That creepy feeling...

[Sunshine22]

seems to be happening more and more - even on dives I have easily executed in the past. Let me explain.

I have been certified for about 18 months and have executed exctly 129 dives in all kinds of environments.

An incident happened on dive 58 and all was fine until I hit the 111 ft mark and began to black out. After a lot of analysis I feel that it was CO2 hit and not so much a narc for two reasons: I was smoking heavily back then (since quit), I was working hard with heavy gear, and I was breathing EANx30. Result was not panic, but rather a 30-40 second period of hyperventilation. I had only been to 100 ft once before.

Anyway, even though the incident scared me, I valued it because I now what what to look for and I got myself out of it (not to mention quitting smoking!). All positive things.

Since that time, I've had some fantastic dives, even ones as deep as 175ft - in clear water - and have not had that creepy feeling. I have also been in very dark cold deep places since then without incident.

But now I find myself feeling seriously uncomfortable even in my local quarry in dives as shallow as 60ft. I know that I'm not having a physiological problem at so shallow a depth. I think I'm just psyching myself out. I really believe that, over the winter I've just overthought what happened last summer.

So, after a long set up, has anyone else ever had to deal with a psychological diving issue before and how did you overcome it?

Advice much appreciated. I love diving and don't want to stop.

 

[Bratface]

Please go get a complete physical. Find an internal medical doctor experienced in diving (call DAN). You might just be having some anxiety, but please rule out any physical problem before you continue diving. We do not want to read about you in Accidents & Incidents here on Scubaboard.

 

[ScottB]

Hello Sunshine,

I am far from an expert but those more experienced should chime in shortly..
I have personally not had to deal with a psychologicla diving issue, but my two cents is still free...

I think the top suggestion will probably be to attempt to verify the cause of the original circumstances by consulting a doctor who is familiar with dive medicine and/or by consulting www.scuba-doc.com

Beyond that, I am curious about the condition resulting in your situation however.. which may aid others in suggestions..

Had your changed your position rapidly (from horizontal to vertical or vice versa)... if so.. it could have been a result of orthostatic hypotension/hypertension.. basically blood pressure changes resulting from changes in body position...

I experience it on shore.. haven't experienced it in the water yet.. but have only pulled 12 dives.

Beyond that, to ease anxiety.. maybe diving with a trusted buddy who you have explained what has occurred.. and ask that they stay a bit closure.. and develop a signal which you can do if you feel the symptoms such that they know they should approach and be ready to assist you (hold regulator in your mouth.. control your buoyancy, start a controlled ascent..)

I hope that I have provided something of use..

Take care, and I hope things work out for you.. If you just want someone to chitchat with, I am around..

Scott

 

[Sunshine22]

Physical already done. No physical problems of note.

 

[Charlie99]

It could just be your subconscious telling you to slow down a bit.

Do you really have the training, experience, and attitude needed for dives to 175 feet and dives with 30+ minutes of required deco?

In your original report of the problems at 111', you also mentioned having similar problems on the next dive at only 68'. Sounds more like panic attack or other phsychological problem than a medical one.

Usually, when I've ignored what my body or mind is telling me, I've ended up regretting it.

Once aboard, I did share what happened and felt good enough to go on the second dive. This dive was to the America. Much shallower (70 ft), but somewhat different because it rests directly in a shipping channel. Essentially you follow a line to the wreck and don't surface at the wreck under any circumstance. The only way back is back across the line or you will be run over by a tanker. So essentialy its an overhead environment. I got down to the wreck without incident, but when coming around the back at about 68ft, I started to feel like I was going to black out again. And once again I began to feel that panic coming on. I signaled to my new buddy (an experienced instructor) that I was NOT OK and wanted to go up. He held my hand to the anchor line and we ascended.

<favorite wreck is> Fujikawa Maru in Truk Lagoon. Hands down - the most fun I've ever had on a dive. Could have been done with no deco, but I JUST COULDN'T leave it. Racked up 33 minutes of deco.

 

[Cacia]

Sometimes, when your thoughts take off, try and bring them back to a task. Be aware that it could be narcosis. If it is a little anxiety, ask yourself, am I nervous about something specific? IF your brain answers "your buddy is outta site for too long"...go find him. If your mind says "running out of air," check your gages. "Something is watching you", look around (not kidding, sometimes that's what it is, you are an animal with insticts). My point is listen to your subconscious, do a "systems check" and then focus on a thinking process like running through buddy, air, depth, time assessment. If all checks out, your mind should now be at ease. Don't ever, however get caught on the "free thinking train" once you start feeling anxious.

If it is so bad you can't get it easily under control with mindful thinking and breathing, then ascend 10-20 ft and reassess. Anyway, that is what I do. I am a firm believer in listening to the little quiet voice. (I actually solve math problems in my sleep, wake up and know the answers to things....where I lost something, etc. But I have been developing this skill over some years.)
My main point is like what Charlie99 said: slow down and think, in logical steps, but be open to any hints your mind is presenting. Do NOT just let your mind go off on its own little field trip. Save that for when everything is rosy.

This is actually a very good question and something that does not get talked about much. There is an element of mind control in diving, and you develop it like any other part of the discipline, incrementally. Develop a system for getting your thinking back on track, taking care not to push yourself into narcosis.

An important aspect of having a reliable buddy is that if they know your style they can tell you later if you were getting "goofy". One of the things I tend to do is stay too long photographing the same thing, like an addiction. My buddy lets me know sometimes "come along NOW".

Eventually, you will get to know your "limit" like drinking. For me, I cannot go deeper than 120-130 on air, and if I go it is for a purpose, with a buddy, for 5 minutes only, with a plan to do the shot (usually of a wreck looking upward). I have developed an understanding, that that is my limit. I do know that it could change due to some factor, but I still use it as a general way I operate. Much like, I can have a glass of wine and drive but not two. I did not learn this by having an accident or being arrested. I learned, like most do, by taking inventory and making mental notes.

One other thing. I have heard experienced divers (usually only when questioned) admit to some vertigo on a fast descent. I was having a bit of spinning (which makes you anxious) and I had never had it before. We would typically drop like rocks, in an attempt to maximize bottom time on a deep wreck (over 100 ft). I would ascend to 80 ft or so, and hang there, and it would go away. I was not telling anyone but discreetly confiding in some other divers. They said "oh yea, I have it too when I descend too fast." they were saying it was some disparity in your two ears and the effects of pressure not having yet equilibrated bilaterally. I have no idea if this is true, but several divers with thousands of dives told me this. And, since I have been descending more slowly, it never happens.

 

[do it easy]

I've gone through this from time to time. At one point I talked myself out of diving because I forgot to take a spool with me on a dive- I brought it onto the boat, but failed to put it in my pocket. Of course that lasted only a few minutes, but I considered hanging up the fins.

I don't have any issues once I'm in the water, but I tend to overthink things on the surface. I had a few incidents in the last few months that "scared me" I had a loose deco reg that flowed when I pressurized it during a gas switch, and I had a buddy turn my air off in the pool. I think that I handled both situations in a text book manner, but thinking about it afterwards, it all happened so fast- not like the step A, step B, etc.

My issues are all on the surface, when I'm tring to fall asleep at night and I can't specifically recall if I checked my isolator when I filled my tanks. Underwater, I have no reservations since I know that I have the redundancy to survive the dive.

I have gotten the hee-bee-gee-bees on a few dives, but that mainly stems from my fear of fish, or diving without redundancy (single tank, single reg).

I'm not sure if all this helps you or not, but the psychology of diving is fascinating. As for overcoming it, I deal with it in my own way, and you have to find your comfort level. If the dive is too risky for you, then that is your comfort level. It will be different for everyone.

 

[Diver0001]

seems to be happening more and more - even on dives I have easily executed in the past. Let me explain.

I have been certified for about 18 months and have executed exctly 129 dives in all kinds of environments.

An incident happened on dive 58 and all was fine until I hit the 111 ft mark and began to black out. After a lot of analysis I feel that it was CO2 hit and not so much a narc for two reasons: I was smoking heavily back then (since quit), I was working hard with heavy gear, and I was breathing EANx30. Result was not panic, but rather a 30-40 second period of hyperventilation. I had only been to 100 ft once before.

Anyway, even though the incident scared me, I valued it because I now what what to look for and I got myself out of it (not to mention quitting smoking!). All positive things.

Since that time, I've had some fantastic dives, even ones as deep as 175ft - in clear water - and have not had that creepy feeling. I have also been in very dark cold deep places since then without incident.

But now I find myself feeling seriously uncomfortable even in my local quarry in dives as shallow as 60ft. I know that I'm not having a physiological problem at so shallow a depth. I think I'm just psyching myself out. I really believe that, over the winter I've just overthought what happened last summer.

So, after a long set up, has anyone else ever had to deal with a psychological diving issue before and how did you overcome it?

Advice much appreciated. I love diving and don't want to stop.

Well....maybe it's that your intuition is working. I think as you gain experience (and age....) you become more aware of some of the risks. If you're not feeling comfortable then you're not feeling comfortable. There's nothing wrong with that feeling. It only becomes wrong when you don't listen to it and force yourself to do a dive you have doubts about.

I'd say the next time you have that feeling just call the dive. Surface and go have a coffee and have a chat about it with your buddy. Investigate what it is that your intuition is trying to tell you. Maybe it's saying to slow down or go to the quarry with your buddy to work on a skill that might be giving you a nagging doubt. Maybe hit the gym and keep your body in better shape (I'm assuming you're like the 99% and not the 1% so don't take it personally). Maybe try some gear changes or rent a different suit to see if you feel more comfortable wearing something else..... Experiement with it. Do it in shallow water or even in the pool. Change something and see what happens.....

Finally there are two things in my own diving that help a lot.

(1) I'll call a dive because it doesn't "feel" right. I'll just say to my buddy that I feel tuned out or that I don't feel right. Last weekend I made the first dive and canned the 2nd one before I was even out of my suit. Being open and straight about this is a sign of a good diver and it's something to strive to apply. Giving yourself permission to can a dive gives you all kinds of freedom and peace of mind.

(2) Even after making lots of dives I'll still drill skills. I have a lot of confidence with my skills but I'll occasionally say to my buddy to lay an OOA on me or wait while I turn my valves off and on.... that kind of thing. Whenever I have any doubt about something I'll practice practice practice. These days it's in the pool working on swimming upside-down and backwards and blowing bubble rings (hey....you gotta have goals.... The point isn't about the bubble rings, it's about being comfortable and about spatial awareness... Stuff like this helps your confidence a lot, and after all, this game is all about confidence.

R..

 

[Cacia]

He is so right! I would go so far as even to say people should practice calling a dive, just for practice. Get it behind you and under your belt, so that when you have a real reason, you won't be susceptible to the peer pressure. Little things like weather, tired, whatever. Get comfortable saying no. I think I have had big pressure to do things (caves, etc) where I have been the most experienced and yet the only one to pass. They tease me, and call me the "One Dive Wonder"!

 

[Sunshine22]

It could just be your subconscious telling you to slow down a bit.

Do you really have the training, experience, and attitude needed for dives to 175 feet and dives with 30+ minutes of required deco?

In your original report of the problems at 111', you also mentioned having similar problems on the next dive at only 68'. Sounds more like panic attack or other phsychological problem than a medical one.

Usually, when I've ignored what my body or mind is telling me, I've ended up regretting it.

Excellent points - Interesting that you found the Truk report. The St Lawrence trip was chalked up to a CO2 hit - not anxiety - and I think that was probably true. Those dives I previously wrote about were back to back on the same day. I aborted that trip!! That is the only time I ever had any physical issue while diving. That single day.


By the time Truk rolled around, I had successfully executed a few dozen dives in excess of 100 feet and had received training and experience in Deco procedures. Truk was great. I had started the week very slow with no deco and built up to 'the big dive' on the last day. The nice thing is that I am fortunate enough to have a great mentor who tells me when I am and am not ready for certain things. After observing my progress for the week, we agreed that I could successfully execute the dive if I wanted to. I had no creepy feelings on that trip. So to answer your question, I had the training, probably the minimum experience needed, and the perfect environmental conditions all winding up with a "go" at decision time. But this depth is atypical.

As far as panic goes, I think of that as a situation where you bug out and start racing for the surface. To be clear, this is not what I have been feeling. Its more of a creepy feeling and not a soul would even know if I didn't say anything. From all accounts, my dive stays well executed and on plan. I just keep thinking---"what if I start to black out again right now? what would I do right now? Let me look up - let me look down - where would I go? etc" Maybe that's just vigilance because I know I need to pay attention to myself. Maybe there is nothing wrong with it at all. Maybe its OK that I am not Ms. Happy-go-lucky diver who is not continually thinking about "what if".

But your point is well taken. I just won a free trimix and extended range class and declined it because I do not feel ready to take the course. Deco and Adv Nitrox is my limit for now and most of my dives will not even dip into that training. You know, along those lines, my ambitions are/were not to go as fast as this. In fact, my experience has to catch up with my training. Its been the craziest ride. I've just been highly active in my LDS, diving with people with far more experience than me, etc and I've been pulled along quickly. I agree that its probably the best to just take things slowly.

I do appreciate your thoughts. I certainly want to safely dive for a long long time.