Panic won’t let me dive

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I have encountered my fair share of anxiety issues underwater, but never bad enough to chew up my mouthpiece. That said, I would rather partner with an anxiety issues over a over confident and cavalier diver. I think their behaviors are far more risky than an anxious one.
 
Now it's Batman and Robin.....

You two will be best friends by the end of the week!
 
Cool, how was ur diving?
Everything fine?
 
Raphus:
Cool, how was ur diving?
Everything fine?
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Just got back. I’m hooked. Not the best diving day, raining all morning , rough seas, some big currents underneath, but it was beautiful. Now if I can learn not to blow a tank in 30 minutes. Lol! Chuck was great and so was Pedro, the DM on the boat. I felt safe and secure. I’ll be back!
 
Good to hear.
Air consumption will become better over time, dont worrie.

Keep diving and be safe. Dont rush anything. And maybe do some trills from time to time. Remove regulator, mask.. So you will never panic again.
You can solve all problems underwater.. But panic kills people.
 
Rockit31:
Just got back. I’m hooked. Not the best diving day, raining all morning , rough seas, some big currents underneath, but it was beautiful. Now if I can learn not to blow a tank in 30 minutes. Lol! Chuck was great and so was Pedro, the DM on the boat. I felt safe and secure. I’ll be back!
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Great to hear you had a great day. I my opinion, if it is raining and windy its better to be under water than on land!

See if the dive op has access to some steel 100 or 120 tanks until you get your air consumption down. Basic anxiety and newness to diving = lots of air consumed. It is natural to just breathe underwater the same as you do on land but the reality is we breathe far more on land than we really need to. Air's free right? Not when it's in a tank and you have a limited supply and are paying for dive time. In time, you'll be surprised how slower and deeper inhales and slower exhales will lower your air consumption. Also, the goal is to minimize physical exertion and activity as that reduces the build up of CO2 in your blood which reduces that urge to breathe. The urge to breathe doesn't come from a lack of O2 in your blood (you have plenty), it comes from a buildup of CO2 in your blood. So if you see this or that, don't waste energy chasing everything you see down.. Just lightly fin and drift on as there is always something more to see. I mean, how many times have I seen someone go rocketing away to chase a turtle leaving a volcano of bubbles behind them and they miss the Eagle Ray that gracefully passed by everyone else in the group who just kept gracefully drifting?

Finally, as another stated, if you find yourself exerted underwater and start to hyperventilate STOP ALL MOVEMENT. STOP ALL MOVEMENT AND R-E-L-A-X. Replace that rapid breathing with long, slow deep breaths and slow exhales and in about 20-30 seconds all will be back in order. We've all been there and once you recognize what is happening and and have successfully dealt with it you instinctively know what to do the next time it hits. The key to avoiding it altogether is don't over exert yourself in the 1st place.
 
deepsea21:
Finally, as another stated, if you find yourself exerted underwater and start to hyperventilate STOP ALL MOVEMENT. STOP ALL MOVEMENT AND R-E-L-A-X. Replace that rapid breathing with long, slow deep breaths and slow exhales and in about 20-30 seconds all will be back in order. We've all been there and once you recognize what is happening and and have successfully dealt with it you instinctively know what to do the next time it hits. The key to avoiding it altogether is don't over exert yourself in the 1st place.
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Yeah, it's hard to find a paper bag to breathe into at depth! :D
 
I'd say that Rick did absolutely fine, we definetly tested his anxiety skills LOL. Air consumption is a factor of many things and he'll be just fine, many things working against all the divers today provided extra challenges. The only credit I can take today is getting him together with @Christi and Pedro.

For all you regulars, winds were out of the SW this morning, it was raining and we went maybe just right to the edge of the closed area of Palancar - what seemed like 3' breaking waves and a driving rain, this coulda been Maricaibo on a bad day weather - sitting on the rail ready to roll off and a mention that we were just north of caves - Rick looks at me and is like "we're gonna dive in caves??"" We roll in and Pedro is just perfect, he is such a calming effect - dealing with buoyancy and relaxation - his 70 years of experience shows. Great dive!!

Second dive is gonna be a casual afternoon at Tormentos, current going backwards, pushing you off the formations - swirling - just wasn't an easy place to be. The 30 minute dive was constant swimming into the current staying on the formations, just not a normal dive at all. We wish conditions coulda been better but you get what it gives you, he did fine. Really wild currents there, haven't seen that before that strong.

Lots of fun, look forward to seeing him back here in the future!
 
@Rockit31 you're really gonna love calm conditions!

Sounds like you had some experiences that will be helpful for future diving.

Was your godson able to do anything fun while you were diving?
 
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