underwater and breathing fears

[jzdiver]

Hi,
I just started my PADI Open water dive certification program last week. I was excited until I started reading the PADI book. I started fearing not equalizing, holding my breath, running out of air, etc.
We did our first confined water class less than a week ago. As soon we started to descend down , basically squat down (5 ' depth) my shins started cramping. I know that I was hydrated. When I tried to alleviate the cramping in my shins I started cramping in my calfs. I had to remove my fins for the cramping to stop.
I was finally able to descend down and sit on the bottom of the pool at the 5 foot level breathing through my regulator. Once we completed a few exercises such as taking the regulator out of our mouth I was able to do it but started getting scared having to do it. I then started saying to myself why am I doing this. It doesn't seem fun anymore. I felt really awkward with my equipment on as well. I was not comfortable in any way.
Once we started to swim down along the bottom I started getting really scared and surfaced. I realized I was afraid of going underwater to deep. I was also afraid of not being able to breathe underwater with my regulator. I never realized until I went into the deeper end that I was afraid of going under the water as well as running out of air. Is this normal feeling?
What can I do to alleviate these fears. I don't know if I even want to continue with the training because of these fears.
Thanks.

 

[Jessman]

Hi jzdiver,

I had the same experience two weeks ago during my certification class. First class was tough. The rest of the class were fish and had some diving experience. As soon as I put my head underwater without a mask, the trouble began. Felt panicked and breathing was out of control - the latter being the cause of the former, I'm sure. We moved rapidly through some drills: breathing out into the BC and in through regulator (to manually fill BC), mask clearing, regulator retrieval. I was very uncomfortable with all of them. The other students were fine. I thought we'd get more time to practice during the next pool session, and eventually we'd get it - or I'd get it. I spent the weekend in the pool practicing, using snorkel, mask clearing. Next class we get in the water and bam, 20 laps underwater. I tried to relax and just take my time. Had to come up twice. Then the instructors took our fins and mask and threw them in the deep end. We had to retrieve our own stuff. As soon as I went under I had a tough time. Spent a few minutes holding on to the side of the pool to calm down, and eventually got my mask on and cleared. Did ok with the rest of the stuff - buddy breathing, sharing air, etc. But, after two pool sessions and two freak outs, I thought maybe I was moving too fast. Apparently, our instructor teaches to the most advanced in the class to "pull up" those with lower abilities. Seems like a good strategy for academics, but not a good one for a recreational, fun (and potentially dangerous) sport. The thought of OW dives during the weekend was too much.

I'm re-taking the class starting this week, and I hope I feel more comfortable. I talked to my instructor, and he is willing to work with me until I feel comfortable. This is definitely a stretch for me. But, I really want to dive. Moved to FL six years ago and I've always wanted to do it. I'm sure once I'm out there over a reef, feeling excited, it will all be worth it.

I think the answer is time - time in the water. Maybe ask your instructor for some extra time in the pool. I hope these are the answers, anyway, because I'm in the same boat as you. I don't want to be in the boat though, I want to be in the water!

 

[6gunsal]

I just completed my OW class last week, and I had the same problem with my calfs cramping every time we were kneeling in the pool. I ended up just gritting my teeth telling myself that as long as I have my reg in my mouth I am fine. My instructors also showed us how to relieve cramps by pulling on our fin tips. This is a very affective method.
I can't really help you with the other fears, though. I was more comfortable underwater than I had expected to be myself. I did, however, get most of my fears out of the way during the rest of the week by going over senarios in my mind. I would lie in bed and worry about doing the lost regulator drill and running out of air before I recovered it. So then I would practice finding it in my imagination untill I felt comfortable with it.
I think if you stick with it you will find that some of your fears may be a little irrational. Like if you monitor your air supply and know how to breath from a free-flowing reg (thats a fun drill ) you won't ever have a problem with being able to breath. And as long as you can breath, everything will be A.O.K.

 

[6gunsal]

jessman, my instructors did the same thing to us with the masks (though they did let us keep our fins). There was a big difference between doing the mask-off drills on my knees, and actually having to descend and swim around without my mask on. I thought it was a pretty fun adventure actually. One thing that helped me was to exhale through my nose when my mask was off. this helped keep the regulator bubbles from tickling my nose (really) and also helped clear some snot out too (again; really)

Good luck on your class this time around!

 

[covediver]

hope this helps put things into perspective


your fears are not all that uncommon for divers in training. let's face it, breathing underwater is not normal and leads to certain physiological responses. part of dive training is to decondition our reaction those responses.

A friend of my brother had similar problems and was relieved when he found out that others had the reaction. I would encourage you to continue training if you think you might like it, but if you find you don't like it or can't get to a comfort level, you might want to consider finding another activity

the cramping you experienced at the beginning may have been the start of a cascade of progressive discomfort with the result that you talk about. Cramoing is not just a matter of hydration. Stretching before the dive is vital. Many people would stretch before skiing or running, but we think nothing of putting on a pair of fins and hopping in. also, since you are new, you probably have not had many reasons to swim with fins. Yet the combination of resistance fins put on our muscles and connecting tissue can't really be replicated for conditioning, except by swimming with fins. by the way, the position that you describe kneeling on the bottom, sitting back on our haunches, with fins on is a physiological formula for inducing cramps.

My swimming coach also encourages me to eat banana's for the potassium which is designed to prevent cramping.

 

[spectrum]

Hi jzdiver,

Getting into the water with fins can cramp up many people so don't fret that. Frequent diving will condition your muscles and you will learn what to do and not to do with your legs.

As far as being anxious underwater that is perfectly normal. For your whole life you were taught that people die when they inhale underwater and there are a lot of fundamental human instincts telling you that this is WRONG. This requires some level of reprogramming or conditioning and that will come with patience and practice. Be sure to talk with your instructor about this and be sure you have time to adapt. Breathing with scuba gear is not difficult as you have seen but you need to trust the equipment. It sounds like you are only part way through the academics and finishing that work may close some gaps with comforting knowledge. Remember that you have a pressure gauge that shows how much air your have and that regulator failures are extremely rare and that they almost always fail in a way that has them deliver air constantly, not shutting down.

If you can get into a pool with your skin-diving gear that can be very helpful.

Pete

 

[Mokey7]

A couple of things I would like to add... one other thing that can cause the cramping is you have you fins on too tight or your foot is too far into them. Relax that just a notch or two and that will help with the cramping, as well as hydration and potassium. Secondly, as far as fearing not being able to breath with your regulator, this one is a bit tougher. For me, the mechanical aspects of how the regulator works, and the physiological aspect of air expansion/compression made sense, and I was very comfortable AFTER freaking out. See I had to reason it out first, and that approach may help you. Then again, I am kind of odd, so it may not work for you. Either way, if you really want to continue diving, you will figure out how to become comfortable.

 

[USFbravis]

If you are cramping up while you're kneeling down, you should try kneeling on one knee like this...

This helps me keep my balance without having to flex muscles which allows me to pay attention to the instructor underwater.

 

[nereas]

Not everyone is cut out for scuba diving.

If you have never done any swimming underwater, that explains why you are now uncomfortable trying it. You may not be ready for scuba, since you never took the first step of swimming underwater with no other gear other than your swimsuit.

The way the current scuba certification courses are taught by local dive stores, there is not time for you to develop any comfort, either. They are rapid fire courses with minimal pool time and few open water dives meant to comprise a very minimum of exposure with the scuba gear quickly.

If you fail this course, which I am guessing there is a good chance that you will indeed fail, then before you start over, you should start with only your fins, mask, and snorkel, and practice freediving in the deep end of the pool, for several weeks, until you are completely comfortable being underwater and ready for the next step.

You need to become familiar with the water first, and content with it, and understand how it works, before you can proceed onwards to learn to trust the scuba gear itself.

Scuba gear is nothing more than a tank of air, the same kind of air that you breathe on the surface, when you are freediving and you come up for fresh new air. On scuba, the fresh new air is simply inside the tank on your back. So you simply exhale underwater (which you never do while freediving -- in freediving you always wait until you return to the surface to exhale thru your snorkel), and then on scuba you get to take another breath from the scuba regulator (which in freediving you must wait to do until you have returned to the surface and have exhaled on the surface before you can inhale thru your snorkel again at the surface). The scuba gear simply saves you from having to take the trip back to the surface. This way you can stay down longer and see more stuff. Whales and rays, hammerheads and giant sea bass, sea turtles and sea lions, anemonies and corals, wild aquarium fishes of many bright colours!

THAT'S WHY your are doing this.

If you are a comfortable freediver, then you can become a good scuba diver. There are just a few differences you need to get used to, but overall it is just more of the same thing.

If you are a comfortable swimmer, then you can become a good freediver. There are just a few differences you need to get used to, but overall it also is just more of the same thing.

Those are the steps. It is a gradual process. However if you are totally new to underwater swimming, then it is likely you are not ready to learn scuba diving yet.

The main thing to remember on scuba is breathe continuously, and do not hold your breath. Since there is a lot of air in your scuba tank, you do not need to hold your breath like a freediver, therefore you should simply breathe continuously.

The second thing to remember is always to stay calm and relaxed and follow the instructions of your instructor or your divemaster. Your scuba tank will last about 45 minutes, so for 45 minutes you do not need to be in any kind of hurry. Your dive will end long before your tank is empty. So take your time.

The third thing to remember is never shoot to the surface from underwater. Swim up very slowly when and if you must, breathing continuously through your regulator.

And if you ever do not feel comfortable trying something, then get out of the water, and go sit on the side of the pool until you feel better about trying it all over again. Do not rush yourself nor force yourself do do something that you are worried about.

The open water is a completely different story. You need to be completely comfortable in the pool first, before you venture into the open water.

If you are not yet comfortable in the water, you are probably not ready for this yet.

It sounds like the water is still really new to you. That is not a good thing.

 

[BoomerNJ]

Hey jzdiver,

I have been a swimmer all my life, lifeguarding through high school, swim team, etc. & very comfortable in the water & underwater. I will be doing my OW dives this weekend & I'm a little apprehensive about it. I had trouble in class with the snorkling because I had never done it & ended up surfacing two or three times because I was swallowing half the pool water. I pushed through it & used some of the downtime in the class to practice, while the instructors were helping other students & the dive master trainee we had helping our class kept an eye on me as I practiced. Don't give up! Keep practicing & ask your instructors for extra help! Even though I'm completely comfortable in the water I have struggled too. As some others have said above, it's not natural to breathe underwater & you just have to give your brain time to adjust to it.

As far as cramping goes, I have had a tough time with all the kneeling on the bottom & my lower back & legs cramping. I have found it easier to stay in more of a fin pivot position until I have to perform a skill for my instructor. That way my legs are stretched out behind me most of the time. My instructor & the DM trainee have both had to stop for a leg cramp here & there during the class. I really think it's caused by forcing yourself to kneel too much.

I hope you get to the point where you feel better with this. Take your time & relax. It's fun to learn new stuff, especially something as exciting as scuba diving.

Good luck & I hope I've helped!

B