Tired and unhappy :(

[catroundtheworld]

Oh and another thing- my mask was too tight at first, which i think was probably part of the whole thing, it wasnt until i suggested it that she loosened it. And my weight belt was heavy around my stomach, which made it feel like it was hard to breathe. My BCD felt fine though. I dont know, maybe i just got off to a bad start and should try fresh another day. Well as fresh as i can be. Kevfin i haven't really had any problems with anxiousness, well in crowds a bit (bad mosh pit experience) but not in enclosed spaces or anything. Im normally quite a collected person. Which is probably why im so distraught over this

 

[TeddyDiver]

By the way any ideas on why i was so hot?? just nerves? everyone else said they were cold, but then i go swimming in cold water all the time, and i used to do ice-skating. Maybe im cold blooded lol

It might be just nausea causing you to feel hot. It's comes to some people occasionally when feeling a bit disoriented, like during freefall or spacewalk. In your case all the trouble with mask and contacts doesn't help it either when you can't get a good visual reference. My 2c

 

[sambolino44]

Don't give up yet! All the stuff you've described is not uncommon at all. A lot of people have had the same types of difficulties and gone on to have many wonderful dives.

I can totally understand the "main thing that keeps me going is the money" part, because that I've felt that way myself. But really, for this whole thing to work, you gotta have a better reason than that. And I don't mean because your boyfriend dives, either. I mean, I was influenced to start diving by a friend, but if it hadn't been something I'd already been interested in, and curious about, it wouldn't have stayed with me like it has. I know that money and good relationships are hard to come by, but when you get old like me you'll see that people and money come and go. What doesn't go away is you. And one of the most important ways we define ourselves is by our experiences. And for me, some of the most exceptional, memorable, splendid experiences I've ever had in my whole life have occurred while SCUBA diving. I love it. I think you'll find that just about everybody on this board loves it. Well, duh! And the gear and skills? Well, they're important, but they're just details. They are the ticket, not the show. Once you know you really want to see the show, you'll find a way to get the ticket.

And one way to do that is slow down and take things one at a time. You had a problem with your mask. OK, you can work on that without putting yourself at risk by just practicing with that by itself. I fully realize that if you don't have your own mask yet, and no easy, cheap pool access and time to do it, it's not that simple, but IF you can just go over and crouch down in a 3 ft deep corner of a pool and practice flooding and clearing your mask, you can start making that one less thing to distract you while working on the other stuff. See if you can drop it to the bottom (3 ft deep!) and crouch down and put it on and clear it so it doesn't leak. If it ain't working, all you gotta do is stand up and try again. You can do it.

Some pools (like my local one!) don't let you swim laps with mask, snorkel and fins, but if you can find some way to practice snorkeling, that's a good next step.

Then if your cousin can help with the other stuff before the next class, well, I hope you get the idea: isolate each thing, and work on them one at a time.

But mainly, don't forget why you want to do it in the first place. You said, "...I was so excited before today." Well, yeah! You should be! SCUBA diving is so cool! Not to mention all the cool animals, plants, and wierd stuff you can see, just being there, floating, drifting, breathing, living, existing in such a different environment is incredible! And once you get down there, you'll have a whole new appreciation for our wonderful, incredible, fragile, mysterious planet.

Don't forget why you want to do it.
Don't be shy to ask for help.
Take (or MAKE!) the time to work on your skills.
Tackle one thing at a time.

Let us know how it goes! GOOD LUCK!!!

 

[nivla80]

can't offer much advice, cos Im not that experienced myself, but i heard it's a real common thing to feel uncomfortable initially, but don't give up. Don't miss out on the wonderful world underwater..

 

[mandvm]

The feeling of heat you described was probably caused by dilation of your peripheral blood vessels, a physiologic response to acute stress - the old "fear, flight, or fight" reaction. You were freaked, adrenaline loaded, and stressed, so it's no surprise you were a bit flushed as well. Any tunnel vision?

I'm doing my last pool dive this week, then open water dives this weekend - it's a hell of a lot of new information and unfamiliar sensations to take in over a short period of time. I think your idea of working with your cousin is a very good one - take it nice and slow, and when you're ready go back and finish the class (unless your cousin is a certified instructor, in which case you've got it made).

Hang in there, and cut yourself some slack.

Michael

 

[Eskasi]

If its the compressed feeling that bothers you, see if you can go an hour early to class, get into a suit, grab the fins mask and snorkel and just fin around the pool. That will help you get used to the constricting feel. Make sure all your gear...fins, mask etc is not too tight as well....get it all adjusted before the class starts and perhaps try some mask clearing before hand.

I would also go easy when you get into the pool with the rest of the gear. It's not a natural feeling to voluntarily jump into the water the first time weighted down as if you were a rock.....your gut instinct may tell your body to fight it. Keep to the shallow end so you know you can stand when you have to....but don't stand and support all that weight while in the pool....bend your knees and let the water help with the weight.....take your breaths and get comfortable.

I can't imagne why your instructor would not let you go a bit earlier to get comfortable in your suit and personal gear (non-scuba) at the pool....this would help a lot during his class when there may be many other people to work with. Just see if you can practice around your cousin...

 

[DumagueteGuy]

I had my pool session in the shallow water on the beach, and I would definately have preferred a pool. feet up head down equip all over... It was hard to get control over evrything the first time.

But slowly we gained the control and went through all the exercises. Now I dive almost daily - weather permitting and it is totally worth it

My girlfriend took the Open Water a few months after me, and she had problems clearing her mask and doing a few of the exercises, but the instructors had a lot of patience and taught her to clear the mask in the end She is even more excited about diving than me now hehe

Hang in there, you will make it

 

[SharkDiver36]

Keep at it Cat! The more you do it the more comfortable you will become.

I don't think anyone liked water on their face and up their nose when they started diving and I still don't, but I've learned to live with it and not let it make me react in a bad way.

The instructor teaching your class and the assitants helping were problaby just like you when they started! They make it look easy now, they can do the skills with no effort and with no problem; that's only because they've done those skills 100's if not thousands of times!

You'll get good at it if you stick with it.

 

[String]

My cousin is fully qualified (does rescue stuff) and is going to help me get comfortable with it all one on one in my pool.

IF he isn't qualified to instructor level i'd be very cautious about trying this. Being "rescue trained" doesn't mean you're trained to teach people.

 

[spectrum]

Hi Cat,

From reading your description of your comfort in the water I have no doubt that you can become a fine diver. I am also hearing that you are doing this for yourself so you can enjoy something in common with your BF. It very important that you are doing this for you. The fact that you came here seeking support speaks to you wanting to make this happen. This is all good stuff and before I go on let me say that the effort will be worthwhile, trust me.

Diving is an adaptation. As a water person you know better than to inhale with your face in the water, throw that one out the window as a diver! You are accustomed to being in "swimmers" which I assume is a local term for swimsuit. Getting into a wetsuit irrespective of fit is something that many people find a bit weird the first few times. As you have learned you cannot see without an air space in front of your eyes so we wear a mask. All of our faces are different so mask fit is a very personal thing that sometimes is like kissing a few frogs before meeting your prince. Your realization that it may have been too tight could solve your leaking and some of your general discomfort.

Why were you hot? Wetsuit, pool temperature, having a cold, stress, trying something new in some combination are probably at the root. Let it suffice to say that diving will be a very comfortable sport and being hot while in the water is not a concern.

My wife and I certified together and her experience was somewhat like yours. Even with 60+ wet suited cold water skin-dives under her belt before class she found all of the gear and breathing underwater overwhelming. She had a prince of an instructor who backed off and gave her space to get comfortable with the basics before the skills. By the end of the first night she walked down into the deep end of the pool. On night 2 she was swimming with me underwater and went home knowing that this was something she could do and still wanted to do. Two more evenings had the skills down pat. We then jumped in with the next class to spend a few sessions just drilling each other as a buddy pair. Our check-out dives were a breeze.

Everyones learning experience is unique and it is sometimes a surprise to see where the challenges lie. Give yourself the time and patience to get comfortable with this. It sounds like you have an ally in the instructor (candidate) who worked with you.

I would suggest getting into the pool without the BC, Cylinder and regulator and start with some skin-diving to the pool bottom. This will get you some confidence in oral breathing, mask fit, equalization, being clad in rubber and all those new sensations. Wear enough weight to float safely but to dive to the pool bottom on a breath hold at will. A good program will begin with these basics.

When you are good with the skindiving aspect strap on the BC and slip below the surface in the shallow end and get accustomed to the regulator response, the sound of the exhaust and so forth. From there you should quickly get comfortable enough to begin your skills work.

DO NOT let yourself move on to your open water checkout dives until you are comfortable doing your skills in confined (pool) water.

Don't fret the weight belt feeling. You will grow accustomed to that. Also as a new student there is a good chance you were overweighted just to help you get down. You should learn how to determine and adjust your weighting as you grow more comfortable in the water. You will also learn that all of your weight need not be concentrated on your belt and when you distribute it for balance (trim) you won't even know it's there.

The same can be said for the rest of the gear. It can be overwhelming at first. Familiarity and some smart choices when you invest can make this a non issue.

Another important thing is to have a mask that will not fog and in case you were bothered by this here is some information. Be sure to see the cleaning segment.

You can do this, we are all pulling for you and are looking forward to a full report after session 2.

Pete