Panic Attack

[srhtech]

You can also ask the instructor or DM if you can share air with them for a minute at depth to see what a regulator should breathe like. Chances are excellent that they'll be using properly working equipment. If theirs breathes a lot easier than yours, getting your reg fixed/adjusted will make a huge difference. A lot of people are diving with regs that are hard-breathers because they don't know what a good one breathes like.

It's like the old Henny Youngman joke: Q:"How's your wife?" A:"Compared to what?"

The reg (Apex XTX) breathes good it was all because of anxiety that I was breathing heavy. I was getting plenty maybe too much air. One thing I should have concentrated more on was making sure to exhale more.

Well I will eat my words now. We went diving this weekend to a local spot. First decent I didn't feel good again. I had fixed the mask but I still just wasn't feeling comfortable, so I thumbed us to the surface. At the surfaced I was checking over all my gear to figure out my problem. I looked closer at my regulator and relized that I had adjusted it backwards. I had the it turned all the way to the negative side. I adjusted it all the way positive and we went back down. I must say that I was having much more fun once I could breathe. It's weird that I didn't know that the air supply was my problem. I guess it is not a natural feeling to have a resistance on your breathing. Well after turning it all the way up I was getting too much but too much is definatly better than not enough, so with a little tweaking I was feeling alot better under water.

The second issue that I noticed I was having was decending in the middle water column where you can not see the bottom. I chose for us to dive at this particular location because the visibility is not very good. I have never had a problem when I could see the bottom on the way down. I think it is because I can not tell how fast I am decending. To correct this I started to monitor my computer on the way down so that I can tell how fast my decent is, once the bottom comes into view I get more comfortable.

I am just happy that all is well again and it was not jsut a mental issue that was my problem. I think a few more local dives and I'll be ready to get back out in the ocean again real soon.

Thank you everyone for your input. This reminds me that I need to take all of the suggestions into account without brushing them off because I think that I know better.

 

[TSandM]

srhtec, here's a tip for those free descents: Focus on the particulates in the water. Especially in low viz conditions, there will be lots of stuff you can see. The particulates generally sit at the same depth, so if you are plummeting down past them, you know you are descending fast; if they're barely moving upward, you know you're descending slowly. Don't forget that your ears are also a good gauge -- The more frequently you feel the need to equalize, the faster you are descending.

 

[El Jefe]

Congratulations on holding yourself together. As stated before, once you get re-acclimated at shallower depths, you will be ready once again to try some deeper dives. There are plenty of shallow ocean dives that IMO are better (more bottom time, more color, more fish) then many of the deeper dives I've been on.

 

[Dwag766]

I don't think your experience was unusual.....I become uneasy and annoyed when my mask leaks. But the more frequently I dive the less stressed I become. Stick with it and don't forget to enjoy the beautiful scenery while down there!

 

[Bonairetrip]

I like to start by emphasizing both postings from TSandM as well as these gems from WebMonkey:

"The next time you go diving, consciously check to see if anything you're wearing is making it more difficult to breathe It doesn't need to be killing you to be a problem, it only needs to be uncomfortable.

You can also ask the instructor or DM if you can share air with them for a minute at depth to see what a regulator should breathe like. Chances are excellent that they'll be using properly working equipment. If theirs breathes a lot easier than yours, getting your reg fixed/adjusted will make a huge difference. A lot of people are diving with regs that are hard-breathers because they don't know what a good one breathes like."

Task loading is a real thing -- and managing tasks (and priorities) is one of the most important aspects of diving. Can you remember the first time you drove a car? How nervous were you? You had to remember to watch the road in front. Your gauges. Your RV mirror. Your side mirrors. Signage. Stuff to the sides. Now, how many of those tasks do you do at a concious level?

Now, could you tell if your car was working well? Was it braking differently than normal? Did the engine seemed bogged down? Was the steering getting sloppy? Any strange noises? I'll bet that, for your car, you are pretty aware if something isn't just right.

So here is my observation about prevention:
a) Be sure your gear is in great working order, fits well, and that it is put together (and adjusted) correctly. That means everything.
b) Minimize task loading, and then add more tasks incrementally. Most of these have been covered but there are some subtle ones (first time at a new dive site, with a new dive buddy, first time from shore, first time from a boat, waves, temp, carrying a camera, any new piece of equipment, bad viz, current, lots of swimming, trouble with any basic skill such as clearing mask or ears, etc.).
c) get some more dives in a supervized setting. Think shallower and more mellow.

 

[LarryHinDC]

You've received lots of good advice here. But I have a question: where was your buddy in all this? Maybe I missed it, but it sounds like you were descending on your own, decided to call the dive and ascend to 70' on your own, and listened to the DM to continue the dive, all without consulting your buddy.

In addition to all the other advice you've received, I'd suggest maintaining contact with your buddy at all times will help you feel less stressed since you'll realize that there is someone RIGHT THERE who can help you if need be.

Good luck. More experience helps you maintain your calm.

 

[thevalkyry]

Reading this makes me wonder about the difference between panic and anxiety.

I dont do heights well and always have low-level anxiety, but got side-swiped by full on thumping heart and cold sweat when I went to the top of Gibraltar. I could still think and walk - and only my travel buddy knew something was wrong when I made a bee-line for the safety of the glass enclosed gift shop where I could relax - once I am behind glass then I feel 'safe'.

But I was trying to do a unconscious diver rescue in the pool not long ago as part of my Stress & Rescue class. It was an out of air situation and I was having to manually inflate the BC under water. I lost my regulator, got a mouth full of water, and remember the moment when my brain just shut down with the exception for the thought that I knew if I could just GO UP I would have air. So I bolted for the surface.

I would call one anxiety and one panic. Anxiety can be managed, but can you really come back from panic once it has its claws into you??

To quote my old boss, "Thoughts, questions, comments, concerns, or emotional outbursts?"

 

[cowdog77]

"I already have a Costa Rica trip planned for November and I really want to be able to get past this."
_______________________
What kind of dive trip do you have planned for Costa Rica? Are you going to do a liveaboard or land based?

 

[kamilla]

70 metres????????????????????????????????// i dive in the red sea where its allowed only 30m some wreck are at 55metes 60metres

 

[Kaltim Diver]

Firstly, Kamilla - 70 feet, not metres.

Secondly, what you are describing sounds exactly like my narcosis. Many people talk about the euphoric feeling - I get freaked out and think "just get me to the surface". Luckily the first time it happened I'd already had quite a few dives before I went to 30m+. Then I thought it was just a faulty reg, but after a tech diving course I found it was due to narcosis, and usually came on after something else had happened - i.e. simulating free flow reg at 40m, out of air etc. Stress set off the narcosis. Luckily also for me if I can keep it together long enough it passes, also if I do frequent deep dives the effects seem to lessen or not occur at all.

Hope it all turns out well in Costa Rica.

KTD