New and "Terrified"

[Bob Vincent]

Kyzzle I owe you an apology if your referring to the misspelled word. If not ....

 

[TSandM]

AggieManda, you are getting some very good advice here. What I want to add is that you should not go on to your open water dives until you are no longer battling panic in the pool. Panic is what gets people hurt in scuba, and if you are choking it back just to be underwater, the smallest thing that goes wrong may put you over the edge.

Mask skills are a very common sticking point for new divers. Part of the issue is that people are taught to do it improperly -- If you are sitting on the bottom of the pool with your torso upright, and you tilt your head back, you have aligned the bottom of your nasopharynx exactly right to cause water to run down into the back of your throat. When you are sitting upright, the bottom of your mask IS the lowest part of the mask; there is no only no need to tilt the head BACK, but you may be better served to tilt your face very slightly DOWN instead.

At any rate, I've been where you were . . . I got the throat full of ice cold salt water on my first OW dive, and almost bolted. The good news is that I didn't, and I learned a ton about controlling fear in that experience. You can turn your experience into something positive as well, once you work through this and realize that you CAN control your emotions and remain thoughtful. It may not happen in the time frame that will allow you to dive on your trip, but please spend the time you need to get completely comfortable in the pool, before you challenge this in open water. The advice to spend some time swimming around without a mask on at all is good advice, as is repeatedly practicing taking the mask off and replacing and clearing it. Being without a mask should be an annoyance, and not an emergency.

Good luck with this -- Keep plugging at it; diving is worth it.

 

[AggieManda]

Thank you for all of your wonderful advice! I will certainly try and see if I can get more pool time... I will continute to practice with just my mask and snorkel in the water. And I didn't mean to sound like I was disgruntled with my instructor, he was great. I just kept mentioning that portion because I realized and understood that he could not stop the class for just me. The real source of my frustration was that everyone else seemed to be getting it but me, which exacerbated my anxiety.

The DM was extremely helpful in that regard, and I ended up getting some private lessons which was a pretty great deal for me. I know I could not have gotten through the weekend without her. I am just kind of kicking myself for not having the foresight to realize these things and seek out a longer class. The main reason I would really want to try to dive this weekend in the lake is so I could dive with her (she will be unable to attend the next class as she is going....diving! hehe)...

I can tell this board is going to be a fun thing to be a part of, and an invaluable source for information!

Thanks again so much for all of your advice and encouragement. I will hopefully be reporting back somtime in the future as an Open Water Certified Diver!!

*Manda*

 

[Web Monkey]

However, when the time came to take our masks off underwater and replace them, and to breathe for one minute without a mask, I got a nose full of water and felt like I was drowning. Water in the nose has always been a phobia of mine, as I was pushed into the deep end of the pool as a small child and almost drowned. Naturally, I freaked out. I couldn't master the skill and the class had to move on. After that nothing felt right and everything freaked me out. Even being in the water produced anxiety. The regulator no longer felt good, the equipment became cumbersome and even a little water in my mask freaked me out. I haven't been able to recover ever since.

This is very common, but can be overcome as you practice more and find that you can breathe quite well without a mask as long as you don't breathe in through your nose or tilt your head up so the air in your nose runs out (and water runs in).

My problem now is that our open water dives are this weekend (Saturday and Sunday in a man made lake), and I go back and forth on if I feel comfortable enough to complete them.

That's easy. It's like the question "Can I afford a yacht?" If you have to ask, the answer is "No."

The shop has another certification class before we go, and I was thinking of asking if I could join that class when they do their pool skills to get more experience (problem is, I can only go one of those days), then do my open water dives with them after I have had more pool time in full scuba gear. Looking back now, I wish I had had the foresight to realize this was going to be a difficult process and taken a much longer (6 weeks or longer) course.

Joining another class would be a great idea!

It's not that you're some kind of slacker; SCUBA certification used to take 7-8 weeks minimum and there was plenty of time to work through all these issues and more. While some people can ace a fast class, a lot can't and even those that can miss out on a lot of practice that they really needed.

Go talk to the instructor or shop owner and see if they'll put you into the next class. This will give you time to practice everything you need and make you more comfortable with the whole "breathing underwater" thing.

Also, even though it would cost something, you might want to see if they can get an instructor to work with you privately for a couple of pool sessions. This would give you a lot more help before the OW dives, and shouldn't be phenomenally expensive.

Good luck! It's worth the effort!

Terry

 

[Bob Vincent]

Good luck Manda!

 

[Bob Vincent]

AggieManda, you are getting some very good advice here. What I want to add is that you should not go on to your open water dives until you are no longer battling panic in the pool. Panic is what gets people hurt in scuba, and if you are choking it back just to be underwater, the smallest thing that goes wrong may put you over the edge.

Mask skills are a very common sticking point for new divers. Part of the issue is that people are taught to do it improperly -- If you are sitting on the bottom of the pool with your torso upright, and you tilt your head back, you have aligned the bottom of your nasopharynx exactly right to cause water to run down into the back of your throat. When you are sitting upright, the bottom of your mask IS the lowest part of the mask; there is no only no need to tilt the head BACK, but you may be better served to tilt your face very slightly DOWN instead.

At any rate, I've been where you were . . . I got the throat full of ice cold salt water on my first OW dive, and almost bolted. The good news is that I didn't, and I learned a ton about controlling fear in that experience. You can turn your experience into something positive as well, once you work through this and realize that you CAN control your emotions and remain thoughtful. It may not happen in the time frame that will allow you to dive on your trip, but please spend the time you need to get completely comfortable in the pool, before you challenge this in open water. The advice to spend some time swimming around without a mask on at all is good advice, as is repeatedly practicing taking the mask off and replacing and clearing it. Being without a mask should be an annoyance, and not an emergency.

Good luck with this -- Keep plugging at it; diving is worth it.

She's always right! Usually after she answers I can't say anything ...

 

[Trimix2dive]

AggieManda -

Diving in Belize will be there for you on this trip, and it will also be there for you for your next trip. Unless the All Mighty decides to change something -Belize diving should be there for your when you are ready for it.

Play in the pool till your comfortable. Then, play in the local lakes or dive spots at a little deeper depths and in mid water till your comfortable.

Wether it be dive 5, 100, 500, or 1007 - dive within you comfort zone. Diving is suppose to be fun, exciting, and relaxing.

Regards,
Trimix2dive

 

[JoyfulNoise]

I've now seen twice on this forum the practice of breathing underwater without a mask on. I never had to do this for my OW, half and full mask flooding, yes, breathing without the mask, no. It sounds like a good practice drill to me, so thank you.

I did take "resort" class first, loved diving and took my OW and AOW. I feel very lucky that I never had a sense of panic or unease. That first dive I did have a problem with one of my earring clearing, but the instructor was so calm and confident, we worked through it. I sometimes have a hard time with the book learning, but really enjoy the pool and open water lessons/check-outs.

And I finally wanted to make a comment about, "if you have to ask the price... you can't afford it." I always ask the price if I don't know. I usually always can afford it, but like all the information available before I invest my money!

I hope you are keeping at it and that you'll get it all down to a comfortable, confident knowledge so you can enjoy the true wonders of being under the water and taking in all that blue!

 

[ozziworld]

I was taught to start humming lightly and continously as soon as i have an out of air emrgency to ensure that a small trickle of bubbles will always be pushing water out of my nose. This also works with a mask off situation. Just start humming continously very lightly (not a tune). That has always water out of my nose underwater. Also prevents lung expansion if you have to do an emergency ascent.

Give it a try next time you are in the pool. I hope it helps calm things down. Suggest you also join some more pool sessions to increase your confidence.

 

[water_monkey]

The issue you are having seems to be one of the most common ones, and is one that can cause the most trouble. If you are not comfortable, definitely do remedial sessions in the pool until you get it right. Don't worry about it and try to relax. Remember, as long as you are breathing, everything else can be dealt with. The shop you are dealing with should have no problem with you wanting to keep practicing any skills you are having difficulty with. Ignore any pressure, either from outside sources, or from within yourself, to proceed for the sake of "keeping with the class" and not being "held back". In the long run it will make you a much better AND safer diver. Quite often one seemingly small problem can balloon into a bigger one or grow into multiple problems, so the more confident you are, and the more self control you have will benefit you and your dive buddies.