Strange Experience

[Scubasmed22]

I had a very strange experience on my last trip. I have never had any anxiety in the water. I had roughly 10 dives under my belt. As I came out of a swim through and over the wall, I immediately had an extremely panicked feeling. My breathing rate accelerated and had an undeniable urge to bolt for the surface. Realizing I was in a somewhat irrational state, I closed my eyes and tried to focus on my breathing. I managed to slow myself down and gather my senses. My wife noticed I was stressed once we got on the top of the wall. I signaled to her I needed to abort the dive and we did. Our DM pointed us to the line and we completed our safety stop together without incident.

The following shallow dive was uneventful. But, I still had a very anxious feeling. Consequently, I went through my air a bit quicker than normal.

The next days diving was really tough. As we submerged, I really panicked. I was no deeper than 10 feet and had to surface. The intense panic feeling had returned. After surfacing for a few seconds, I submerged and completed the dive. However, I had a fairly high anxiety level the entire dive.

I managed to complete the remainder of the weeks dives. I don't know that I ever truly relaxed again. I have tried to figure out what my problem is. Claustraphobia? Perhaps. Vertigo? Maybe. Some type of anxiety? Possible. My point is, have any of you gone through this? If so, how did you get over it? Is what I am going through completely unheard of?

Let me say, I did develop some coping skills. When submerging, I found using the mooring line helped my feeling of falling. When wall diving, if I took going over the edge really slowly, it seemed to help. While on the wall, I tried to focus on the wall rather than the abyss below. I avoided swim throughs the remainder of the trip.

I want to be able to descend without the mooring line. I have no good reason why except everyone else was able to. I want to enjoy swim throughs. I just feel terrible while in them. I want enjoy the wall. I just feel sick the whole time I'm on it.

I had no problem with dives where I could see the bottom. Depth didn't seem to matter. Can anyone give me any suggestions, diagnosis, additional training, book suggestions, courses, anything?

I LOVE to dive. But, I don't want to go through this again. Help!

 

[ccx2]

Wish i could help you.
I would try a lot of shallow reef dives untill the Anxiety/Panic attacks subside, dont do swim throughs and dont go over walls. Maybe you are unsure of your skills and the shallow dives would help you build confidence.
On a personal note ,i am afraid of heights, ive never dove a wall where the depth fell off to the unseen and i think it may possibly give me the hebejebe's also, ive snorkeled over them in Cozumel and that didnt bother me but to go down the side of one with no bottom in sight ? ill probably leave that one alone.
Maybe you are skert a height like me and when you went over the wall it rattled ya ? Stay away from walls , or approach them like i do building ledges, On my hands and knees.
Good luck.

 

[Bubbletrubble]

FWIW, I have heard of other divers having similar experiences.
What you describe is not consistent with vertigo.

There's at least one good explanation for experiencing anxiety-like feelings and an increased respiration rate -- carbon dioxide retention. Another possibility is narcosis. Or a combination of carbon dioxide retention and narcosis.

If you weren't very deep, then the probability of narcosis playing a role in the incident diminishes.
If you were working hard underwater, then the probability of carbon dioxide retention playing a role increases.

It's critical to rule out gear malfunction (particularly a reg with too high cracking pressure) before looking at physiological or psychological causes.

Without knowing why the seminal incident occurred, I think it's perfectly natural to be a little unsure/anxious in the water on subsequent dives.

Have your reg checked out, don't overexert yourself underwater, avoid sites that feature a lot of current, limit your depth, avoid enclosed spaces, and don't hesitate to stop/collect yourself if you feel an anxiety-like episode coming on. Gradually extend your dive range as your confidence grows. Skip the swim-throughs for now. There's not much to see inside of them anyway.

 

[scubadobadoo]

FWIW, I have heard of other divers having similar experiences.
What you describe is not consistent with vertigo.

There's at least one good explanation for experiencing anxiety-like feelings and an increased respiration rate -- carbon dioxide retention. Another possibility is narcosis. Or a combination of carbon dioxide retention and narcosis.

If you weren't very deep, then the probability of narcosis playing a role in the incident diminishes.
If you were working hard underwater, then the probability of carbon dioxide retention playing a role increases.

It's critical to rule out gear malfunction (particularly a reg with too high cracking pressure) before looking at physiological or psychological causes.

Without knowing why the seminal incident occurred, I think it's perfectly natural to be a little unsure/anxious in the water on subsequent dives.

Have your reg checked out, don't overexert yourself underwater, avoid sites that feature a lot of current, limit your depth, avoid enclosed spaces, and don't hesitate to stop/collect yourself if you feel an anxiety-like episode coming on. Gradually extend your dive range as your confidence grows. Skip the swim-throughs for now. There's not much to see inside of them anyway.

I agree 100%.

I'll add that even after 300 dives I get anxious at times. It is just part of some of us inside I think. Some are more prone to panic than others (same with narcosis) but it can be kept at bay. Practice, dive within limits and take it slow. When you feel anxiety ..... STOP, BREATH, THINK and then ACT if necessary. 99% of the time you will find that you don't need to act because the feeling of fear was irrational but perfectly natural given that you are breathing underwater for crying out loud (assuming no gear issues or narcosis). I am usually calmed by those rational processes and can continue the dive and enjoy the rest of the dives.

Basically, no worries, it happens to the best of us. When people ask me what makes a good diver ine of the first things I think is a good diver is someone who isn't prone to panic. You can be a good diver too. Just practice, practice, practice and visualize the dive going well before the dive.

Stop, breath, think and then act. If you aren't having fun after that, then get out of the water and do something else for the day until you can get your head straight. Give it time and have some fun!

Fear and anxiety can be healthy if you listen to them but the panic that can come with both is what kills.

 

[Scubasmed22]

It is my understanding that narcosis with oxygen occurs below 130. Feet. Correct? My bottom on that dive was 115. Could I have been experiencing narcosis? If so, why didn't anyone else?

 

[Bubbletrubble]

It is my understanding that narcosis with oxygen occurs below 130. Feet. Correct?

Narcosis can certainly occur at depths shallower than 130 ft. Some studies have shown that mild symptoms of narcosis (mild cognitive impairment) can occur at relatively shallow depths (15-20 ft.).
FYI, both nitrogen and oxygen have narcotic properties.

My bottom on that dive was 115. Could I have been experiencing narcosis?

Yes, particularly during the deeper phases of the dive.

If so, why didn't anyone else?

Others were likely experiencing narcosis symptoms...they just didn't realize it.
Symptoms can manifest differently in individuals.
Narcosis can even vary with the same individual on different days/dives.
The symptoms of narcosis are varied, ranging from mild decrements in situational awareness or an inability to manage modest task-loading to outright panicky behavior.

FWIW, we don't really understand the molecular mechanisms underlying narcosis.
Check out the Wikipedia page for narcosis.

 

[soltari675]

Check the settings on your regulator. I use the Scubapro M17/A700 combo, and I know that if I forget to set the main dial to Max and set the little dial to at least somewhere in the middle, I end up feeling like I am not getting enough air at depth and I begin to get nervous. It's the first thing I check now. If I feel a little out of breath, I turn it up more.

If you went to 115 ft, you may have felt narcosis. It affects everyone differently. Different feelings, from panic to just not paying attention. Kinda like being drunk. Not everyone reacts the same. It can happen at different depths and everything. I had a mild panic attack in April when I was near 130 ft. Could have been the situation I was in, or could have been narcosis. Or both. I'd like to think it was my common sense realizing I was in danger. But it's very possible narcosis is what actually pushed me over the edge to panic.

I like the suggestions above as well. Start in dives that are shallow and easy, and work your way up. That's the best way to get over it.

 

[jimthediver]

Nitrogen narcosis is the narcotic effect nitrogen has on your brain as the partial pressure of nitrogen increases in your system with depth. This affects everyone but to varying degrees, similar to how having a drink or two affects people differently. It's entirely possible you were feeling it at 110 feet while others didn't appear to be affected. This is especially true with some heightened anxiety from the swim through and then suddenly being out over the abyss. It actually sounds like you handled it pretty well, getting your panicky feelings under control and making a controlled ascent. I would follow some of the good advice above. Stay on the reef and away from drop off walls until you are completely comfortable. I would avoid low visibility dives also. Keep on diving and with more experience the comfort will come. Good luck!

 

[honeylager]

I believe that in the deep diving section of my PADI adventures in diving book, it states that most cases of narcosis begin at 80 feet. At least you were able to recognize the panic state and adjust accordingly! That's really all you can do in a situation like that. On one of my first two night dives I started floating up due to inexperience in a drysuit (around 60 feet) and soon was at around 45 and could see merely a dim light below me, and nothing else. I began to feel disoriented in a big way. I just focused on fixing my buoyancy issue and getting back down to my buddy. Once there, I stayed on the ground still disoriented until I regained my bearings and continued the dive as planned. Stop, think, then act is a very good policy to dive by!

 

[beasleym]

Never had a claustrophobic feeling in my life until once diving in cold water with a 7mm wetsuit with a slightly tight around the neck hood. Really was a problem and I've never had it since. BTW - i've been in some really tight situation doing construction a cave spelunking with absolutely no problem

Don't know if others have had this problem (speculation?) or others have. Didn't really find and answer until I talked to a doctor who dives. His explanation was that slight pressure on the carotid can cause all sorts of problems with strange feelings, due in part to cutting off enough blood flow to cause carbon dioxide buildup which leads to a feeling of not being able to breathe which can lead to panic.

Interestingly, Saturday while here in Hawaii I was offered a vest with a hood that gave me the same problem!