Overcoming fear

[TSandM]

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[sic]

Exactly!

As for the appropriateness of the instructor negating my thumb -- I think that was a judgment call she had to make, and she made it correctly. You had to be there. I wouldn't have learned a very important lesson, had she acceded to my request.

 

[belairbrian]

I've been diving for 13 years and have been very lucky to always have great instructors. My OW instructor always told us as long as you have air you can solve any issues that come up.
Currently I'm working on my dive master certification. The instructor I'm working with has spent a lot of time discussing how to spot a nervous or apprehensive diver. When he sees the signs he just slows down and provides reassurance to help them work through it. A big part of this is working with small classes. When my son was certified at 10 he was having mask removal fear big time. So he did partial floods over and over. Then full floods until he was comfortable. Finally he could do a mask removal and replace without a problem.

One other thing, It seems there is less apprehension if the pool work is done in a salt water pool where it's easier to keep your eyes open. Can't make a statistical argument for this, but being able to see the instructor (even if blurry) could make one feel safer.

 

[k ellis]

Bel I did my pool dives in a regular pool and had a little trouble seeing due to the chlorine but I guess Im in for it no matter how I go. I always hear lake water is not good for eyes because of bacteria and then I hear chlorine isnt good either. Salt just burns like all get out.

On a side note though I do beleive open water in a clear place like Hawaii or Grand Cayman does help sooth peoples nerves in the open water class simply because they have a good visibility. I went with my instructor this march to a place called swepco and visibility was a resounding maybe 6 inches. It really devistated some of the students and made it a challenge for those who were certified.

My instructor who was teaching that class (I went with a friend who was trying to get certified) Really did do a good job under the circumstances and I think 50 percent of the class passed.

 

[belairbrian]

K
I switched our pool to salt this year. The salt level is 10% of ocean waters. About teh same as your tears.
We just tought an AOW and the bottom of the quarry got kicked up so bd we went to under a foot vis while they were doing there box navigation. The last thing we briefed was if you get lost swim north to the shore.

 

[kanonfodr]

I've had two fear-inducing experiences, both pretty minor in my so-far short diving career.

1. Doing my first night dive, third in the day and pretty deep. I'm pretty sure nitrogen narcosis was involved, since my memory is still pretty cloudy. But all I know is that I lost my $1000 buck sealife camera on the dive and started to look for it. This was during AOW, so I had to let the instructors know before doing so, but still had one of them around me.

I noticed that the slight panic de-narc'd me a little, but the extra breathing it caused made me have to surface early. The good thing in my mind was that I recognized the symptoms of the stress and was constantly reminding myself to stop, breathe slowly and deeply, then continue. I feel it's important to be aware of your body and how the situation you are in is affecting it.

In the end, I found my camera on the next day, it actually floated right up to the boat. What a miracle, eh? I still won't forget how I felt the night before and try to mitigate the effects of nitrogen narcosis and panic by paying attention to how my body reacts to them.

2. Diving on the west side of Oahu with Ocean Concepts, we hit Keaau Corners and I couldn't equalize at all. Told the group to go on, since I was pretty close to the boat. Surfaced, managed to clear the block, and went down again. It was a little freaky diving solo, but as soon as I got close to the bottom I saw one of the instructors working with her OW student, so I hung around them until my group came back.

The big thing for this dive was my slurpy equalizations I was having, and due to the remaining block I had to constantly equalize. Kinda cut some of the fun out of the dive, but it was still successful. No reverse blocks or anything afterwards, either. The crazy thing is I didn't have any problems on the dive before that. But oh well.

Bottom Line: Pay attention to how you are reacting in the situation your find yourself. If you have the time, stop and think about it for a minute. If there's any way you can correct your reactions, do so. If you feel you can't, don't be afraid to thumb the dive. While I haven't had to do so yet, I hope that if I ever need to, I will. It's not about being brave or macho, it's about realizing that you can always dive again, unless you screw yourself up.

Peace,
Greg

 

[Diver0001]

So if you ever had one of those overwhelming fears and overcame it tell your story and how you did it!

What I find sad as an instructor is that anyone... ANYONE ... gets this far.

R..

 

[MaconBubbles]

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?

As for the appropriateness of the instructor negating my thumb -- I think that was a judgment call she had to make, and she made it correctly. You had to be there. I wouldn't have learned a very important lesson, had she acceded to my request.

I had an experience very similar to TSandM. My instructor stood there and shook his head and even held my shoulders as he fixed his eyes on mine. I got a grip and got it together. I thanked him for saving my life some day. It helps so much to remember that day each time I dive and to know that if I keep my cool, I can solve many problems. I wish everyone could have an experience like that while they are with their instructor. It beats bolting to the top without thinking.

 

[Prostar]

Something spooked my wife a few years ago and she wasn't happy during diving for the next year or so, although she did it anyway.

One thing we realized is that she is task oriented. During a trip to Coz two years ago she took a cheapie underwater camera along. Her skills are so good that she can play with a camera and still dive very well. The camera got flooded after the first dive or two. That didn't matter though. She took it along anyway and just pretended to shoot. The DM was even waving her over to snap a pic of something cool. We never did tell him the camera was trashed, she just swam over and pretended to do it.

She did great during our trip to Cancun two weeks ago. I offered her the new camera and she just waved it off as she was having a blast.

If skills are good, re-direct the focus and make sure the buddy is paying close attention.

 

[JJTNJ]

All fear stems from a belief that we won't be able to handle something.

So the answer is to do what scares us until we feel comfortable. Do it slowly in increments if necessary.

I've not dived in 20 years. I now feel comfortable because I just completed a refresher course. I was scared before the course that I was going to look foolish, not remember things. I was nervous about looking foolish.

So I prepared so that I wouldn't look foolish.

I am not at all scared of diving, however. I'm not scared because I swim all the time--and isn't scuba diving just a leisurely swim underwater?

So do what scares you. And pick up the fantastic book: "Feel the Fear and Do it Anyway" by Susan Jeffers.

 

[ShakaZulu]

I started flying and then realized that everything is relative.....recreational diving is really safe, unless you do something really stupid! Dive often and your confidence will offset the fear. You only have fear cause you don't know what to expect....why are you still sitting in front of the computer, go DIVING!!!