Sudden Fear of Diving

[Keith Walker]

I seem to have developed a very odd fear of diving, and am not sure of what to do, if anything.

A little background first.... I've been diving for about 20 years, with Open Water, Advanced OW, Rescue Diver, Nitrox, and Dry Suit certifications. Totals dives is well into the hundreds. I've been diving all over the Carribean, Mexico, Hawaii, California, Gulf Coast, Texas lakes/swamps, and probably some other puddles that I'm forgetting.

About 10 years ago, I did something pretty stupid, immediately realized it was pretty stupid, and then laid off diving for a few years. I was diving off of the casino on Catalina with a new diver. He didn't have his weight right and got tired, so I suggested he take a break and rest. I then figured that I'd just swim around a bit near the shore, since there were hundreds of people around and that I'd just stay in the 15-20' range. Long story short, I managed to get to almost 100', the viz went to about zero, and I bolted. I thought for sure I was going to end up in a re-compression chamber, but I got lucky. Other than a long swim, no issues.

A few years later, I decided to try an easy dive in Cayman, got my gear checked out, and all went fine. Same thing the next year in Cancun. Fast forward 2 years, I gear up in Cabo, jump in, and HELL NO! Couldn't get more than about 10' down before I just about had a panic attack (claustrophobia, trouble breathing). I resurfaced, tried to collect myself, then made another attempt with the same result. I then figured that even if I did calm myself down enough to descend, another panic attack at 40-50' would be no bueno, so I called it and sat out the 2 dives.

I canceled a trip a few days later, then made one more attempt with the same result. At this point, I'm torn between just calling it permanently, starting over with a beginner class, or finding someone for some specialized re-certification/training. Maybe the burn to dive is just gone, I don't know.

Has anyone run into this kind of thing before, or know someone that has? Very odd. Maybe I'm just getting old....

 

[Lorenzoid]

First of all, welcome to SB! You didn't mention if you're a long-time lurker or new to SB, and you didn't mention if you have other outlets for talking about scuba, but maybe talking scuba can be therapeutic. I'd like to think so! I don't know what to suggest, so the best I can think of is to just keep at it, slowly. Slowly, as in maybe consider something easier than the typical boat dive where you jump into deep water. If you're comfortable with California, maybe a series of progressively more challenging shore dives?

 

[Louisville Diver]

Maybe your body is sending some signals to your brain that something is awry, but not quite at a level where it is obvious when you're walking around on the street. I'd start with a solid physical, with emphasis on cardiac health. Once you're square there, you might try exploring issues related to anxiety - for instance, have you had any events in life in general which could impact you in such a way to impart stress reactions?

I've definitely had my moments of "I'm not on top of my game this dive, and am not making good decisions".

 

[Khrissi]

Bit personal - i know - but things ok in yr work/ home life?? Extra stress or big changes that might be bugging you behind the scenes? More job responsibilities? Otherwise quite baffling that. K

 

[foob]

Consider seeing a doctor. Maybe a cardiologist.

 

[Tripp]

Welcome to ScubaBoard! Hope you get all this figured out and are able to safely dive, dive, dive!

 

[BrackaFish]

Sounds like you have had many, many good dives and then one really rough one that kinda put a zap in your mind that still remains. You might want to ask yourself a few of questions.

First would be “Why do you want to dive?” Do you enjoy it or do you just want to overcome this issue or whatever?
Secondly would be “How badly do you want to dive?” Are you just “meh” or do you really want to get back into it?
Thirdly as Khrissi noted, ask yourself if there is anything going on your life that would sidetrack you from diving?

If you still want to continue then a good checkup for your health would seem to be the first item. Follow that with a refresher course and some easy diving with good reliable buddies to rebuild your confidence.

The mind is a really, really powerful organ that to be respected for the trouble it can sometimes cause.

Lastly Good Luck and I hope things work out for you.