'll be fine.
See you on the Reef!
Rick

 

[baltimoron]

Yeah... it's good to be on the nervous side. You have to remember, the ocean doesn't really want us there... We don't belong (I think some people reading this are crying now.... sorry people.) You need to work a bit at it, but after a couple classes it will seem so natural that you will think you belong in the water.

Keep at it, it really will pay off. really.

Zack

 

[farfromwater]

...but I am pretty nervous about MY skills. Needless to say I am very excited but nervous that I will not be able to actually do it. I am a little overwhelmed with how much there is to learn.

Of course you'll be able to do it(!) but if you are uncomfortable, just slow down the process a little. Spend more time in the pool before you head to cayman/cozumel. Pool dive as much as possible until you feel OK being under the water. No need to push it and not enjoy the dives. Doing a wall dive off Cozumel is outstanding. Just beautiful.

Tell your instructor what you are feeling. If he/she is any good, they will help you feel more at home in the water. If they blow you off, find a better instructor. Most care and want you to love diving, but to some, it is just a job.

My wife had the same issues you are having, but had a very poor instructor. Thus, on her first ocean dive (#1 after the open water cert) in cozumel, she got so nervous and excited that she couldn't submerge for her first dive. (You'll know what she felt when you see the visibility and the sights once you hit the water... a little overwhelming for a new diver used to texas murky lakes. WOW!) The DM on the boat and I calmed her down while the others on the boat did their dive, and for the 2nd dive of the day, she did great. She's now a fish, and loves to dive as much an anybody.
By the way, I agree with Zack and Rick....being cautious is good.

Relax, practice, enjoy, and welcome to the sport!
Jeff

 

[STUEY2]

Been lurking on the boards for a little while gathering information. What a wealth of knowledge and advice this board brings! I am currently taking my OW diving classes, last week was my first class. Hubby and I are excited about the whole learning process but I am pretty nervous about MY skills. He learns the hands on stuff much faster and I am more the book/test type. We will be doing our OW Cert dives while on vacation in March in Grand Cayman and Cozumel. Needless to say I am very excited but nervous that I will not be able to actually do it. Was anyone nervous at first? The first class I had a hard time just breathing (actually it was the exhaling thing I forgot to do concentrating on the breathing IN part - LOL) - removing the reg and clearing it no problem, equalizing took a few trys but was fine other than that. I am a little overwhelmed with how much there is to learn.

It's ok too be a bit aprehensive at first. You have only just started the whole learning process. I see this all the time. Make sure you get your instructors attention tell him/her how you are feeling so you can get some help with your aprehension and nerves. But you can help your self too, tell yourself im here to have fun and nothing is going to stop me.
As time goes by you will see that your skills will become alot better especially during your course, but don't stop there keep practicing and keep diving so it all becomes second nature and you can do nothing but improve.
Good luck and let us know how it all goes. When it all hits the fan STOP,THINK & REACT.
Reguards Stuey2

 

[Zept]

I was a very nervous student diver. I hated being underwater, was constantly afraid of dying and spent the final weekend promising myself that once I'd got my card, I'd never go diving again. My instructor handed over my temporary card, shook my hand and figured he'd never see me again.

Three and a half years later, I've done over 600 dives. I'm a PADI instructor and I've just spent a year working as an underwater videographer, filming students doing their certification dives. Many of them were nervous too.

Give yourself a chance to get used to scuba diving. It's a profoundly unnatural thing to do. Some people take to it straight away, but many are nervous at first. And as other people have said, that's no bad thing. As you gain experience (you've only had one lesson, after all), your confidence should grow.

 

[SmokingMirror]

Very little to add to what's already been said, really. Just remember that human beings are massively adaptable creatures, and that nervousness when engaged in anything new is perfectly normal. Just take things at your own pace, not the pace at which you feel might be expected of you. A good instructor will take the time and care to ensure you're completely comfortable.

Strangely enough, my own introduction to diving heralded the extreme opposite effect, however. I found myself so calm in the water that, in the early days, I had to conciously keep reminding myself to breath at all. I also remember being very annoyed to learn that I didn't have an infinite supply of air, and would have to face coming back to Terra Firma at some point.

 

[RICHinNC]

You have a number of reasons to be nervous and all are normal.
You are in a totally new environment. You are doing something you have never done before. You also have that .."I am back in school and there are tests !" feeling. And, you are being hit with so much new stuff to learn and you are moving from one skill to the other before you really feel you have it down pat. And you have all kinds of weird gear hanging off of you.

Remember, getting your c card is just a license to LEARN about diving.

Once you are through with classes and you can go into the pool (notice I said pool....not ocean) without the instructor having to hover over you, you can then practice the skills you were taught in class without the feeling of being watched or timed. You can get familiar and easy with the feeling of being under the water versus just in the water.

Being nervous is def normal....but being skilled will give you confidence. Do more pool work before jumping into the ocean and your first ocean dive will be much more fun and rewarding.
rich

 

[moneysavr]

You will be going to a great place to do your open water dives! HAVE FUN!! It will all fall into place,Have a blast!
YOU CAN DO-IT!!!!! I DID!!!
Brad

 

[alwaysready2go]

Thank you all for the encouragement! I think I do have a nice/caring instructor. My husband and I are the only students and there is a DM who is training to be an instructor who is helping as well. A 1 to 1 ratio - not bad. I'm pretty certain they understood that I was nervous but not out of control nervous. It took me a little longer than it did my husband to do each skill but I was able to do each skill they worked on. We are doing one hour in the class and then one hour in the pool each week. The dive science is def. a lot to learn and be tested on but other than that I am confident in the academic aspect of this process. Now if I wasn't freaking about mask clearing and removing my bc tomorrow - LOL - anyway, I will post and tell you how I make out but again, thanks for the encouragement. I am hoping that I will calm down and enjoy it once I feel confident in myself. I am also hoping that doing my first dives in the warm tropical waters won't turn this New Englander into a WWW - read that on another thread - to funny (warm water wussy).