Trouble Breathing

[Queen]

Don't let it get you down or keep you from giving it another try! I watched a poor young newly-wed (who had done the resort class in the AM) try to do an OW dive with really poorly fitting gear...she stressed and got out of the water after about 20 minutes. We sat on the boat and talked a bit (while new hubby was jumping around totally JAZZED about diving) and I explained to her the various types of gear available for a tiny little woman like her, I also suggested she check in here and try some more pool time with an instructor at home. After she calmed down she was ready to try again when she got home.

It was heartbreaking to watch her cry all by herself because she REALLY wanted to love diving and she thought it was all over.

 

[spectrum]

By the way we did our first checkout dives in the ocean last Saturday and while my wife had a bit of trepidation about hitting the ocean it all evaporated at dive time. She whizzed her skills and was off chassing fish! She's come a long way, I'm very proud of her and glad to have her as my buddy

Pete

It sounds like you had an intensive weekend program. That is not uncommon and can work well to accelerate things for the quick learner. I would have been OK with it, not my wife.

She felt somewhat like you and it took her 2 evenings working with a lot of 1 on 1 to get comfortable. After that it all fell into place and she's looking forward to our first ocean dives this weekend.

Do as others have suggested, get back in the pool making sure you have comfortable gear start by relaxing in the shallow end and don't let anyone rush you into your checkout dives. Most programs will let you jump in the pool with the next group for extra prep. Have your BF come along so you end up being a tight buddy team.

Have fun,
Pete

 

[scubaaaronh]

Ask to try better fitting equipment and get some equipment that works as all the others have said
Try standing in the water up to your chest lean forward with reg in mouth and place your face in the water and breath, do this for a while till you get a good feel of how the reg works. When i took my class we had a person in the class that was the same way the instructor gave that person a full take and told them to jus practice breathing while the rest of us started our skills testing. By the time the take was dry that person was right beside us and was very comfortable in the water.

 

[PhinneusTWhoopi]

NoPainNoGain,

Your issues are a common one I see while instructing students. Yor are basically freaking out. I don' t mean that negatively or condescendingly , it is your psyche telling you something is unnatural. It is a natural defense mechanism for some, that can be a good thing! It is worse to not have that.

What I would suggest is get rid of all the gear slathered all over you, hopefully the pool is warm so you can wear just a bathing suit. Put a mask on, and take just a tank and a regulator and place the second stage in your mouth while on the surface of water where you are still standing easily on the bottom. You can sling the tank with no backpack and no bouyancy compensator under either arm.

Just practice walking around with your face in the water breathing from the regulator. If the tank is full, it should be negatively bouyant. When you are comfortable with that, try coming down to your knees in 4-5 feet of water, and just stay in position, breathing off the regulator. Because your mind will let you know at any time you can spit it all out of your mouth and just stand up and breathe, you shouldn't have any fear of anything, so you will find yourself far less uncomfortable.

When students have gear all binding them up while they are underwater over their heads, they feel they can't easily escape to the surface, even though not true but perception is reality.

If you slowy, step by step add each componant so you are not overwhelmed with gear all at once, you should be able to train your mind to calm down....oh, and it is really cool of you that you are trying this all with your boyfriend. In your own time and at your own speed, you two are going to get to see a world many never see, and those fantastic experiences you will be sharing together!

 

[NoPainNoGain]

Thanks for all of your help!! I have been back in the pool a few times and am very comfortable. I realized on my third time out (with equipment from a different shop) how much the faulty equipment made a difference.

I'm off to Dutch Springs in a couple of weeks to do my open water dives and then dive for the weekend!

Thanks again!!