Hi there. My name is Frances and I've just signed up for a PADI Open Water certificate course.
During the first confined water dive, I was okay for a while in the shallower end of the pool. But when we started descending to the deeper end, I started to freak out thinking all those scary thoughts about the deep but I still held on to my buddy and kept looking at the DI's assistant for reassurance.
I was reassured for a little while until my mask started to flood. Then, practising my newly-acquired skill of clearing the mask, I was eventually able to clear it but with water having already entered my nose. Not being comfortable in this, I started choking and eventually, water started to go inside my mouth. By this time, I was already in a really bad case of panic attack but a little voice inside me just made me push the purge button in my regulator and I was able to breathe again. The thing was that I was already feeling sick and my heart was already racing so much that I had to signal to the assistant that I wanted to ascend and so he assisted me to the surface and talked to me about what just happened.
I said to him that I was already ready to call it a day and that I will just do it again the next time since our class was really big and that I didn't want to hold anybody up which was fine by them.
I just watched the rest of the class finish confined water dives 1-3 and waiting for my DI to tell me after the class what I can do the next time because I still wanted to finish the course and really get my certificate. He just said that I should take it gradually, attending one class after another every weekend until I feel comfortable in deep water.
How many of you have encountered this? How did you get over it? ARe there any tricks to overcome such fears? I really need your advice because I really want to overcome this stupid fear. I want to dive and I'm really determined to be a diver soon. Any tips / suggestions / words of encouragement will be appreciated.
THANKS.
Contributed by frankeeV added 2006-10-01
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MortenL added 2006-10-19
Hi Frances! Well the fear of deep waters is a normal thing amongst humans since, from natures side we were not "made" to live in the water, however, the only way to overcome the fear of deep waters is, like any other fear, to confront it, im not saying that you should just go out and dive to like 18 meters right away, but start at a shallow deepth and work your way down, when you feel nervous, simply stop, take a couple of really deep breaths and remenber that by your side is a certifides instructor who knows what he/she is doing, and then, when you relax once again, try going deeper, the thing is, once you find out that there is nothing dangerous or frightening about the deep (as long as you obey all of the things you have been instructed in during your training) you will be able to go a bit deeper, and a bit deeper, so, my advice to you, take it easy, theres no reason to rush things up, calm down and enjoy, hope this is any good for you, Best Regards, Morten, Denmark!
Organised diving, is safe diving!
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EmilyH added 2007-05-16
Hyya frankeeV,
Don't worry, everyone's different. Some people take a bit longer than others to become comfortable with the water. I'm in the process of completing my OW, I breezed through the pool training and the shore dives without a problem, but when I got to the boat dives I ran into a bit of trouble. At the start of the first boat dive I was nervous, and my breathing sped up as we started to descend. I couldn't slow my breathing down, started panicking and started hyperventilating, which (as you know!) isn't a pleasant feeling. However, I pushed myself to keep descending and managed to get to the ocean floor at 18m, where I was able to calm myself down and slow my breathing down to a controlled rate. Your outlook is always a bit rosier once you're on the bottom of the ocean floor and there are fish to look at!
I didn't complete my second dive that day, and spoke to my instructor about my experience. He suggested that I try some shore dives before going back to doing my second boat dive. I completed my shore dives last weekend with no problems, and practised my buoyancy (which improved out of sight!) and descents, going through all the basics. I feel a lot more comfortable and confident, and looking forward to my boat dives this coming weekend.
One of the girls in my class has also had a customised program, she couldn't even bear to breathe underwater at first! But by the end of the class she was staying under water for thirty minutes at a time (albeit in the shallow end). She did an additional pool session, then tried shore dives but pulled out before the first descent because she wasn't comfortable. However, she was on the shore dives with me last weekend, completed them all and did really well, and is coming on the boat dives this weekend.
So, take as much time as you need. Keep talking to your instructor about what you're comfortable with and what you're not comfortable with. They will have come across this heaps of times. Practise in shallow water for as long as you like. And have fun.