Newbie diving anxiety - how to overcome?

[Audi]

As a new diver, what I've had to overcome is breathing through my mouth... It's a very unnatural feeling to obtain your air supply through your mouth, especially with the awkward equipment and tens of feet water above you. With practice and experience it will become more comfortable. Take it slowly and it will become easier and more fun!

Trusting the equipment and my training really increase my confidence in the water. If your husband is anxious or worried about the equipment doing its job or feels that he is lacking skill, speak with a professional instructor about getting a refresher course so he can hone his diving skills and learn more about the equipment and how to use it properly. Learning more about scuba might help your husband's confidence a lot.

Best wishes!!

 

[toodive4]

Anxiety Disorders are not a good thing and in general are a contraindication for diving and getting certified. With that said, if he has no history of panic / anxiety attacks and if he has gone to a doctor and received medical clearance to dive, it is likely he just needs some time to adjust. I am an Instructor now, but many years ago when I first learned to dive, I freaked out doing Mask Removal and Replacement during my open water checkout dives. I had done this in the pool with no problem, but the sudden cold water rush in the quarry, combined with my 7mm hood and 14mm of wetsuit compressing my chest, I rushed to the surface in a blaze of glory... so what I'm going to recommend comes from experience and knowledge.

Spend time in the pool on Scuba swimming around without a mask. Put on all the rest of the gear and start on the surface. Put your face down in the water and breath off your regulator. Do this for 2 to 3 minutes. Once comfortable, kneel in the shallow end with no mask and breath for 2 to 3 minutes. Once comfortable, swim without mask to the deep end and kneel down for 2 to 3 minutes. Once comfortable go to the side of the pool (underwater) and navigate the entire distance around the edge of the pool with no mask. When back to the starting point, swim away from the wall and play without a mask... then swim back to the shallow end and replace your mask (underwater)... This 15 minutes of progressive experience without a mask has worked for everyone I've had do it...

 

[Web Monkey]

Hi!
I asked him if this sport just wasn't for him, but he assured me that he wants to get certified, but he still wasn't "comfortable" breathing under water yet. We are going to spend a ton of time snorkeling (he's new to snorkeling but fine with that) on our honeymoon, so maybe some of the breathing underwater anxiety will dissipate. Can you suggest any other exercises for him to do to get him more relaxed?
Chantal

It's also possible he's not comfortable breathing underwater because his regulator is mis-adjusted or needs service. It's possible for a regulator to "breathe hard"' (requires extra effort), and this makes diving much less comfortable.

If he's still not happy next time, and has the same equipment, someone from the shop should try it and make sure it's OK.

Terry