Second pool session, thinking of quitting

[amerz]

DO NOT GIVE UP!
I went through the same feelings. I kept hearing everyone say, that the mask removal was the hardest part (and what I really heard was, wah wah wah wah) But I was NOT going to let the water beat me! KEEP TRYING, it really is just a matter of getting use to it.
FOCUS-what worked for me was repeating to myself, breathe through your mouth, breathe through your mouth. DON"T USE YOUR NOSE.
This IS the hardest part of the class, pass this hill and you will be GRAVY!

 

[24940]

Update;

I checked this lady out last weekend. She had done 11 pool sessions to overcome her mask issues, but she did get it squared away. I threw no less than three mask removals, in addition to half and full clears in OW and she did great. I knew she would be fine, but I wanted her to know she was fine.

She overcame the obstacle and so can anyone else who wants to. SCUBA is 90% mental.

On Thursday I'll be doing the 9th pool session with a nose breather. I heard much of what you posted from her at the start of class. There were 9 people in this class and I didn't have time to work through the issues, so we are working one on one to get over the issue. We made great progress on the last session and she should be ready for checkouts after Thursday.

Her last session consisted of her laying on the surface, wearing only swim goggles and a snorkel, just breathing. She would suck water up her nose, cough and sputter, then go back to it. By the end of the session, she could keep her face in the water indefinitely.

 

[Bratface]

I noticed the original post was August 5. I am wondering if nebrunner overcame his nose breathing issue and is a certified diver.

 

[amerz]

HA, I TOTALLY missed that, thanks for the heads up. Let's just hope he didn't give up

 

[k ellis]

Congratulations neb. Diving difficulties are 99% psychological and only need time and practice to overcome. I know you are off to a wonderful life of adventure in the diving community and look forward to hearing your adventures!

 

[ktatebe]

I had my second OW class today and did get through this one, but got a bit panicky and chokey. Thanks for all the tips - maybe I will buy a mask & snorkel and practice in the tub/sink/pool.

 

[herbdb]

I am a new diver, certified about a year ago. My wife saw how much my son and I were enjoying our diving and decided to certify. She was able to do all of the skills in the pool, but still had high anxiety. Her primary issue was a feeling of panic over getting water in her nose. She was scheduled for her first open water dive and did not sleep the night before.

We had a long talk about the value of continuing, and decided that forcing yourself to do something that put you on the edge of panic, might be brave but was very ill advised. People die every year because of panic while diving.

Diving isn't for everyone. I think she made the right choice. We have been married for 39 years. We can do other things together that we both enjoy.

Techniques to help someone learn to mouth breathe are great, but if the problem is fear or panic that is another story.


Herb DuBois

 

[Cheekymonkey]

nebrunner

This can be dealt with but it will take a little bit of work. First of all you seem to be fond of nasal breathing and second you are hypersensitive to getting water where it usually isn't. This will take a little conditioning and then you need to break down those aversions by desensitizing yourself in small steps. I'm no doctor but it's highly unlikely that this is a medical or insurmountable matter.

Take that snorkel gear back to the pool and go do some laps, like :30 every other day. Better yet you and your wife can head to the ocean, lake or pond and have some nice long excursions just snorkeling along. This will train you to be an oral breather. The whole scoop is here.

Once you are getting comfortable with this you want to get comfortable with breathing with your mask off. Clean your bathtub well and run a nice warm comfortable bath of clean water. Get your mask and snorkel and get in there, on your belly, knees at the drain and begin to challenge yourself.

Let a little water into the mask and rise to drain it. In small steps add more and more. Try to stay down for a little more breathing with each challenge but don't over stress yourself. Eventually you want to flood your mask, lift it to your forehead and stay under while breathing from the snorkel. When you are ready you can begin to clear the mask as you were shown in the pool. You can begin to open your eyes a little at a time but that's not usually a requirement, but while you're at it go for the full monty. After a session or two I bet you will be gazing into the water, breathing from your snorkel and counting your fingers.

Once you are good with this stay in the tub and let the water cool (or slowly add cold water) to approximate the cooler conditions of a training pool and then the subsequent open water.

Trust me, I know many who had the same stumbling block including yours truly.The hubub of a group class is not the place to work this out. Challenge yourself in a comfortable nonthreatening environment and do so in small steps. You will become desensitized and the door to the world of scuba diving will swing open for you. Trust me when I say, that this is worth the effort, especially since you (like me) are fortunate enough to have your wife join you in the adventure.

Pete

Great Idea but don't bust your head on a faucet

 

[CaliDenna]

Oh I love this board!! I have wanted to dive my entire live and never "just did it" So I signed up and had my first pool session last Sunday and I was a bit anxious about getting water up my nose but not terribly anxious. The desire just to overcome it all and do if was prevailing.

So I get in the water, we do a few things and then we do mask clearing in the shallow end. I suck up some water through my nose and come up. Not freaked but not sure about what to do. The assistant instructor told me to just cough it out through regulator. So I go down again. More water and they ask if I want to go up and I indicate no and I cough cough through the regulator and do it. All is good.

Next a few more things and its full mask flood and then mask off clearing time in deep end. So we go down and I'm uncomfortable in my rental gear. It's been an issue all day and they've adjusted me, reweighted me, etc. etc. So down on the bottom, I am trying to sit on knees, toppling forward and rolling around and thus very unfocused and he indicates it's my turn. I flood the mask, suck in water and try to cough it out several times, not working, I come up to standing position and stop and try to cough it out more and somehow I've managed to suck more water in and it's now overwhelming me. I indicate with hand signals I'm NOT okay and to go to top, he shakes his head...I cough more and more and indicate once more that I need to go up. He shakes his head no and panic now sets in and I bail to the top. As I go up, he grabs me to keep me down and major panic has now hit and so ....yes...I do the absolute unthinkable and inflate my BCD slightly and at the top, my face is still not above water and the BCD shoulders have slid up above mine around my face and so I'm thrashing around a bit more until the assistant instructor manages to inflate my BCD and get me to the side of the pool where I hack for a good 5 min. (and slightly throw up) water.

He then wanted me to get back on the horse and go back down as it was the last of the day and didn't want me to freak for a week before coming back but I refused. I explained to that assistant that I was better off researching methods and practicing and examining in my head what went wrong rather to jump right back on top of a panic and bomb out again as I hadn't acquired any new skills in that five minutes to go back down and be successful.

So I came home, immediately jumped on here, found this thread and am SO determined to win this battle and thank you all for your informative posts and words of encouragement.

One question for those instructors on here. One of the things that shook me was him refusing my hand signals. Was that an appropriate response? His stance is that he wanted us to solve our problems underwater, which I completely understand is what will be needed in actual diving but this was day 1, hour 3 in the pool (and I've never had a mask nor snorkel on). He also did not give me any tips/methods to go home and work through it which I found a bit odd. He was encouraging when I left saying that it happens all the time and not to beat myself up over it.

 

[Teamcasa]

CaliDenna,
That instructor’s behavior is not acceptable as you tell it. This sport is supposed to be fun – not filled with anxiety and panic. I would recommend you find another instructor.

I am making an assumption your are female and if so, I recommend you find a female instructor. They tend to be more patient with female students. Send me a PM if you want a recommendation or two.

One way or the other, don’t let it sway you from getting certified. The skills you learn in class, once mastered are simple, comfortable and will help you become more confident in the Open Water part of the class.