will I ever get over it???

[s.silly]

Hello everybody,
Let me tell you about myself.. I'm a 30 year old female, married with children. I have never been afraid of anything in my life... Until last year. My husband and went to the Dominican Rebublic and decided to scuba. Had simple instructions given to us at hotel.. Went out to dive. I freaked. Had a fear over come me that I could not shake. didn't make it down to the ocean floor. Even now as I calmly think about it I get upset. My husband loved every minute of it, and now will be diving on all of our vacations. I feal I've let him down, Does anyone have suggeations that could help me over come this feeling. Any input would be great.

[DeepDiverBob]

Diving isnt for everybody. If you are uncomfortable doing it, there is no reason to be down there puting your self at risk.

However, if this is definitly something you want to do, I recommond going through a dive shop class. I have heard too many horror stories about these hotel and resort courses. Going through a shop, abd getting an actual certification, will give you a lot more knowledge about what you are doing, and make it safer. You will also ease your way into the water, first doing some pool work, and then open water work, all while being supervised by people that are there to help you. A lot of people have some uneasiness about this sport. Some people over come it, and some people arent able to. Vacations are about having fun, and if you are doing something that you dont enjoy, then it isnt going to make for a very fun vacation.

[theskull]

What Bob said.

Do you WANT to go diving? Are you fascinated by what's underwater and feel you MUST get down there and see it up close and personal? If so, then sign up for a certification class and learn to do it right, easily, one step at a time, in a safe and controlled environment.

Don't really care what's underwater? Only tried it on a whim or because your husband talked you into it? Let him go off for a couple dives on vacation while you shop or sip a margarita on the beach. Diving is expensive and takes quite a bit of effort and energy to learn and to do safely.

The majority of my diving friends have a non-diving spouse or significant other. It is not a problem. In fact, for some it is a problem that they are both divers and have to buy 2 sets of gear and then one of them wants to dive in the deep blue and the other wants to stay shallow and take pictures of little snails.

Dont worry. Be happy.

theskull

[Laser]

Realize that breathing underwater goes against our natural instinct. Then the " flight " response kicks in and you panic. If it's really something that you want to do, spend lots of time in the pool just getting used to breathing underwater. You need to re-train your instincts, which takes some people much longer than others. As Bob said, diving isn't for everyone, and it's possible that you'll never be comfortable, but if you take it slow you might be able to rid yourself of the anxiety and begin to relax. Check out your local shop, and explain what happened, and hopefully you can get lots of pool time to get comfortable before taking the next step.

[MgicTwnger]

What Bob said.

Do you WANT to go diving? Are you fascinated by what's underwater and feel you MUST get down there and see it up close and personal? If so, then sign up for a certification class and learn to do it right, easily, one step at a time, in a safe and controlled environment.

Don't really care what's underwater? Only tried it on a whim or because your husband talked you into it? Let him go off for a couple dives on vacation while you shop or sip a margarita on the beach. Diving is expensive and takes quite a bit of effort and energy to learn and to do safely.

The majority of my diving friends have a non-diving spouse or significant other. It is not a problem. In fact, for some it is a problem that they are both divers and have to buy 2 sets of gear and then one of them wants to dive in the deep blue and the other wants to stay shallow and take pictures of little snails.

Dont worry. Be happy.

theskull
What Bob and the Skull said.

[M&P+4]

Yes - you can get over it if that is your desire.

My wife couldn't swim a stroke and refused to go in water over her chest. She is in her mid 30's with kids, similar to you. That was two years ago...now she swims laps and is open water certified. I would have never guessed in a million years that she could ever swim let alone want to dive.

[theskull]

Yes - you can get over it if that is your desire.

My wife couldn't swim a stroke and refused to go in water over her chest. She is in her mid 30's with kids, similar to you. That was two years ago...now she swims laps and is open water certified. I would have never guessed in a million years that she could ever swim let alone want to dive.

Great story.

What made her decide to learn to swim and dive?

Did you teach her to swim?

theskull

[M&P+4]

Great story.

What made her decide to learn to swim and dive?

Did you teach her to swim?

theskull

Her fear of the water was something that we didn't want to pass on to our kids. After I got certified we spent quite a bit of time in the pool with the kids and I started swimming laps to get in shape (ok, out of my round shape). She started asking my oldest daughter how to do certain things and before long she was swimming.
For what it's worth, she would go in water up to her chin until I tried to teach her how to swim....after that trauma the acceptable water level lowered ;)

Now she is almost as nuts about diving as I am.

I'll ask her to log in for this thread and share her experiences...hopefully she can help out s.silly.

[theskull]

Her fear of the water was something that we didn't want to pass on to our kids. After I got certified we spent quite a bit of time in the pool with the kids and I started swimming laps to get in shape (ok, out of my round shape). She started asking my oldest daughter how to do certain things and before long she was swimming.
For what it's worth, she would go in water up to her chin until I tried to teach her how to swim....after that trauma the acceptable water level lowered ;)

Now she is almost as nuts about diving as I am.

I'll ask her to log in for this thread and share her experiences...hopefully she can help out s.silly.

Excellent. Please share with us, Mrs. M&P+4.

theskull

[Finally Swimming]

I don't know why I finally began swimming, I think I was just embarrassed that my five year old could jump into the deep end and I couldn't. I also wanted to feel like I could help them out if something did go wrong. I had an incident while I was certifying when I had to take my mask off, and still need to work myself into doing that skill more. But I did successfully take off the mask prior to that without being a scared, so I think it was partly fatigue and being very cold. (think Wisconsin lake in April in a wetsuit:( )

Anyway, overcoming my fear took many months and being able to work at my pace. I think that is key. Like the others said, if this something you would like to do, find someone to work at your pace. Even after diving for the last few months and even getting into the Gulf of Mexico (between hurricanes) once, breathing underwater is amazing. Take your time and enjoy it!!

[theskull]

. . . Anyway, overcoming my fear took many months and being able to work at my pace . . . . breathing underwater is amazing. Take your time and enjoy it!!

Thanks for your story. You have just inspired me to be more patient with the OW students I work with. The ones with problems. I'm not always as empathetic as I could be.

Breathing underwater is indeed amazing! Will paste my favorite quote in the next post.

theskull

[theskull]

Why?

"When someone asks me what is in the water or why I dive I can never come up with anything very articulate. I don't think the fault is mine. I think that the reasons that motivate me are too big for words. Much of what others have said contribute to my diving pleasure (flying through amazing landscapes, privacy, nature, quiet, beauty, skill, gear, learning my limits, being able to kinda transcend gravity in that 3D world makes it so surreal. etc.), but they are not WHY I do it. I do it for the way it makes me feel.. and I don't think there are really words for the feeling. Awe and wonder are heading in the right direction... connection to the environment, feeling whole and complete - those words are getting closer to the reason that I dive..."

Author unknown -- wish I had written it!

theskull

[DeepDiverBob]

Why?

"When someone asks me what is in the water or why I dive I can never come up with anything very articulate. I don't think the fault is mine. I think that the reasons that motivate me are too big for words. Much of what others have said contribute to my diving pleasure (flying through amazing landscapes, privacy, nature, quiet, beauty, skill, gear, learning my limits, being able to kinda transcend gravity in that 3D world makes it so surreal. etc.), but they are not WHY I do it. I do it for the way it makes me feel.. and I don't think there are really words for the feeling. Awe and wonder are heading in the right direction... connection to the environment, feeling whole and complete - those words are getting closer to the reason that I dive..."

Author unknown -- wish I had written it!

theskull

I dive because it beats housework.

[juls64]

I dive because when I snorkel, I keep diving down to be UNDER the water. I want to be right in the middle of everything that is down there.

[nauifins73]

Thanks for your story. You have just inspired me to be more patient with the OW students I work with. The ones with problems. I'm not always as empathetic as I could be.
theskull

I am thilled to hear you say that. I had a very impatient, scarcastic Instructor for my ow. I am surprised I am still diving - but once under the water something took over.

[decodiva]

Diving is something that I love, but I am still frightened about doing it. When I get down in the water something peaceful comes over me and I am ok, but I freaked out going down many times.

I had an awsome patient instructor.
Also Bob my savior many times-- It makes me feel safe diving with him and the other experienced divers.

Diving is not something that I would have done if it werent for Bob, but I have had some wonderful experiences and made alot of wonderful friends doing it.
I still have a hard time going around here, but nothing beats the beautiful waters of the carribean.

Just be patient if you want to do it. Do a discover scuba and make sure you have a good teacher.