Don't Panic - You're A Scuba Diver

When you’re under water it’s important to stay in control.

To complete the scuba diver training you need to keep a firm grip on your emotions. You’re in an unnatural environment, entirely dependent on your equipment to keep breathing, and sometimes fear threatens to get the better of you.

In one of my early pool dives I unexpectedly had an almost uncontrollable desire to breathe through my nose. This is impossible when you’re wearing a mask, and unnecessary because I was being fed air through the regulator in my mouth.

Nevertheless, the sudden urge to breathe through my nose was almost overwhelming and for a moment it seemed it would only be satisfied by a swift rise to the surface. I didn’t give in, telling myself it was ridiculous. After a few moments the mood passed and I was fine.

Panic is when you act in an uncontrolled and often irrational way, driven by fear. It can be triggered by tiny things, such as my need to breathe nasally or suddenly having your mask fill with cold water. Different sparks effect different people. Simply contemplating how much water is between you and the fresh air might be enough to tip you into a panicked trip to the surface.

I can only write from my own experience but I’d be surprised if other divers don’t have moments when they need to get a grip of themselves. In my first open water dive, last weekend, the visibility was poor and at one point I was descending into gathering darkness unable to see anything but my dive buddy.

Don’t worry, I told myself when I sensed the first pangs of anxiety. You’re in a relatively shallow training lake and there’s nothing between you and the surface. Don’t let irrational fears get the better of you.

I didn’t let the anxiety take root and I went on to enjoy the dive. I also meet the BSAC requirement to have dived in a low visibility environment. It doesn’t get much worse than that, my buddy and instructor informed me.

So diving is a test of character. Do you have what it takes to deal with irrational fears, a momentary lack of air or a mask filled with water? If you don’t, scuba diving probably isn’t for you. On the other hand, you might be suprised at how easy it is to cope with these challenges if you think through the scenario logically before you do it, and simply focus on achieving each step in order.

And at the end of the day, consider what's the worst that can happen? Even in a basic pool dive there are multiple layers of safety and as long as you're sensible, you're very unlikely to come to any harm.