Jandee
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Sit in water up to your neck and practice, practice, practice. All of us have had some anxiety at first but not all will admit it. It just takes time.
Please Help! I need to get over this fast!
- Thread starter LittleOne
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FLDiver4Life
New
I suffer from anxiety and panic attack,which im trying to get over, i shouldnt be diving, but when your 60' down and u see schools of fish swim around you , a sea turtle with a shell 5' in dia, it takes you to a different place, worry free for me , diving relaxes me. As for the mask, not sure where you live , but u can go to the beach for the closes diving condition , go out to about 6' feet of water and kneel down , if u panic, stand up. I got started diving 2 months ago. our instructor had us remove our mask , and then clear , i was nervous at first, but we practiced in the pool the week before, when i did it 60' down, and u know that u did it, the anxiety goes away. Good luck and dive alot!
diveprof
Contributor
OW training. For me it was a nightmare. Heavily clorinated pool. Hated the mask removal thing. Bolted to the surface several times during the pool sessions. Ear problems on all open water dives. Scuba is an unnatural act, but is one you can learn to enjoy
It has made me an empathetic instructor.
The no mask thing is best managed by practicing breathing in and out through your mouth with the occasional exhale through the nose (no inhale though). For those with difficulty mastering it, I have them kneel in the shallow end of the pool with no mask and work up to it. In reality, no-mask situations are a rare problem, but then again that is what scuba training is all about - problem managment. I will never forget when one of my former students came up to me in Cayman @80' pointing to her mask. I demonstrated the proper clearing maneuver, but she shook her head "no". Again, I demonstrated the proper clearing technique. She then handed me the right lense and lense frame holder that had come off her mask :lightbulb. She then handed me her mask, I snaped the lense and lense frame back in, she cleared it and then we continue our dive - unbothered by the inconvenience. THAT is what I remember about Orange Canyon.
Funny how those unbelieveable traumatic moments in training translate into "inconveniences" on dives. Now, 2000+ dives later, @ 107' today where vis had dropped off from 15' to 2' again, I was amazed at this small fish living in this stump in 58 degree water while pulling a dive flag, working the compass, watching the computer... yeah, mask clearing and removal is a task to learn, but getting beyond this makes you a "diver" rather than an "equipment manager".
It has made me an empathetic instructor.
The no mask thing is best managed by practicing breathing in and out through your mouth with the occasional exhale through the nose (no inhale though). For those with difficulty mastering it, I have them kneel in the shallow end of the pool with no mask and work up to it. In reality, no-mask situations are a rare problem, but then again that is what scuba training is all about - problem managment. I will never forget when one of my former students came up to me in Cayman @80' pointing to her mask. I demonstrated the proper clearing maneuver, but she shook her head "no". Again, I demonstrated the proper clearing technique. She then handed me the right lense and lense frame holder that had come off her mask :lightbulb. She then handed me her mask, I snaped the lense and lense frame back in, she cleared it and then we continue our dive - unbothered by the inconvenience. THAT is what I remember about Orange Canyon.
Funny how those unbelieveable traumatic moments in training translate into "inconveniences" on dives. Now, 2000+ dives later, @ 107' today where vis had dropped off from 15' to 2' again, I was amazed at this small fish living in this stump in 58 degree water while pulling a dive flag, working the compass, watching the computer... yeah, mask clearing and removal is a task to learn, but getting beyond this makes you a "diver" rather than an "equipment manager".
Winterpeg
Contributor
Thanks Diveprof! You are an inspiration to new divers like me who thought they would NEVER get it! I'm so glad now that I didn't quit and relieved to find out I was not the only one.
You can practice while sitting on the couch.Fill your mask with water and put it on and breathe.Its the same thing basically.While in open water,take in a deep breath,and hum steadily while you remove,replace and clear.Its easy to hum for thirty seconds and thats plenty of time to clear it.As a cave diver I always carry a spare mask in my thigh pouch,and practice getting it out and putting it on and clearing being prepared for a strap breaking or mask getting kicked off.If thats your weekness,by all means practice till its nuthin but a thing.
Marvelle
Registered
I freaked out too in my open water class on this and then just had the instructor do it over and over again with me until I stopped getting water up my nose. It sucks, there's no doubt about it but seeing as I almost got my mask knocked off 20 times in my 8 open water dives in Mexico, it's definitely a skill you want to get comfortable with. Myself too!
I wonder how LittleOne (the OP) is doing?
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Go to the shallow end of a pool then without a mask just practice sitting and breathing ... you'll get comfortable with the bubbles hitting you in the face ... after you master that, it's time to swim around the shallow end once that is done really well ... time for the entire pool ... after you can do that well, the diving world's yours!
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