Wilder - I'm glad you found your new motivation to give it a try again. Just wanted to say, my husband and I have been there as well. We had a terrible experience with our first instructor on a resort dive (discover scuba). And even when we took our OW course, the instructor also tried rushing us. Bottom line is YOU have to make it happen. You can take the experience as a challenge or you can let it psyche you out. Unfortunately, its hard to find good instructors so YOU have to force the instructor to take more time with you, despite his attitude and YOU have to look for additional time in the pool either with this instructor or with another. Look for private or semi-private lessons. Once you feel like you're not rushed or judged, you will probably feel much better. Oh - about the "claustrophobia" - if you never had that before, it's normal to feel uncomfortable underwater initially. I too felt the need to get 'real air'. With time and practice, you should feel more at ease and so long as it's not truly claustrophobia, that feeling should go away. Best of luck. But also remember, if you don't like diving, that's ok also. Just let it be your decision and not because of your experience with a bad instructor.