Are you a diver?

[TooCoys]

I'd like to become dive certified, but I'm very afraid of being in the water.

I'm not afraid of the water itself, its the things in the water. I have the unrealistic fear, especially in this murky chocolate milk type of water we have on the gulf coast, that I'll be swimming along with no visibility and all of a sudden being grabbed and/or stumbling across a dead body. Don't ask me where I came up with that, but I work in law enforcement and I've seen one too many horror movies I guess. I'm also from South Louisiana, so we don't get in water we can't see the bottom of either because you never know whats lurking below.

I also don't like fish touching me. When I was younger, my parents took us to Perdido Key FL for vacation, and I remember the mullet pecking at my heiny while floating in an inner tube. Ever since then I can't stand to be in water I can't see the bottom of. I love to fish, but can't even stand wade fishing.

While we were in St. Maarten last month I really enjoyed snorkeling, but the only thing that bothered me was the limited vision. The peripheral vision blocked by the mask was a bit overwhelming.


So did any of you have the same fears when you started? And if so, how did you overcome them?

[CSY Man]

Diving may not be for you:
While scubadiving and sucking on a bottle, it is best to remain calm. More control and you use less air.
If you are diving in a near state of panic you could die: Shooting to the surface from 100 feet without safety stops could kill or give you a bad case of the bends.
Stay with snorkeling until you have overcome the anxiety.

[dwedeking2]

I got certified back in 97 while living in the San Diego, CA area. Good visibility days were 10'. I did a number of night dives as well. Never had an issue of being attacked.

Moved to Hawai'i and did hundreds of dives. I avoided known murky areas (which sharks like) just because there were too many areas that have clear visibility. I did run into a white tip reef shark once. Burned through 1/2 a tank of air in the initial reaction, but the reality of the situation was he was more nervous about me being around. I spend 20 minutes just sitting there watching him.

Night dives are always a little freaky, as my mind plays tricks and I start imagining stuff from the Pirates of the Caribbean (escapees from Davy Jones Locker).

My recommendation is to find a mask that has clear sides (I don't like the ones with colored sides as it blocks my vision as well). Find shallow partially enclosed lagoons/bays to get used to swimming with nature. And work up to open water dives. Like everything the more you do it the more at ease you'll feel.

I also know divers that go with a hawaiian sling as it gives them something sharp to put between them and any threat. I do know that if I go without a sling or speargun fish will swim by to check me out, but if I have one (looking for dinner) can find any fish...

For what it's worth, I have more injuries from meeting up with rocks on shore dives in Hawai'i than I do from contact with nature.

[Davidhoy]

I'm a PADI instructor, and have been diving for many, many years. Nothing really bothers me underwater, I'm more anxious about the creatures on the surface, crazy fools on jet skis thinking my dive flag is a great turning buoy.

That said, let me share this story of a friend of mine who was deathly afraid of the water. We worked together, and we had an off-site team building event that involved building cardboard boats and then racing them. After the race was over, and the rest of us started eating, Kevin climbed into the rickety boat we'd built together, and went for a little sail. Our team ended up winning the event, getting awarded bonus points for Kevin's initiative. The next week he approached me and asked if I'd teach him to dive. I was skeptical, but agreed to see how it went first. He did great, and became a very good diver, completely overcame his fears. That one little sail, on a leaky cardboard boat we'd built together, was a turning point for him, and he never looked back. Before that he was a timid, mousy geek. Afterwards he evolved into a strong, confident guy who is now married, has a beautiful family, and holds a very senior position at a big computer company.

Don't discount the effect of taking a conscious step to overcome your fears. It can have a profound impact on your life, not only in regards the particular fear, but in many other areas of your life. It sure did for Kevin, and today I'm proud to call him my friend.

As FDR once said, "Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the assessment that something else is more important than fear."

Regards,
David

[Pelagic]

I have certified quite a few people to Scuba dive who had similar fears. Usually one of a couple, who wants to be a good partner, but still carries those childhood phobias

The best advice I can give you is to avoid resort courses and to find a school that does all their training in a good and clear swimming pool.

This way you can focus on the diving course without distraction.

Tell the school about the phobia (not uncommon) and ask if you can complete your basic course of the open water checkouts.. at a clear and calm location...

So basically you defer the certificate until you are able to go to a nice clear sandy bottom

A wonderful thing happens in the pool training once you have mastered your buoyancy control and your breathing becomes regular..... YOU START TO FLY!!

Also begin to realize that UNDER the water, you represent a pretty big fish that certainly will intimidate 99% of the other animals that see you.

Lastly, take it slow and easy....near the end of the 2nd open water checkout, I had my students lie in a circle around a sea urchin, which I cut open.

Then they just watched as the tiny fish came to feed and many students swore the fish thanked them for the delicacy [emoji6]

Let the fish become your friends and one day, you will be hovering at a cleaning station watching the tiny fish clean the manta rays that are hovering just above you as your bubbles tickle their belly!

[Fence Man]

I would say that you'd need to get a handle on those fears before you find yourself in the middle of a panic attack with 30m of water between you and the dive boat. I got my open water certification in a fresh water lake in the Midwest....Not exactly good visibility, so I feel like it was good preparation for the future. I did my advanced certification dives in the same lake, and according to my card, it was in April. Cold, dark, and muddy. Absolutely miserable conditions, and I loved every minute of it. In all my dives, the only "fish" that gave me any trouble was a little spotted eel while diving Theo's Wreck when I was about 14 or so. That would have been a bad place for one of the afore mentioned panic attacks, so I suppose I'm glad that I don't scare easy. lol As far as finding dead bodies goes, I would think they would be fairly harmless, no? Start in a pool, and work your way into some shallow dives with an experienced dive buddy. Maybe wear a wetsuit if being pecked by mullet is a concern. It'll be worth it if you can overcome those fears, I promise!

[TooCoys]

Originally Posted by Pelagic

I had my students lie in a circle around a sea urchin, which I cut open.

Then they just watched as the tiny fish came to feed and many students swore the fish thanked them for the delicacy [emoji6]

Let the fish become your friends and one day, you will be hovering at a cleaning station watching the tiny fish clean the manta rays that are hovering just above you as your bubbles tickle their belly!

I snorkeled in Cozumel with lots of fish and was fine. We took corn flakes from the ship, which I later learned you're not supposed to do but I was new, and was swarmed with fish. It didn't really bother me.

And on another cruise I swam with the stingrays at Stingray City in Grand Cayman. THAT was an AWESOME experience!

Tropical locations didn't bother me as much as local waters do. With the amount of aligators and gar fish and other things that we have here, I hate being in the water. I have friends who wade fish the shallows in the bay and they all have stories of sharks eating the trout off the stringers that are attached to their wading belts. They're usually only 1 to 3 foot sharks, but still sharks none-the-less.

And about a year or two ago I was wade fishing out on the Texas City Dike, trying to overcome my fear of wade fishing, and a 6' gar fish swam between me and my brother in law. I was NOT OK with that! LOL

[chris mac]

I have been diving since 1991. I have always had the feeling(fear) that something is under me wanting to eat me. Until my face is under. Once I can see under me, the fear is gone.
Maybe it's the unknown, or a control thing. But I feel where you are coming from.
Once I'm under I can interact with the big and small with no worries.
My advice, continue snorkeling and see if you can do a discover dive. They stay shallow, less than 30', and in a calm area.
Remember It's supposed to be fun, if it's freaking you out your pushing too hard.

[Time2Go]

Originally Posted by CSY Man

Diving may not be for you:
While scubadiving and sucking on a bottle, it is best to remain calm. More control and you use less air.
If you are diving in a near state of panic you could die: Shooting to the surface from 100 feet without safety stops could kill or give you a bad case of the bends.
Stay with snorkeling until you have overcome the anxiety.

Agree completely with the need to stay calm
If you can't tame your fears, It's a no go.
However doing an emergency ascent from 100 feet
and the bends would entirely depend on the amount of time you were at that depth, counting from the time you
left the surface.
I think the most dangerous scenario here is a panic
driven ascent from 3 atmospheres where the person
holds their breath. One can with proper care recover
from the bends But Blown Out Lungs are gonna kill you for sure.
Padi Certified Advanced Open Water for 40 years
and the thtree lessons I remember most were
1. Breath, never hold your breath
2. Weights go on last
3. Things underwater are sharper then they appear
Don't touch unless you're sure what it is
Cheers
Neil

[belizesailor]

I used to be hard core into diving...thousands of dives (lots in poor vis/at night). My 2c:

Fear and water, especially underwater, are a bad combination. Fear/panic creates many diving accidents that otherwise would not have occurred. This places not only you at risk, but others.

I would work on your fears first. If you can get those under control then consider SCUBA training (you could do this as part of SCUBA training as suggested above...if you can find the right instructor who will work with you). If not, IMHO, then you should not.

[TooCoys]

Originally Posted by belizesailor

I would work on your fears first. If you can get those under control then consider SCUBA training (you could do this as part of SCUBA training as suggested above...if you can find the right instructor who will work with you). If not, IMHO, then you should not.

That was the point of my question. HOW do you overcome those fears?

[a64pilot]

Originally Posted by TooCoys

That was the point of my question. HOW do you overcome those fears?

In all honesty, you don't completely. My wife has that fear and almost busted her check out dive in Crystal river, so we went to a spring that had air clear water.
And that fear is actually healthy to some extent, it may keep you from getting in over your head, its the ones without fear that I won't dive with, never dive with someone braver than you.
She has had I'd guess a few hundred dives since then, but she only dives in warm, shallow water that is clear and likes to look at the pretty fish, no Tech stuff for her. And that's fine too, nothing says you have to go Trimix etc.
She still won't night dive, even though my cave diving lights are very bright (50W HID), just there is a whole lot of water that is not lit up, and she does not like that.
You can literally just dive in crystal clear water, its almost always more fun anyway, except harder to get to usually.
I really enjoy cave diving, which as long as your careful can be so clear its like diving in air.
You don't begin cave training until you are very comfortable in open water though

[belizesailor]

Originally Posted by TooCoys

That was the point of my question. HOW do you overcome those fears?

Everyone is wired differently of course, but I think controlled exposure is an effective approach for many. For example, snorkelling in conditions that make you a little anxious with an instructor who will work with you. Gradually push the envelope and build confidence and knowledge.

If that works, then move up to SCUBA training with a patient instructor who will do the same with you on SCUBA.

Case in point, when I was kid I had a typical fear of the dark. I did not like having that fear, so I used to turn the lights off at night and sit in the middle of my bed. As I got more comfortable I would deliberately let my imagination wander....monsters under the bed and such...soon I was as comfortable in the dark as the light.

Later in life I enjoyed doing the same thing on SCUBA during a night dive...find a sand patch near the reef...turn off all lights and sit still on the bottom...soon all the night critters adjust to your precense and start to emerge again...cool stuff.

Ive been around the water all my life and have never had water related fears...but I did have a large Alligator Gar roll right next to me while swimming once that got my adrenaline pumping! 😆

[Cyrus Safdari]

Simple: Start with snorkeling and skin-diving in shallow areas, work up to your comfort level

[TooCoys]

Originally Posted by a64pilot

She has had I'd guess a few hundred dives since then, but she only dives in warm, shallow water that is clear and likes to look at the pretty fish, no Tech stuff for her. And that's fine too, nothing says you have to go Trimix etc.

The way your wife does things sounds good to me! LOL

I wouldn't mind diving the flower gardens off the Texas coast from what I've seen of it, but other than that I would probably only enjoy the clear tropical waters.

The only thing that I really want to be able to dive here for is to clean the bottom of my boat!