Thinking of trying again - advice please

[hbpurple]

Hello

I am looking for some advice please.....

My fiance completed his open water a couple of years ago and last March (2008) we spent a week in Eygypt with a view to me getting my open water qualification. I was really looking forward to it as I am very comfortable in the water and it scuba diving was something I had always wanted to try. Unfortunately it didn't go to plan.....

I found myself completely taken over with nerves and before we even got into the pool for the first dive I was near tears. When we did get in the pool and I took my first breaths underwater I found it really unerving - not exhilirating as all the books described. I don't have a problem with holding my breath and diving down but breathing underwater just felt plain wrong - I'm hoping the more you do it the less weird it feels! I managed to calm down a little and start the skills.....I did the one where you take the mouthpiece out and put it back in again okay but when it came to flooding my mask it all went to pieces. I panicked, tried to breathe and came shooting back up - I kept trying and trying...this went on for ages and in the end the instructor ended the pool session.

The next day I decided I didn't feel able to continue with the pool work - I was feeling very distressed and I suppose took the easy way out by not continuing. Instead, I completed the theory work and the instructor gave me a referral form (I think it is called) which would last for one year. In the meantime my other half completed his advanced qualification while we were out there. I found the how experience very pressured and while I'm sure most people can complete the whole thing in 4 or 5 days, I think I need a gentler way of learning.

Since then I have recently learned to snorkle (how I wish I had done that before I tried diving!), and have found it really helped in terms of getting used to breathing underwater. I have also spent lots of time flooding and clearing my mask so feel much more confident doing that now.

Time is ticking on and I know I only have till March to do something otherwise I will have to do the theory all over again. I would love to be able to dive especially as my fiance loves it but I am concerned about freaking out again in front of more strangers and I also don't want to be a panicky diver.

Any advice on what to do next? I am based in the UK.

Thanks for reading and sorry for the typos!

 

[HatchetJoe]

hbpurple,

A friend of mine had similar problems. He resolved to borrow gear and practice in his pool until he got comfortable. Practice he did, for two summers, finally he was able to clear the mask, now he's a divemaster. So it can be done. Sounds like you might be ready now, go for it.

 

[Diver0001]

Hello

I am looking for some advice please.....
!

\

First a question. Do you WANT to finish or do you feel you MUST do this for some reason....

We'll get to your other questions in a minute after we're clear on this one.

R..

 

[Arizona]

Keep snorkeling for while. I agree, the skills you learn in clearing a snorkel and developing air way control (using your tongue as a splash guard so you don't swallow water) are essential and transfer very well into scuba diving skills. I start all my OW classes off with snorkel skills as many instructors do.

Big deal if you have to do theory over. Take your time as the snorkeling seems to be helping. You just may need a bit more time and work up to the pool session again at a later date. See if you can find an instructor to to work one on one with in the UK or on your next trip. Talk it over with your wife and determine what is freaking you out.

Good luck,

 

[tstormdiver]

Any ideas as to why you are feeling so much anxiety before even getting to the pool? Is it the instructor? His/ her style? Pressure to please the S/O? Pressure of success or failure? You might want to look at this first. Some apprehension before hand would be normal (you're trying something completely new), but to be that upset before even doing anything, doesn't seem quite right. I'll be the first to admit, I'm a new instructor & don't have a huge amount of experience just yet, but I am constantly learning. I'm not trying to place blame on you, anything or anyone, but you certainly need to know why the thought of this activity distresses you so badly, before continuing.

Yes, you are correct, breathing underwater is not natural. Basic survival instinct tells us that we can't breathe underwater. It is a learned behavior. It is quite a strange feeling at the first. Some people come away thinking it's "cool" & others think it is a very odd feeling.

Mask clearing is probably one of the most difficult skills for a new diver to "get" & master. Most people, at first will inadvertently get a little water up the nose. It is a very uncomfortable feeling, no doubt & for some can induce panic to get the water out. For most the first thing they want to do is to get to the surface & get the water cleared out. With time & practice though, a diver learns to prevent the water from going into the nose & learns that even if it does, that they can still breathe as long as they have the regulator in their mouths.

I do encourage you to keep trying only if you really feel you want to do this activity for yourself, but I would suggest that you do look into why the mere thought of the activity makes you so nervous. You may even want to consider a new instructor, one that may be able to help you feel more at ease, work with you beyond what is normally in a class & let you advance at your own pace. This sport should be undertaken & done for fun (with safety in mind at all time, of course). I wish the best of luck to you.

 

[hbpurple]

Thank you for your replies. I have been thinking about some reasons why I was so nervous/up tight about it...

1. My fiance had paid for the whole thing - the diving and the holiday so I was putting a lot of pressure on myself to be successful and have a good time (alhough I must add that at no point did he put any pressure on me - he was great).

2. Because I am so confident in the water normally I had expectations that I would have no problem and find it a breeze.

3. I remember while we were getting all the equipment on before we got in the pool I was having trouble fitting two ends of a hose together (I don't know what is was called) and the egyption instructor kept saying to me you must do it you have to do it which I found upset me, I guess I don't work well under pressure. Also I am only 5ft and found the equipment really heavy and difficult to manage - I'm sure this gets easier in time but psychologically I think I had visions of it pinning me down to the bottom of the pool!

Also I was overtired from the flight/lack of sleep I'm sure.

I am not blaming the instructor but I think my learning style and his teaching style did not match.


It would not be the end of the world if I had to do the theory again, you're right. Maybe I should find a local diving school and see what they offer. I don't think I would be able to do the open water dives in the UK for some months anyway, but maybe I could try some pool work.


I want to be able to do it, I just need to find the confidence to try again.

 

[anzac65]

Hey hbpurple. What you're describing is really not at all unusual. You're just a normal person, who, just the same as the rest of us, got in a swimming pool and found it difficult (let's say "unnatural") to breathe whilst underwater. And why was that ? Because you aren't supposed to be able to....

There are endless people on this board who will reassure you of the same, and they all got qualified.

You need to find a place to get trained in your own time and without feeling pressure. Where about in the UK are you? I might be able to make a suggestion if you're in the south.

 

[pwl]

your reaction was pretty common, many people (& especially women it seems) really don't like the experience of getting their face wet when they flood their masks. the added stress of your partner's hopes & expectations wouldn't have helped either.

as you've discovered, you can get more used to the mask clearing through practice - diving involves a set of unnatural physical skills which become more natural through repetition. i found the experience much like learning to drive a car: at first i was hopeless and needed to think about everything i did, but over time it simply became automatic.

if you can, try to learn & practice locally, rather than going on a trip to somewhere like the red sea. to my mind, it's better to get all the mundane training and buoyancy practice done & dusted *before* going somewhere exotic, so that you can then _enjoy_ your holiday when you get there (who wants to go on holiday to do tests ? )

training locally also gives you the chance to separate "learning" from "doing", and establish more constructive relationships with the trainers and other students.

edit - additional: it's very common to have difficulty with the size/weight/setup of the training gear, especially since you're small. rest assured that with your own gear in the right size, you will be *much* more comfortable in and out of the water.

 

[hbpurple]

Thank you - it's nice to hear it's not just me that has had problems. I am in Basingstoke in Hampshire if anyone can recommend anywhere nearby.

 

[Diver0001]

2. Because I am so confident in the water normally I had expectations that I would have no problem and find it a breeze.

Well... this is a common issue. Often times the people who feel that they will (or should) find it easy turn out to be the hardest ones to teach in the water. You're putting a lot of pressure on yourself by holding on to this expectation and especially, which is what you alluded to in your first post, the expectation that you would "look good" in front of your fellow students.

If you want to keep going, my best bit of advice to you would be to relax, act like a beginner (duh!) and let the instructor teach you. Joking around is perfectly acceptable in a scuba course (it's SUPPOSED to be fun, remember)... and most instructors are more than patient enough for any problems you might be having.... just relaaaaaaxxxx.... and be yourself.

It would not be the end of the world if I had to do the theory again, you're right. Maybe I should find a local diving school and see what they offer. I don't think I would be able to do the open water dives in the UK for some months anyway, but maybe I could try some pool work.

If you get a padi instructor to do a scuba review then you can get him/her to extend the referral for another year so you can do your course in the summer. The referral says you must CONTINUE your course within a year, not that you must FINISH it within a year.... You can also ask to have the scuba review done one on one and deal with the mask issues you were having "in private" as it were.... that should sort you out on the confidence issue.

Finally, in the UK you *do* have the option of going the BSAC route. The club format appeals to some people and the tempo of the training is a little slower. BSAC divers don't look any better in the water than PADI divers but you might find that "lower pressure" approach more to your liking...

Good luck and welcome to Scubaboard.

R..