The water was cold

[Fishkiller]

I went on a dive, 5th of career, and for the first time experienced very cold water, I thought I had enough thermal protection, as it turned out I had too much. The 7 mil two peice and matching hood that I wore on the swim out was getting uncomfortable by the time I reached the dive site, about 50 yards. I was very hot I unzipped the top and tried to cool off with some of the 55 degree water and when the group started going down I headed with them after about 10 feet I stopped, actually forgot for a second what I was doing, I believe I felt claustrophobic paniced and surfaced, I tore off my hood and unzipped my top and fully inflated my BC, after a couple of minutes my buddy a DM surfaced we talked and I aborted the dive.I couldn't get myself comfortable..now with another weekend dive approaching I have gone to my dive shop and traded my two peice for a gold core one peice,traded for a new ESA mask, and even a new thinner hood, but in the back of my head I have this little voice, some would say another voice , that asks if I'll be able to handle to situation again???

all help will be greatly helpful

 

[ages]

You will be able to handle it, maybe next time, maybe not...but with persistance. I didn't learn to dive until I was 45. I have had many aborted dives and did my share of panicking. There is alot to remember when learning to dive. I remember sometimes feeling overwhelmed at all the things to remember, and I think that also lead to panic. But keep diving, keep practicing, and you will conquor each one...one by one!! If the surface temp is hot and the water temp is cold, getting in your gear and under the water quickly is important. You want enough to keep yourself warm when submerged, so don't cut yourself short. ages

 

[Rick Murchison]

Like St. George, every one of us has his Dragon.
Slaying him may not be the easiest thing you've ever done, but it can be. Just keep at it.
Rick

 

[gozumutti]

Dear Fishkiller

You had a moment of panic. So? you ain't superman, and you ain' t supposed to be I can understand that in the aftermath of such panic attacks, one continually questions what happened. That is part of the process of dealing with it, and handling the situation differently in the future.

You aborted the dive instead of forcing yourself against all reason, so apparently you were still in charge of your faculties to a great extent. Ya done good!!

Panic is no stranger to me. I know that panic can be traversed, like a jungle. You chew on it, you learn methods to deal with it. One day it is gone. One thing helped me immensely: during a descent, stick with your buddy and try to maintain some degree of eye contact with him/her, but of course, still watch where you are going. Breathe slowly, conciously, and savor every breath, in - out. Before you know it, you are into the dive and enjoying it.

Let me know how it goes for you on the next dive, or next 10. As a another beginner diver, I can learn from your experiences as well as from those of the more experienced people here on the board.

gozu

 

[turnerjd]

OK, as a DM here is what I suggest.....

I've dealt with this situation before, and the best thin to do is to get back in the water as soon as possible. If you leave it too long you will build up barriers in your mind. Get a nice experienced buddy, either a DM / instructor / rescue diver, and get then to dive with you. By with you I mean if necessary holding your hand (or elbow), but at the least sticking to you like glue.

Usually, if you have someone there that you trust, that is physically there with you on the dive it will be a great comfort, and you should be able to relax, safe in the knowledge that you have someone there that can safely deal with any situation.

Let us all know how the next dive goes.

Jon T

 

[Walter]

........during which you stop thinking. IMHO, the biggest two contributors to panic are:

1. Not having confidence in yourself.

2. Not keeping your breathing under control.

When you lack confidence, fear creeps in. There are times we shouldn't have confidence in ourselves. Sometimes we are simply not prepared for a given situation. This is an area in which I often disagree with others with regard to OW training. What I call adequate training, others call task loading. First you have to get comprehensive training with lots of skills. This will increase your confidence level and eliminate the problem.

OTOH, there are times when anyone may feel frightened. When that happens, concentrate on your breathing. When we are afraid, our breathing rate increases, but usually we begin a rapid, shallow breathing pattern. This is not effective in exchanging carbon dioxide for oxygen. The result is a carbon dioxide build up. This causes us to feel a greater need to breathe, so our breathing becomes faster and shallower. You can easily see where this is going, one problem feeds the other. At some point in this process, our brains effectively stop working. This is panic. When you first become frightened, slow your breathing down. On a related note, does your hood fit properly? A hood that is too tight around the neck can cause breathing difficulty.

Good luck and get back in the water soon.

WWW™

 

[bio guy]

There's nothing wrong with calling a dive if it doesn't feel right.

Here is something to consider.

A good friend of mine started diving, but had a similar panic response when fully suited and descending. Turns out it was the "unknown" below that was contributing to the whole stress of the situation. She found that seeing the bottom and being close to the bottom made a world of difference. Gave her something solid to focus on. Thus she was able to become more comfortable with the feeling of the full suit.

This is what we did.

Instead of getting into deep water before descending,
we found a shallow area where we could see the bottom at all times. By this I mean even a shallow beach dive or a gentle incline into deeper water. That way, as we were making our descent by following the bottom, we had a visual "floor" all the way. I know it may sound trivial, but it takes away the feeling of being lowered into the abyss. Just have to make sure you don't stir up the bottom and make things worse

Practice is important, and get a good buddy you trust. Probably a good idea to practice things before the "big diving weekends" so you don't have the added pressures of the other divers. Sometimes a nice quite dive with your buddy in the conditions above ahead of time can do wonders.

Just my 0.02, but I hope that helps. Keep us informed.

Cheers