Question Panic in the experienced diver?

It would seem to me that, as we gain experience and go through some minor glitches on dives, we should increase our capacity to tolerate issues underwater. I'm wondering what could cause an experienced (say, more than 200 lifetime dives) diver to become distressed enough to lose rational thought. Has anyone here (who meets those criteria) been through a panic event? What caused it, and what did you do?

 

[boulderjohn]

As you said 300 psi goes a long way @ 10 feet, between 15 and 20 minutes.

With an AL 80, 300 PSI = 7.7 cubic feet. 10 feet is 1.3 ATA. At that depth, a diver with a very good SAC of 0.5, breathing comfortably, will breathe 0.65 cubic feet per minute. That 300 PSI will be gone in 12 minutes. In 15 minutes, the diver will use 10 cubic feet. In 20 minutes, the diver will 20 cubic feet--about 700 PSI.

That's for a diver with a good SAC and in good comfort. When dealing with stressful situations, most people recommend planning on a SAC of 1.0, which doubles those numbers.

It happens to most of us sooner or later. My son and I were 110ft down when his tank valve started to leak, I freak out of course as any dad will. Then I realize I have an octo and enough air for both of us to make it to the 30ft or 15ft stop.

30 foot stop?

 

[Neilwood]

Several years ago, I was on a dive in a new location which had a very strong current as we had to hold on to rocks, release, kick to try and get through the channel into the area we were trying to head. My first real experience with a strong current. Being down for maybe 20 min I didn't think to check my guages as often and found us at 70ft and about 800Psi left in my tank. I knew I was in some trouble considering a safety stop needed and the depth. I signaled to the dive guide we needed to start going up. Slowely we started to asend, while drifting along. I proceeded to get closer to the dive guide and proceeded to slow down my breathing, knowing I would likely need his alt reg. I failed to pay close attention to my breathing rate and psi in the hard conditions and I failed to signal to the dive guide how bad it was. I think on many international dive trips I find most have bar and when I signal in psi I think it fails to register what that really means to folks as they might forget its Psi I am giving and not bar. With about 3 min left on our final safety stop I had to use the dive guides alt, once we got above 30 ft and I slowed my breathing down significantly, its amazing how long 300psi can last.

That event still sticks in my head and run through the scenarios of went went wrong, how bad it really could have been and what I was able to do in the situation.

As a couple of others have said, it is worth mention that, unless you have racked up a mandatory deco obligatin due to depth/duration then the safety stop, while good practise, is not in any way a requirement. Unfortunately a lot of people, possibly down to the way they have been taught, treat it as a requirement.

If I was in a low gas situation or any other emergency situation with direct access to the surface then I know where I am heading - no stop.

Worth also noting that, when I am diving abroad as part of a trip (where I know or suspect that I will be diving), I will always bring my own regs/computer. In that way I will always be using the same units that I am used to so I know my consumption etc.

 

[dianna912]

One here, around 250 dives, I believe:

Post in thread 'Juliet Trip Report- Mona Island March 13-19th'
Juliet Trip Report- Mona Island March 13-19th

And I had another one in Hawaii, around 300 dives, when my reg Mouthpiece came off, something that was so unexpected that all of my training, through rescue diver, went out the window and left me going “WTF?!?!?!?!” as nothing but saltwater filled my mouth.

Here’s how it played out:

I almost drowned myself in ~10 feet of water. I was inverted, and flipped back over. Every once in a while, my reg fills with water when I invert and I thought that was what was happening. So I blew. Still full of water. Blow again. Suck water. My brain turns to mush. I think “how the F did I get my snorkel in my mouth? I’ve been under water ten minutes!” So I blow some, suck water some more,as I’m feeling for the damned snorkel (snorkels are deadly, I’m thoroughly convinced) and then I realize that the reg mouthpiece had disconnected, hence the water, but I was so panicked that I didn’t consider a)my secondary b)just sticking in mouth without mouthpiece or c) surfacing. I just swam to my husband, Signaled that I was taking his reg, breathed in and out, then proceeded to kick myself for panicking. It wasn’t until he started signaling to buddy breathe and I was like “dude, you have a secondary” that it dawned on me that I, too, have a secondary. Oh, and I managed to get in an urchin in the fun, so my husband picked those out of my leg, and I managed to calm myself and keep diving after a quick surface. The second and third time the mouthpiece came out (no zip tie on it) I did swap for secondary to put it back on, so I’m glad it happened in shallow water instead of deep, and if something like that happens again, hopefully it will be engrained in me how to react.

 

[rob.mwpropane]

One here, around 250 dives, I believe:

Post in thread 'Juliet Trip Report- Mona Island March 13-19th'
Juliet Trip Report- Mona Island March 13-19th

And I had another one in Hawaii, around 300 dives, when my reg Mouthpiece came off, something that was so unexpected that all of my training, through rescue diver, went out the window and left me going “WTF?!?!?!?!” as nothing but saltwater filled my mouth.

Here’s how it played out:

I almost drowned myself in ~10 feet of water. I was inverted, and flipped back over. Every once in a while, my reg fills with water when I invert and I thought that was what was happening. So I blew. Still full of water. Blow again. Suck water. My brain turns to mush. I think “how the F did I get my snorkel in my mouth? I’ve been under water ten minutes!” So I blow some, suck water some more,as I’m feeling for the damned snorkel (snorkels are deadly, I’m thoroughly convinced) and then I realize that the reg mouthpiece had disconnected, hence the water, but I was so panicked that I didn’t consider a)my secondary b)just sticking in mouth without mouthpiece or c) surfacing. I just swam to my husband, Signaled that I was taking his reg, breathed in and out, then proceeded to kick myself for panicking. It wasn’t until he started signaling to buddy breathe and I was like “dude, you have a secondary” that it dawned on me that I, too, have a secondary. Oh, and I managed to get in an urchin in the fun, so my husband picked those out of my leg, and I managed to calm myself and keep diving after a quick surface. The second and third time the mouthpiece came out (no zip tie on it) I did swap for secondary to put it back on, so I’m glad it happened in shallow water instead of deep, and if something like that happens again, hopefully it will be engrained in me how to react.

I'm going to go out on a limb and say you probably don't make it a point to switch routinely throughout a dive to your backup?

Just a thought, I'm not knocking your experience at all, it doesn't sound pleasant in the least. I just think it could have been avoided if it's 2nd nature to go for the 2nd in the 1st few seconds of trouble. You have 2, should probably get accustomed to using 2 regularly. No offense meant, just a thought.... someone taught me that along the way.

 

[Akimbo]

If I was in a low gas situation or any other emergency situation with direct access to the surface then I know where I am heading - no stop.

That aligns with my basic survival decision matrix: Avoid drowning, embolizing, and getting bent — in that order.

 

[Annika1]

It would seem to me that, as we gain experience and go through some minor glitches on dives, we should increase our capacity to tolerate issues underwater. I'm wondering what could cause an experienced (say, more than 200 lifetime dives) diver to become distressed enough to lose rational thought. Has anyone here (who meets those criteria) been through a panic event? What caused it, and what did you do?

There are a lot of changes in physiology that happen when we dive. If you feel panic or anxiety try going up a few feet at a time slowly until it subsides and then continue.

 

[itsmeok]

One here, around 250 dives, I believe:

Post in thread 'Juliet Trip Report- Mona Island March 13-19th'
Juliet Trip Report- Mona Island March 13-19th

And I had another one in Hawaii, around 300 dives, when my reg Mouthpiece came off, something that was so unexpected that all of my training, through rescue diver, went out the window and left me going “WTF?!?!?!?!” as nothing but saltwater filled my mouth.

Here’s how it played out:

I almost drowned myself in ~10 feet of water. I was inverted, and flipped back over. Every once in a while, my reg fills with water when I invert and I thought that was what was happening. So I blew. Still full of water. Blow again. Suck water. My brain turns to mush. I think “how the F did I get my snorkel in my mouth? I’ve been under water ten minutes!” So I blow some, suck water some more,as I’m feeling for the damned snorkel (snorkels are deadly, I’m thoroughly convinced) and then I realize that the reg mouthpiece had disconnected, hence the water, but I was so panicked that I didn’t consider a)my secondary b)just sticking in mouth without mouthpiece or c) surfacing. I just swam to my husband, Signaled that I was taking his reg, breathed in and out, then proceeded to kick myself for panicking. It wasn’t until he started signaling to buddy breathe and I was like “dude, you have a secondary” that it dawned on me that I, too, have a secondary. Oh, and I managed to get in an urchin in the fun, so my husband picked those out of my leg, and I managed to calm myself and keep diving after a quick surface. The second and third time the mouthpiece came out (no zip tie on it) I did swap for secondary to put it back on, so I’m glad it happened in shallow water instead of deep, and if something like that happens again, hopefully it will be engrained in me how to react.

Interesting - the same thing happened to me - Reg goes missing during cave diving course

 

[dianna912]

I'm going to go out on a limb and say you probably don't make it a point to switch routinely throughout a dive to your backup?

Just a thought, I'm not knocking your experience at all, it doesn't sound pleasant in the least. I just think it could have been avoided if it's 2nd nature to go for the 2nd in the 1st few seconds of trouble. You have 2, should probably get accustomed to using 2 regularly. No offense meant, just a thought.... someone taught me that along the way.

I did not, but I certainly will now.

Interesting - the same thing happened to me - Reg goes missing during cave diving course

Wow. I can't even imagine this happening on a cave dive. That is a whole lot of nope! It was disconcerting enough on an unconfined dive. I'm glad you were okay!

 

[uwscuba]

I panic the first time I get to the bottom on basically every dive trip. I usually have 3-6 months between liveaboard trips, so I usually just need to remember what being underwater feels like (I mostly dislike the feeling of breathing compressed air). I just try to breath through it, but it happens basically every time (though now that I've noticed this tendency, it's both self-fulfilling and also easier to deal with since it's a bit more normal). I think it gets easier every time I panic to deal with the emotion, but it is hard to not want to bolt to the surface after feeling uncomfortable for a few minutes (though my panic is never overriding enough that I would skip a safety stop if I were to give in).

 

[brsnow]

I think panic is also inherent to a person and understanding what you can take should influence how you dive.