Stress and situational awareness

[TSandM]

Earlier this year (January) as I was getting ready to do three days of cave diving with a friend's class, I pulled the cuff completely out of my dry suit. With no Wetsuit with me, all I could do was to dive in my swim suit (3 dives a day X 3 days in 68F) or watch. What's a little cold? At least I was wet.

This quote from NetDoc on another thread got me thinking about two experiences Peter and I have had in the last year. One was a couple of dives Peter did in April in Mexico. He had developed a sciatica-type pain in his right leg, and it hurt when he kicked. It was definitely uncomfortable but not unbearable, and he decided to dive despite it. On two dives he did, before he pain resolved, he made significant errors in situational awareness. On one, he was coming out as #3, and swam right over the jump spool and along the jump line (probably 50 - 75 feet) until he got to the junction with the main line, at which time he realized he should have picked up the spool, and he had to go back and get it. On another, he swam over two contrary arrows without marking them (something I do all too often, but something I had never seen him do before).

Another was my Full Cave class, where I made multiple errors in situational awareness that led to me not passing the class. During that class, my neoprene neck seal decided to give up the ghost and leak badly, so I did most of the dives damp (at the beginning) and eventually soaking wet and fairly cold.

I have this feeling we underestimate how much of our effective attention is siphoned off to deal with being uncomfortable, and I suspect that it really isn't a good idea to decide to just "cope with it". I've sat dives out before because I was wet and unhappy, and I think that's the right idea. There is always another day to dive . . . as long as you make it out of the dive you're on. And the essence of poor situational awareness is that the person who has it is unaware of it.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

Noticed the same thing on my final dive in Florida two months ago. I'd put some kind of stress injury on the big toe of my left foot that was very painful every kick ... and it was a long way back from Challenge to P1. I was leading out, and on several occasions caught myself getting so "focused" on the pain in my toe that I wasn't paying much attention at all to my dive buddies. For sure I didn't enjoy much of the scenery ... and was more focused on the distances marked on the line arrows than on anything else I saw in the cave.

I called the second dive ... told my buddies to have a good time ... and went back to the Outpost. Not so much because I couldn't deal with the pain in the toe, but because the "tunnel vision" I got dealing with it made me decide I wasn't fit to be in a cave like that ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[tstormdiver]

I could probably be a poster child for that, as I've been going through me full cave. Most of the stress has been of my own doing,... putting too much stress on myself to succeed, then I screw up the opportunity & have to come back to try again. I have since done a couple of cave dives that weren't really training dives, but just an opportunity for me to gain some experience. That, along with just practicing skills here at home have really helped me to relax, & be more confident about my skills. Things that used to really unnerve me now have become second nature & no longer phases me. Hopefully in a couple months I'll be going back down to FL to get this done.

 

[RJP]

I think the one "situation" that most people underestimate or discount completely is being cold. And I don't just mean numbing "really cold water" cold. I'm talking about the type of run of the mill cold that comes from doing a few repetitive dives in even slightly inadequate exposure protection.

The effect of cold is not just physical but mental as well, as it occupies some portion of your conscious/unconscious brain. Even for those people who love to brag about how they are "toasty warm" in a 3mm suit in 55°F water.

Note: just realized I was in the cave forum and wrote the two paragraphs above from a recreational perspective, where the "bold, not cold" mindset is more prevalent. However I stand by my statement even in caves. Thinking back to my own training I recall spending hours in the water each day and thinking "this water is 25°F warmer than what I'm used to diving in - how can I be so damn cold!"

 

[TSandM]

Oh, RJP, I'm totally with you! Although you can get away with much less SA when doing an uncomplicated open water dive than you need for a cave, I think cold does impede your thinking and occupy some of your bandwidth. The reason for this thread is that I think we ALL routinely underestimate the influence of relatively minor discomforts or stresses on our ability to be truly present and aware.

 

[DiverLS]

I think if you have an issue that's uncomfortable you should abort any cave diving. I think you need full attention there.

I realize the pull to go anyway in Mexico - the caves there are totally awsome. But when your life depends on any of the awareness, if you have something to diminish awareness, please - put it off until it is gone.

 

[rjack321]

The reason for this thread is that I think we ALL routinely underestimate the influence of relatively minor discomforts or stresses on our ability to be truly present and aware.

Same reason I'm not doing Whytecliff day trips anymore. The 04:30 ferry is just way too early to be 100% "there" for deco.

 

[Dive-aholic]

It doesn't take much for me to call a dive before I ever get in the water. Not having proper exposure protection is definitely one of those things. Last time I went to dive Manatee, I ended up not diving because the zipper on my wet suit broke and the neck seal on my dry suit came apart at the seam. Could I have done the dive in my wet suit? Sure. But I would have been miserable. I say home yesterday and today because I pulled an intercostal muscle while motoring around Thursday spring hunting. I can function, but it hurts to take in a breath. Not worth it to me. There's always going to be more days to dive.

 

[Kevin Carlisle]

I have lots of comfort factors I pay attention too on every dive in a cave. Like Rob it does not take much for me to call the dive. I usually turn a dive off what I call my fun meter being full, doesn't matter where I am on 1/3rds, when its time to go its time to go.

 

[Belmont]

All this boils down to task loading. Your brain can process a limited amount of information and input.

When I started my DIR training I was suffering from a pinched sciatic nerve that caused a lot of pain in my left leg. This coupled with all the new things I had to learn made it an ordeal.

I persevered but it took me twice longer to complete the course. Now that I am familiar with this type of diving and that I have gained experience I can cope more easily with the pain when it's present.

I have to take that into consideration and adjust the level of diving accordingly.

I also think that you can develop a certain amount of resistance to cold. I have done many training dives in 48 degree water practicing line drills, even air share, zero vis and also without mask (believe me your face puckers up). All this in preparation for my intro cave cert in Mexico. We did not lose our focus and our dives were very productive.

I have noticed that people will put on a thick winter coat in the fall when the weather hits the 50 degree mark and the same people will be wearing light windbreakers in 50 degrees in the spring. Is this proof that the brain can adapt to a certain limit when faced with repeated stress?