Panic - Split from overweight thread

[Cacia]

Bottom line: bright, well adjusted, well trained, experienced divers who know how to titrate the factors that influence narcosis against the task at hand, are able to do so.

but is anyone here saying that they have no threshold?

I think you constantly work to raise your threshold, incrementally.
But in order to do this effectively...I have to have an awareness of about where it would be.

That is why I like diving solo, I cannot encounter the precise *place* in a group. I'd be short or over the edge, it is very precise, like the razor's edge.

It is like working a muscle, almost to the point of fatigue, and then backing off.

She was in trust me mode and had no foundation.

 

[Thalassamania]

but is anyone here saying that they have no threshold?

I think you constantly work to raise your threshold, incrementally.
But in order to do this effectively...I have to have an awareness of about where it would be.

That is why I like diving solo, I cannot encounter the precise place in a group.

It is like working a muscle, almost to the point of fatigue, and then backing off.

Agreed (except for the solo).

 

[Marvel]

I think we all have thresholds- certainly I have different expectations of solo verses team or buddy diving that impact my comfort level (& therefore the onset of narcosis or panic) on a dive.

The point (as I interpret it) is that continuous training & learning can extend those thresholds for all of us- be it our handling of potential panic situations or narcosis at depth. It never goes away completely but again, the potential for either can be lessened with training & experience, making us all better & safer divers.

 

[gary-ramey]

I read a divers post on the board the other day I have no reason to dispute. He said he felt somewhat conjested so he took a prescription decongestant. When he got to the bottom, for no apparent reason his pulse started racing, his breathing went shallow and quick and he was in a full blown panic. He said his mind was rational. He said his training kicked in and he steadied himself on the bottom and began focusing on taking long, deep breaths until he felt better. It is likely that training saved his life.

My wife and I are landlot. However, we make a point of doing some local diving and practice 1 emergency skill with each dive. We often make a game of it to do who responds/performs better. I'm hoping this practice will never be needed to save our lives but I'm more comfortable knowing we do this.

 

[The Chairman]

Bottom line: bright, well adjusted, well trained, experienced divers who know how to titrate the factors that influence narcosis against the task at hand, are able to do so.

Bottom line: you scare me. Narcosis is a killer just as panic is. Thinking you can defeat either by titrating factors is bound to get you killed. There is no need to flirt with either for the open water diver. I avoid adrenaline junkies like the plague.

 

[Cacia]

well, he does not solo, isn't that part interesting? I think it is.

But there are people who will tell you they did acid in the 60's and some people could handle it and some couldn't.

He said he felt somewhat conjested so he took a prescription decongestant.

pseudophedrine probably----I think it is worse than is commonly recognized.
People running around with high BP or borderline cardiovascular status...plus it sort of amps you up.

 

[Thalassamania]

Bottom line: you scare me. Narcosis is a killer just as panic is. Thinking you can defeat either by titrating factors is bound to get you killed. There is no need to flirt with either for the open water diver. I avoid adrenaline junkies like the plague.

Bottom line: no suggestions, no thoughts, no references, no ideas, just a statement of what you're afraid of.

Just because you're afraid of the dark, and because some morons that know blunder about in the dark bare chested and trumpet that they're OK, does not mean that those of us who own flashlights and know how to turn them on are stupid.

 

[ItsBruce]

I'll add my 2 cents: I don't think anything can prevent a panic ... any more than something could prevent a heart attack. I do, however, think that training and practice and practicing dealing with stresses may help raise the threshold for a panic. Training and practice will often convert what would be a serious problem with significant stress into a a manageable scenario. If you don't need to think what to do when "x" happens, but simply react by fixing it, then when "x" happens, the stress is much less. Similarly, I firmly believe that if you know how you will react to a high level of stress, the likelihood of that level of stress leading to a full-blown panic is reduced. Knowing whether you will freeze or flee when you panic will, I believe, reduce the chance of your doing either.

Final point, though a bit morbid: Panic followed by death is nature's way of letting you "check out" of a situation that has gotten just too bad. It is what it is.

 

[MikeFerrara]

My issues with this whole thing is the kids. If the current was strong, what mother, DM or boat captain would let a 10 and a 13 year old dive.

Without knowing this woman's certification, this also goes along with my dislike for the way we allow parents with any training level, or expeience dive with their children who have Jr Certs.

That's the first thing that caught my eye about the accident.

Not only are the agencies turning out novice divers in record time but they are actively encouraging them to take their 10 year old children in the water with them.

I had the misfortune to be an eye witness to such an accident. Mom freaked for no apparent reason, Dad tried to help (though he wasn't much help) and Jr. became a solo diver.

 

[letsgodiving]

That's the first thing that caught my eye about the accident.
Not only are the agencies turning out novice divers in record time but they are actively encouraging them to take their 10 year old children in the water with them.

Diving is like driving, you learn to do it well after you get your license/C-card. A responsible parent will not put their child at risk. I do think ten is a little young to certify divers, we waited until our son was twelve. He sat his OW at the same time as his mother and after 30 dives he is very competent. When he started I was his safety diver but now I am lucky he is good enough to save me.