panic attack after 300 dives
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piikki
Contributor
Valeska... It sounds like you have gotten yourself very concerned over the fact that your husband called this a panic attack. Whatever it was, it seems like it freaks you out that he admits to having a moment there when felt like he was losing control (tearing mask off, rushing to surface..) On the other hand you described a totally understandable reason but then you ask
Maybe having the family history connection is the thing that put you in a tailspin. Panic does not ask for logic of course and can happen to smartest and most logical people. There was a great logic in this incident though and it appears your husband overexerted himself pretty badly, got the symptoms and reacted in time, correctly. The best thing of course would have been that you went up with him in case he had trouble surfacing alone in that state.
Remember though your husband did not lose control. He felt like he was going to. He also was able to get into water right afterwards which is usually very hard for people who have truly panicked.
It sounds like you are more worried about him as a result but the fact is that he probably is a smarter diver as a result. He now knows what will happen if he does something like that again (and maybe won't), and he also might be better able to detect the signs earlier and avoid letting things go as far.
Maybe having the family history connection is the thing that put you in a tailspin. Panic does not ask for logic of course and can happen to smartest and most logical people. There was a great logic in this incident though and it appears your husband overexerted himself pretty badly, got the symptoms and reacted in time, correctly. The best thing of course would have been that you went up with him in case he had trouble surfacing alone in that state.
Remember though your husband did not lose control. He felt like he was going to. He also was able to get into water right afterwards which is usually very hard for people who have truly panicked.
It sounds like you are more worried about him as a result but the fact is that he probably is a smarter diver as a result. He now knows what will happen if he does something like that again (and maybe won't), and he also might be better able to detect the signs earlier and avoid letting things go as far.
scubaren
Contributor
I think he was just finning too hard against the current and felt that he couldn't get enough air. This has happened to me on occasion and the first thought is to bolt to the surface. I always just stop, calm down until I can breathe normally again then continue. I don't think this will be an ongoing problem unless he continues working too hard under the water.
David_57
Contributor
I am 52 and helps to avoid this by working on my cardio better shape now than in my 30's 
Last edited:
jbird71
Contributor
I had a very similar experience in Cozumel. During my AOW deep dive, I didn't realize that I needed to swim hard for the wall on entry, and descended in the open current. After realizing my mistake, I had to swim VERY hard to get back to my DM. After a minute of hard breathing I also had a "panic attack" and felt the need to immediately surface.
My DM was able to calm me down and the rest of the dive was ok. He explained what had happened, and how to prevent it, as well as deal with this sort of exertion. I feel that this was a great learning experience for me.
My DM was able to calm me down and the rest of the dive was ok. He explained what had happened, and how to prevent it, as well as deal with this sort of exertion. I feel that this was a great learning experience for me.
Hi Valeska,
I'm going to let the Mayo Clinic explain panic attacks, then I will take you through the situation step by step and explain what happened with your husband and what could have been done to prevent the dive going bad. Everything that happened with him could have been anticipated. He did not experience a panic attack. He experienced near panic. There is a very real difference.
While it may have appeared there was no reason for your husband's near panic, there was a very real reason. He was a victim of the panic cycle.
People panic because they are afraid. When they get scared, they will begin a pattern of shallow, very rapid breaths. (In your husband's case, these were reversed) Shallow breathing, especially rapid shallow breathing causes carbon dioxide build up. Carbon dioxide build up, in turn, causes a person to feel a greater need to breathe. They breathe faster and shallower resulting in more CO2 and very quickly the rational part of the brain shuts down. That is panic.
The best way to break the cycle is to never let it get started. The best way to stop it from beginning is to train divers so they are very skilled and have confidence in their abilities. That begins with swimming ability and builds with learning to skin dive. On top of that, it's important to add confidence building skills.
Sometimes, people still get scared. An understanding of the panic cycle can stop this fear from turning into panic. "Stop, breathe, think, act" isn't enough. They have to understand that they need to take deep, slow breaths. Slow, deep breathing lets us think and thereby solve our problems.
Your husband did not start the unhealthy pattern of breathing because of fear, but because of overwork and not being aware that he needed to concentrate on his breathing.
When diving from an anchored or moored boat in a strong current it is important to rig two additional lines. The first is a current line extending from the stern down current with a float ball at the end. The length of this line will be determined by the strength of the current. This line is ideally made of polypropylene. Polyprop is strong and it floats. You want this line on the surface. The second is a tag line. A tag line runs from the current line to the anchor/mooring line. Ideally, the tag line will be made from a material that does not float and will often have weights to keep it off the surface. A perfect tag line runs at a depth of 15 feet, making it an ideal location for safety stops. This gives divers a continuous line from the entry point to the dive site.
Swimming vigorously to get to the line caused him to overwork, causing him to breathe harder. Overwork caused him to build CO2 more quickly. Rapid shallow breathing stopped him from purging the CO2. Increased levels of CO2 made him breathe even faster. The feeling of not being able to get enough air caused fear. This is common and a normal reaction.
Had he done a negative entry, he likely would have descended off the dive site leaving you and him diving solo. Descending off the line in a strong current, especially without your buddy, is rarely a good idea.
If his fins really are useless at the surface he should replace them with fins that are good for surface swims. Force Fins require technique that differs from that used by most other fins. It may be that he needs to learn a surface swimming technique. I'm not a fan of them, but there are folks who are almost religious in their praise for them. If your husband wants to continue using them, he should ask in the Force Fin forum for techniques on how to swim on the surface with them. Try out those techniques. If they work, great. If they don't, get different fins.
There was no panic. Your husband was near panic - he felt like removing his mask and shooting up to the surface. He did not panic. He signalled the DM. Panicked people don't signal, they act. Your husband recognized he had a problem and dealt with it in a rational manner. It's possible he could have solved the problem without aborting the dive had he understood the panic cycle by simply resting a moment while taking slow, deep breaths. On the other hand, when things are going wrong, it's often best to abort the dive as long as you can do so calmly and safely. I think your husband dealt with a very bad and very dangerous situation quite well and you should be proud of him. He did a great job in the situation. In the future, neither of you should allow yourselves to be put in such a situation. Rig the proper lines.
I'm going to let the Mayo Clinic explain panic attacks, then I will take you through the situation step by step and explain what happened with your husband and what could have been done to prevent the dive going bad. Everything that happened with him could have been anticipated. He did not experience a panic attack. He experienced near panic. There is a very real difference.
Mayo Clinic:
While it may have appeared there was no reason for your husband's near panic, there was a very real reason. He was a victim of the panic cycle.
People panic because they are afraid. When they get scared, they will begin a pattern of shallow, very rapid breaths. (In your husband's case, these were reversed) Shallow breathing, especially rapid shallow breathing causes carbon dioxide build up. Carbon dioxide build up, in turn, causes a person to feel a greater need to breathe. They breathe faster and shallower resulting in more CO2 and very quickly the rational part of the brain shuts down. That is panic.
The best way to break the cycle is to never let it get started. The best way to stop it from beginning is to train divers so they are very skilled and have confidence in their abilities. That begins with swimming ability and builds with learning to skin dive. On top of that, it's important to add confidence building skills.
Sometimes, people still get scared. An understanding of the panic cycle can stop this fear from turning into panic. "Stop, breathe, think, act" isn't enough. They have to understand that they need to take deep, slow breaths. Slow, deep breathing lets us think and thereby solve our problems.
Your husband did not start the unhealthy pattern of breathing because of fear, but because of overwork and not being aware that he needed to concentrate on his breathing.
Valeska:
When diving from an anchored or moored boat in a strong current it is important to rig two additional lines. The first is a current line extending from the stern down current with a float ball at the end. The length of this line will be determined by the strength of the current. This line is ideally made of polypropylene. Polyprop is strong and it floats. You want this line on the surface. The second is a tag line. A tag line runs from the current line to the anchor/mooring line. Ideally, the tag line will be made from a material that does not float and will often have weights to keep it off the surface. A perfect tag line runs at a depth of 15 feet, making it an ideal location for safety stops. This gives divers a continuous line from the entry point to the dive site.
Swimming vigorously to get to the line caused him to overwork, causing him to breathe harder. Overwork caused him to build CO2 more quickly. Rapid shallow breathing stopped him from purging the CO2. Increased levels of CO2 made him breathe even faster. The feeling of not being able to get enough air caused fear. This is common and a normal reaction.
Valeska:
Had he done a negative entry, he likely would have descended off the dive site leaving you and him diving solo. Descending off the line in a strong current, especially without your buddy, is rarely a good idea.
If his fins really are useless at the surface he should replace them with fins that are good for surface swims. Force Fins require technique that differs from that used by most other fins. It may be that he needs to learn a surface swimming technique. I'm not a fan of them, but there are folks who are almost religious in their praise for them. If your husband wants to continue using them, he should ask in the Force Fin forum for techniques on how to swim on the surface with them. Try out those techniques. If they work, great. If they don't, get different fins.
Valeska:
There was no panic. Your husband was near panic - he felt like removing his mask and shooting up to the surface. He did not panic. He signalled the DM. Panicked people don't signal, they act. Your husband recognized he had a problem and dealt with it in a rational manner. It's possible he could have solved the problem without aborting the dive had he understood the panic cycle by simply resting a moment while taking slow, deep breaths. On the other hand, when things are going wrong, it's often best to abort the dive as long as you can do so calmly and safely. I think your husband dealt with a very bad and very dangerous situation quite well and you should be proud of him. He did a great job in the situation. In the future, neither of you should allow yourselves to be put in such a situation. Rig the proper lines.
I love Walter's entire post, but I slightly differ with this statement. Having been in the situation of being blown off the boat, or struggling to get to the downline, I will say that there IS some anxiety or apprehension (if not actual fear) associated with feeling that you are going to lose the boat, the site and your buddies. That adrenaline is part of what makes you work so hard, but it adds to the stress that's exacerbated by the CO2 buildup.
Was your husband using a snorkel on the surface? That is also a good way to get CO2 toxic if you are having to swim hard.
No arguments Lynne, it's not a black and white issue. There is lots of gray and only Valeska's husband has any possibility of ever knowing for sure.
David_57
Contributor
To simplify things the whole episode was triggered due to ever exertion fighting a strong current to make it to the down line which happens to the best of us. This can be avoided by not diving in a strong current where you have to fin against it, improving your cardio, learning to recognize when you are over exerting yourself and taking a break before continuing and or combination of all three if this is not possible abort the dive in a calm controlled fashion before going into panic mode which from what I can see your husband did.
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I just re-read my first post, carrielsal nailed the first stressor in the events chain. What I was thinking (and intending to write) was "in addition to the above post...." Many times I've hung on the anchorline after a hard swim. Don't start a dive with an oxygen debt.
Stay safe.
Stay safe.
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