Overcoming fear

[Darcey]

I had a horrid issue and fear with the mask removal skill. I attempted to drown myself many times. I could do it quickly enough to get through OW and that was it. To this day don't know how I even got through that. I guess it was my drive to not leave that lake without an OW card in hand. After all of the problems I had I became so afraid of it I'd litterally have nightmares about it...especially about having to do the buddy breathing while swapping gear test for DM. I read every thread and even posted my own questions about the skill and honestly, none of it helped. It only freaked me out more. I think my personal drive and desire to want to be the best diver I could be and to become a Divemaster is the only thing that helped me to overcome my fear. I just went to the pool every chance I got when it was available and sat at the bottom trying to not kill myself. I finally got it...and the first time I did it without any problems was one of the greatest feelings of accomplishment I've ever had. I think that along with my drive to become a DM my Rescue training also helped me because I am now much better diver and more aware when it comes to solving problems underwater. That and my dive instructor thinking that it was pretty funny to poke at me and say "so how is that mask removal coming?" at every chance he got. It annoyed me but pissed me off just enough that it also helped drive me to master the skill without killing myself!

Now I think I'm ready to do that buddy breathing while swapping equipment test.:blinking:

 

[vtxkev]

Well, I didn't have any apprehension (in other words, there wasn't anything I was particularly afraid of BEFORE it happened).

I would have to agree that I had no fear BEFORE it happened. My reg started to free flow at 56 foot in a cold quarry. Although I came out of it fine and was told that with a good reg and not a non sealed rental reg it shouldnt really happen, I noticed on my 2 dives since then I get nervious and afraid it will happen again when I go deeper and it starts to get colder. I just go up a little until I am comfortable and continue my dive. Over time and with the purchase of my own reg with cold water kit I think it will be a mute point.

I also agree with TEAMCESA when he said: There is a huge difference between fear and panic. Panic would make me think about diving again until you learn to control it.

 

[piikki]

I gave the instructor the thumb, and she shook her head; I gave it again, repeatedly and emphatically, and she stared at me and shook her head. I SO wanted out of there, as I choked and coughed and felt as though I was going to drown.

Well, that's a bit freaky in my eyes.
I can see how it can build a great confidence but how did she teach the thumb was to be treated as a signal then?

 

[fnfalman]

I use logic and reasoning (yes, I'm a Trekkie nerd) to overcome fear. Seriously.

During my 2nd OW cert dive, I was exhausted and didn't pay attention, somehow brushed the 2nd stage half way out of my mouth and didn't realize it. Did the mask clearing drill, blew the mask dry and when I went to suck in the next breath of air, I got nothing but water. I panicked and bolted to the surface. As I was rising up, I thought to myself that I wouldn't make it since that I have no air in my lungs. My instructor was reaching for me but I must have already risen 5ft up. Then I asked myself what was wrong because obviously I had air and my regulator worked just fine a moment ago. So I fumbled with the second stage and found out that it was half way out of my mouth. I reinserted it, purged it and sucked in a lungful of that sweet, sweet air. I then sank back down and gave the instructor a thumbs-up.

But for that moment, it scared the piss out of me because I thought that I was going to die.

The second time, my corrugated hose became undone from my BC and I couldn't float at the surface even though I ditched my gear. Let me clarify that: I floated at the surface but couldn't clear my head from the water. I bobbed at just below the surface at neutral buoyancy because I got my dive weight dialed in pretty good. I couldn't understand why I was not floating because my inflator button worked. I can hear it hiss as air was pumped from my tank. I had about 700-psi in the tank so I had plenty of air. That occurrence freaked me out because I couldn't understand why I was not floating because everything was working just fine (can't see that the corrugated hose came off the BC). My buddy kept me afloat until the divemaster came with a boogie board and towed me back.

I spoke with my LDS on it and the shop owner (a long time dive and retired instructor) said that since I was neutrally buoyant, I should have just swam back with the snorkel in my mouth. I would have been one exhausted dude because my BC was full of water but I wouldn't have sank. A light bulb went up in my head and the fear is gone.

Fight fear with reason, with logic and more importantly with solutions to the problems that caused you to panic in the first place.

 

[potato cod]

My experience is limited, but FWIW, of my 50 dives I have 2 that were not fun. On one, I became separated from my buddy early in the dive and on the other my buddy and I messed up our navigation and got rather lost. Neither of these were things we couldn't handle, but they were stressful.

I found four things helpful:

1. I do a lot of yoga, in which you really learn to control your breathing while working out. I always try to apply the slow, deliberate breathing to scuba, because it is great for SAC rate, and it is especially good to help keep me calm if I am not relaxed like in the cases above. I'm not advocating that every diver should start doing yoga, but consciously slowing the breath can help. The following book is pretty cool if you are into yoga and diving:
Amazon.com: Yoga for Scuba Divers: Todd Stedl: Books

2. These dives were followed by debriefings with my buddy (I dive with my husband, so my buddy is always the same one). These help us figure out where we went wrong and how we would change things for the future: diving closer together, making sure we get a compass bearing even if the navigation seems obvious, etc. This helps keep the anxiety about a repeat experience to a minimum.

3. I've found that for me, at least, it good to "get back on the horse." In both cases after these un-fun dives, I've gotten back in the water within 24 hours. In both cases, I was fairly anxious before the next dive, but by the end of a successful dive, I was no longer dwelling on the crappy dive.

4. Training, training, training. We spent the winter doing a scuba workshop, and the more comfortable I am doing skills, the less anxiety I experience.

 

[Teamcasa]

I am interested to hear the stories that drove people to conquer those fears and become a diver!

There is a huge difference between fear and panic.
Fear will make you think about what your are doing or about to do.
Panic is a reaction that unless put back into its hiding place may cause you to do something really dangerous.

Fight fear with reason, with logic and more importantly with solutions to the problems that caused you to panic in the first place.

Sometimes panic can not be anticipated but it can be limited by training and experience.

 

[drrmt2]

Repeated exposure to a fearful object or experience can help overcome the fear one has. A step by step approach to a fearful task helps you to accomplish what you want to do. Afraid to go deep? Run through the small series of tasks needed to descend, swim and ascend while planning the dive. Then concentrate on those tasks during the dive, step by step. And do a number of deeper dives while gradually working down to the target depth.

I think mask removal can be made much easier to master if you do it a number of times in a pool, until finally you can easily do a couple of laps without any mask at all. And this may sound crazy, but if you are really afraid of mask removal, stand in the shower, fill your mask and then donn it. Keep breathing through your mouth and continue washing up! Just keep repeating the small exposures to the thing you fear.

Knowledge can also help overcome fear a lot. Such as being able to perform basic skills, and practicing them faithfully.

 

[Hoomi]

I think it also bears mentioning that courage is not the absence of fear; it is the determination to do what needs to be done in spite of the fear.

Fear is the body's natural self-preservation mechanism when faced with a potentially dangerous situation. As such, fear in the right context is healthy. If you're looking at a high voltage wire on the ground, arcing and sparking all over the place, you're foolish if you don't have a healthy fear of it. If that wire contacts you, it will most likely kill you. That fear should either keep you away from the wire, or, if you're the worker called in to take care of it, that fear should keep you mindful of the safety procedures needed to do your job without ending up in the hospital or morgue.

We are air-breathers. It is genetic that we have a certain fear of drowning, since we cannot breathe water. Training, both in swimming and in diving, is intended to give us the tools to suborn a fear of drowning so that we can enjoy the water. I don't believe it ever fully goes away, though, and speaking practically, it shouldn't. It shouldn't control us, but if we have absolutely no fear, are we going to be as attentive to our air supply?

It's not a popular sentiment in our "NO FEAR" culture, but the reality is that fear is a component of wisdom. It is a foolish person who fears nothing, because it's just a matter of time until they prove why they should have feared something. The key is keeping fear in balance with rational thought, which is the biggest difference between healthy fear and panic.

When panic sets in, rational thought is gone.

 

[k ellis]

I know I was sure enough scared when I did my first open water dive. I had the what ifs running through my mind. And as I said before Im not the best swimmer that went through my mind too.

Now I have gotten to the point where I sometimes have to remember that Im in water since with regulator and all it puts you in a whole new part of life!

The best part of overcoming the fear is a lifetime of seeing what only a very small portion of the world ever get to see close up!

 

[LeadTurn_SD]

There is a huge difference between fear and panic.
Fear will make you think about what your are doing or about to do.
Panic is a reaction that unless put back into its hiding place may cause you to do something really dangerous.

Extremely well said!

I think nervousness, a bit of apprehension, and even mild fear is an entirely normal, healthy human defense mechanism in the face of a new and possibly dangerous situation. It is not a bad thing, because it will hopefully produce increased awareness and caution and reduce complacency.

For what it is worth, I still get "butterflies" every time I gear-up. I double check every piece of gear, closely watch the waves and surge and try to judge the current before I enter the water... Same as my first OW dive over 30 years ago.

The "butterflies" evaporate with the 1st breath undrewater

Best wishes.