Very scared after second pool lesson of Padi open water course.

[DAJ]

My partner has been diving for many years. So we thought it would be fun if I learn as well.
I waited for three years before I decided to start, It was scary, I decided that I did not feel ready yet, feelings of unease, gave me anxiety, psychologically I was slightly freaked out by everything, I found it quite scary, It freaked me out a bit, I felt very uncomfortable, I was scared, shivering and shaking, brain was all foggy and hazed, not think straight and felt dissociated, internally I was quite scared,had a panic attack at home. I cried my eyes out and felt like I never wanted to dive again, My brain simply refused or blocked, not prepared, my internal turmoil, I felt scared, I feel scared, wonder what the next lessons will have in store for me. Are they scarier, my panic 'internal'.

JMHO, and as I am what some consider “old school”, I don’t sugarcoat a response in order to make light of the situation. Step away from the pursuit of getting your OW cert and seriously reflect on why you are doing this. While it is common for some to have apprehensions in the diving process, your reactions in the process are more than expected.

Do you really have a desire to get into diving or are you forcing yourself into an activity because others are pressuring you into something you are obviously uncomfortable with doing. This needs to be an “I“ decision and not a “WE“ decision. I linked your post and only showed your reaction to the experience. You waited three years trying to decide on this hobby so take some more time to figure out if this is for you. Diving has been a large part of my life over the years but my wife has no interest in it and I have never tried to convince her otherwise.

Getting through your OW is just the start and while you can shop around and find an instructor to hand walk you through the process, it’s the anxiety, fears, and your reactions of what happens during a normal dive that may be more concerning. Diving is not for everyone and you need to gauge your own level of safety over what others want you to do. If diving is something you really want to do, you will get through it but just make sure your are doing this for all the right reasons.

 

[sea_ledford]

Forgot to mention the good old fashion truck to problematic ears. Sudafed. Take a 12 hour pill 1 hour before you plan to dive and that will likely help with most non physically restrictive problems you may be having. I keep a pack in my truck just for diving. Some may disagree but it works well for me.

Physical restriction probably isn't the problem here, it's just a lack of skill in doing it. Sudafed isn't a magic clear your ears pill, it just drains your sinuses.

I would hazard to guess that valsalva was the method taught in class. It is taught because it is easy to "teach", not because it is any good or easy to do. Watch some freediving instructor videos on ear clearing. They actually teach how to do it, not just say "pinch your nose and blow against it."

This is the one I send all my students:

 

[lexvil]

Golf

 

[L13]

I think most of the comments so far have missed a key issue. You have not been communicating your feelings with your instructor or the dive shop. It sounds like, from their point of view, you are doing outstanding. They have no reason to suspect that you need them to adjust the pace.

So, here is what you need to do to fix the problem: Communicate clearly with the instructor. Make sure the have a clear idea of your internal state. Be as clear with them as you were with us. They can not know how your ears are clearing without your communication, if you do not report issues, they will assume thare aren't any. The same thing with your stress regarding the pace, etc., if you are not verbally and explicitly communicating your problem they can not adjust. In fact, given how well you are doing externally, they may be adjusting the other way. They may be accelerating the pace because you appear to be doing so well. When they talk about your external performance, remind them of your internal feelings. Odds are very high that this will fix the problem, and the instructor will adjust to accommodate your needs. If not, communicate with the same clarity to the shop. Again odds are very good the shop will resolve the problem. In the unlikely event that this doesn't fix the problem, find a new shop!

 

[wetb4igetinthewater]

You talk to them. Step 1: go to the dive shop. Step 2: ask to speak to the instructor of the class you are thinking to take. Step 3: seek good chemistry between you and the instructor.

Mel,

This doesn't work in many situations. @Cheizz is absolutely correct in that a new diver doesn't know what to ask. That is one of the things that @Jim Lapenta covers with his book .

The problem is that people have the misconception that dive instructors are knowledgeable and cover everything they need to know. It was rather amusing when one of my students took my dive planning doc in its early stages with some dive friends. "This is awesome!" one said (who informed me of this). "Doesn't everyone do this?" My student thought all instructors are the same, that we all teach what they actually need to know. Sadly, in my area, few students meet the WRSTC qualification of autonomous diver, afraid to even dive with their fellow students in the same site where they did their open water dives.

 

[tursiops]

Mel,

This doesn't work in many situations. @Cheizz is absolutely correct in that a new diver doesn't know what to ask. That is one of the things that @Jim Lapenta covers with his book .

The problem is that people have the misconception that dive instructors are knowledgeable and cover everything they need to know. It was rather amusing when one of my students took my dive planning doc in its early stages with some dive friends. "This is awesome!" one said (who informed me of this). "Doesn't everyone do this?" My student thought all instructors are the same, that we all teach what they actually need to know. Sadly, in my area, few students meet the WRSTC qualification of autonomous diver, afraid to even dive with their fellow students in the same site where they did their open water dives.

You don't talk to them about the specifics of the class, other than asking if they teach neutrally buoyant or on the knees. You talk to them to find out if they listen to your concerns and respond helpfully or dismissively, if they treat you like a dumbass or a human being, if they show empathy or are "my way or the highway." You talk to them to find out how they are going to treat you in class....because if they don't treat you how you want to be treated one-on-one in a conversation, they are not going to treat you any better in a class with lots of others and pressures and the clock ticking.

It concerns me that you don't seem to understand this.

 

[Cheizz]

You don't talk to them about the specifics of the class, other than asking if they teach neutrally buoyant or on the knees. You talk to them to find out if they listen to your concerns and respond helpfully or dismissively, if they treat you like a dumbass or a human being, if they show empathy or are "my way or the highway." You talk to them to find out how they are going to treat you in class....because if they don't treat you how you want to be treated one-on-one in a conversation, they are not going to treat you any better in a class with lots of others and pressures and the clock ticking.

It concerns me that you don't seem to understand this.

What if you don't have any specific concerns before you start the course? Most people trust the information and course description and then enroll. Sometimes it takes a session or two to develop those concerns or make you aware of them. As in this case.
Having talked to the instructor without anything specific to talk about would not have mattered I think. And even the question about the skills in buoyancy or on the knees - it takes some knowledge to even think about that. Knowledge that you normally don't have if you haven't done anything in terms of scuba education.

It's not that if you google 'where can I do my OWD' that question pops up naturally...

 

[tursiops]

What if you don't have any specific concerns before you start the course? Most people trust the information and course description and then enroll. Sometimes it takes a session or two to develop those concerns or make you aware of them. As in this case.
Having talked to the instructor without anything specific to talk about would not have mattered I think. And even the question about the skills in buoyancy or on the knees - it takes some knowledge to even think about that. Knowledge that you normally don't have if you haven't done anything in terms of scuba education.

It's not that if you google 'where can I do my OWD' that question pops up naturally...

If talking to the instructor is so useless, why did you suggest it?

That's why I suggested the NOB (= Dutch national underwater association) approach, which is taught through clubs. These courses are at a much slower pace, with no commercial goals in them. And you can ask about or meet the instructor before signing up for the course...

 

[wetb4igetinthewater]

You don't talk to them about the specifics of the class, other than asking if they teach neutrally buoyant or on the knees. You talk to them to find out if they listen to your concerns and respond helpfully or dismissively, if they treat you like a dumbass or a human being, if they show empathy or are "my way or the highway." You talk to them to find out how they are going to treat you in class....because if they don't treat you how you want to be treated one-on-one in a conversation, they are not going to treat you any better in a class with lots of others and pressures and the clock ticking.

It concerns me that you don't seem to understand this.

Mel,

It concerns me that you don't understand that there is a whole slew of things that potential divers may need to know to maximize the return on their investment of time and money. It goes waaaaaaay beyond to the manner in which they speak to you. They can be super friendly, talk a good talk like a used car salesman, put you at ease, and yet your class is still a sh!tshow. My open water class was exactly that. "Oh you'll be fine", "it will be fun". They neglected to tell me how many things they'd skip. Remember that open water is a lot of material for a new diver to digest. The stance of "well, you should know as it was in the book" is while technically correct, but unrealistic as people don't retain every single thing in the materials.

The OP was rushed and appears to need some time to absorb material. A good instructor should be able to determine a student's comfort level, something that appears to not have occurred here (though I could be wrong, as I was not there).

 

[Cheizz]

If talking to the instructor is so useless, why did you suggest it?

Talking to the instructor was not the main point I made in my first reaction. Getting into a different kind of course was, one that doesn't have a commercially driven agency behind it. The fact that these courses are mostly offered through diving clubs and that you can talk to the instructor NOW THAT YOU KNOW YOU HAVE A PARTICULAR ISSUE is a bonus. My reaction was about what to do from this point onwards. Your point seems to be that talking to the instructor - even though you have no clue what to talk about - can prevent a situation as described.

But I am glad there's an instructor in the conversation who proves the first point I made in this thread so clearly.