Scared!

[BellDive]

hey all!

A quick hello before i turn in, tomorrow is the 3rd day of my 5 day diving course (star 1)...
I am very nervous about tomorrow, as it will be first time out in the sea, and because I don't know if i can do it anymore.

In the pool i get very anxious when i have to remove my regulator and reinsert it, and 4 times in the last 2 days did i eject myself up for air, knowing it's not allowed.

I am scared truly, it's much harder than i thought and even now as im at ease at home, just thinking about the dive makes me feel short of breath

Don't know what to do, it's frustrating, ever since my first pool dive and regulator i've been anxious all the time. Today again i had to take out the regulator, and when i tried to reinsert it all i could feel was more water in my mouth, me breathing it in while pressing the regulator button.
SO torn between just letting it go and continuing or facing the fear which is intense...

Pls any word of adivce...Thank you!

 

[dfx]

Sounds like you're not quite ready to get into the ocean yet. Talk to your instructors, tell them how you feel and ask for some extra time in the pool. Removing and replacing the regulator is important skill to have, one that's actually not particularly hard to learn or hard to perform, but you have to figure out the trick to it first. Experiment with it in the shallow end of the pool (where you can still stand up, just in case) until you get the a-ha moment. Once you've figured it out, it will work every time and then you're ready to try it in the deep end.

The easiest way is to just put the regulator in your mouth and breathe out (same way you do it with a snorkel). That will flush out any water without the need to push the purge.

You need the purge only if you can't or don't want to exhale (e.g. if you have no air in your lungs). Use the purge first and inhale only AFTER you've released it. Some people tell you to put your tongue against the hole in the mouthpiece to close it while you purge - I've never needed to do that myself, but maybe you do. Tongue, purge, release purge, inhale.

In both cases, take the first breath slowly as there can always be a bit of water left in there. Remember that it's perfectly OK to swallow it if there's too much and if necessary, or you can also just spit it out (through the regulator).

 

[LilMsMagic]

Not every sport is for everyone. If you continue to have feelings of nervousness like this underwater, you may put yourself and others in more danger by pursuing it. Try kayaking

 

[grantwiscour]

dfx has some good advice. Talk with your instructor and let them know about your fears. It is rational to not want to breathe underwater...your fears are normal but can most likely be conquered.

I would also recommend doing the regulator drill out of the water, completely dry. Maybe practice this skill at night while watching tv and then work on it in the pool with your instructor.
Most of the safety drills were odd, at best, to the rest of us when we were learning too.

Take your time, relax and enjoy yourself. Hopefully, your instructor can help you work through the reg drill and you can complete your OW cert.

 

[vcblklion]

I have to agree with dfx. If you cannot get these skills in the pool, it will be more difficult in open water. You should work on getting comfortable in the pool first. Don't give up!

 

[FinnMom]

I remember feeling butterflies in my stomach throughout my entire first summer of diving, always feelings so nervous I almost wanted an excuse to to cancel going diving and yet always loving the experience of diving. I was that nervous even though I was otherwise very comfortable in the water and even underwater as a swimmer. So give yourself a break, breathing underwater takes a bit of getting used to and not everyone can be a natural from the get go.
If a skill like changing regs or removing & replacing your mask makes you nervous it might easily just mean you need practise. Those skills intimidate almost everyone at first. Spending more time just swimming underwater and snorkeling might help you feel generally more comfortable in the water and when diving having a calm, experienced teacher makes a world of difference too. Practise your skills in shallower, less intimidating waters and/or the pool and little by little you will begin to relax and enjoy yourself.
Diving is supposed to be fun, so keep it at a level you can enjoy. A whole lot of the best scenery is in the shallow waters, get more experience in those and as your confidence grows so will your ability to take on greater challenges w/o loosing your calm.

 

[KG4PVO]

sorry to say : diving is not for everyone
thats not a bad thing heck racecar driving isnt for everyone neither
i would saw practice in the pool till your comfortable IF you even continue at all
the sport is suppose to be relaxing and fun
not stressful
sorry
the only real solution is practice practice practice
like riding a bike the more you do it the more confortable it gets

 

[TSandM]

I agree that you should talk to your instructor, and that you are not ready for open water dives yet. You really shouldn't go to open water until that desire to bolt to the surface is gone.

Although I wasn't as anxious as you report yourself to be, I didn't like being without a regulator in my mouth at the beginning. So I made myself take my regulator out and put it back in, over and over again -- and eventually, as a result of a requirement for a class I took, I had to learn to swim 50 feet underwater without a regulator. That helped defuse the anxiety, too. So those are two things you could work on in the pool, one during scuba class, and the other on your own time.

If you're taking this class near your home, the shop may be willing to let you roll over into the next class session, so you can have some more pool time. I think you would benefit from that.

 

[diveprof]

I agree that you should talk to your instructor, and that you are not ready for open water dives yet. You really shouldn't go to open water until that desire to bolt to the surface is gone.

Although I wasn't as anxious as you report yourself to be, I didn't like being without a regulator in my mouth at the beginning. So I made myself take my regulator out and put it back in, over and over again -- and eventually, as a result of a requirement for a class I took, I had to learn to swim 50 feet underwater without a regulator. That helped defuse the anxiety, too. So those are two things you could work on in the pool, one during scuba class, and the other on your own time.

If you're taking this class near your home, the shop may be willing to let you roll over into the next class session, so you can have some more pool time. I think you would benefit from that.

Great advice as always TS&M One of our local ladies, went through the open water training classes twice before she was ready for the ocean/certification dives. However, with a bit of support from our group she has now completed her advanced certification and has accumulated over 100 dives in the past year in a wide variety of environments. As for me, in my OW class, I bolted to the surface at least twice during the pool training. Oh, by the way I am now a scuba instructor. The first question I have is are you wanting to be a diver for yourself, or someone else. If you truly have a desire to be a diver, you may find with repeating the pool portions of the class to achieve better mastery of skills that this may in fact be a sport for you.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

hey all!

A quick hello before i turn in, tomorrow is the 3rd day of my 5 day diving course (star 1)...
I am very nervous about tomorrow, as it will be first time out in the sea, and because I don't know if i can do it anymore.

In the pool i get very anxious when i have to remove my regulator and reinsert it, and 4 times in the last 2 days did i eject myself up for air, knowing it's not allowed.

I am scared truly, it's much harder than i thought and even now as im at ease at home, just thinking about the dive makes me feel short of breath

Don't know what to do, it's frustrating, ever since my first pool dive and regulator i've been anxious all the time. Today again i had to take out the regulator, and when i tried to reinsert it all i could feel was more water in my mouth, me breathing it in while pressing the regulator button.
SO torn between just letting it go and continuing or facing the fear which is intense...

Pls any word of adivce...Thank you!

Hello Bell ...

First of all, what you're experiencing isn't all that unusual ... it's an indication that you have a healthy sense of survival. We humans are hard-wired to respond instinctively to being underwater in a manner that gets us out of the water as quickly as possible. Part of your training is "rewiring" those instincts. Some people take longer to do that than others. That is why I agree with others that you are not ready yet to proceed to the open ocean for your checkout dives. You owe it to yourself and your instructor to tell them so. My guess is that your instructor already knows, but wants to let you make the decision. And a huge part of scuba diving is about making good decisions. So have that talk.

There is no shame in holding yourself back. As an instructor, I commonly have students who take longer than the initial schedule ... and when I suggest to them that we should spend additional time in the pool, they are usually relieved to hear it.

As some have said, not everyone is cut out to be a scuba diver. You may be one of those ... but more commonly, people who experience what you're feeling just need more time in training.

Give yourself that time. A good instructor will work with you as long as you are willing to work with yourself. My alpha dive buddy ... someone I've done over 800 dives with now ... went through the exact same situation when she was new ... and now she's a wonderful diver.

Best wishes ... don't push it. Diving is supposed to be fun. Don't go to the open water checkout dives until you feel like it can be fun ... that's when you'll know you're ready.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)