Overcoming my greatest fear.... underwater!

[jwdizney]

Hello ST board gang... my wife mentioned me in a thread a few weeks back (before I ever even entered this forum) and chronicled some of my "challenges" with scuba, plus my intrigue as well. (see Husband taking discover scuba thread.. Husband taking "Discover Scuba" this weekend!)

Well, the more thought i give it, the more i suspect i'm not the only one who has, or will, ever embark on this journey. So I thought this would be a great forum for me to share my revelations, challenges, and accomplishments during this process, so maybe someone with similar concerns will find some comfort. plus, YOU GUYS are a big part.. .your support, advice, and encouragement....

I've spent my whole life basically terrified of open water. I can swim, but not a strong swimmer, i've just pretty much had a 'phobia' about drowning! (i'm also afraid of tall bridges too, but that's another story..) Well, my wife, DISNEYMOM (who's pretty much a fish, by the way) decided she wanted to learn to scuba dive. I was supportive, but in my mind i was "no way in H3LL, for me!", but i was determined to support her in this process. she went off and did classroom session, then pool session on her own... me, i stayed safely on dry land....a habit I have been quite fond of over the years... Then, we went to the lake for the OW dives... myself, i planned a fishing trip around her dive schedule, but I planned on being there while she did them, i think mainly because I felt for her safety! but that weekend was an educational and inspirational weekend for me! Even in my wildes paranoia, I saw NOTHING unsafe! the instructors were careful, safe, and thorough with their training. it seemed as though they spent more time discussing safety and safety procedures than "swimming underwater". and somehow, they lulled me into thinking that this could be actually safer than i had thought.. I saw the excitement and thrill of filling out their logbooks and the instructor signing their temporary c-cards.. this was obviously something incredible...

so, i decided i'd try........ snorkeling. that's a happy medium, isn't it? we have a pool at home and it was easy for me to "safely" try it. I liked it! WOW, you can see underwater, I didn't sink to the bottom (expel fear of sinking!) and with fins you can get around pretty good! DISNEYMOM got me a PADI Discover Snorkeling class coupon for my birthday! I was excited.. but by the time my birthday came (3 weeks later) I had fully evolved into a bonafide snorkel junkie! i really didn't think Discover Snorkeling was a worthwhile investment.. so I changed it to.... Discover Scuba! a little aprehensive, but, worst case, I could stop any time and go back to snorkeling.......

Well, if you've read the Discover Scuba thread, you know what happened next... I've signed up for OW class... in fact, my schedule is 9-12 classroom, 9-16 pool sessions, 9-22,9-23 LAKE DIVES!!.... i'm getting ready, but still a little nervous... as I get ready, i'll relay my process, thoughts, etc...

you guys have already been GREAT support, i think it only fair that I take you with me......

[NitroWill]

It's quite addicting, eh?

Pay attention and learn as much as you possibly can from the classes! Diving is a continual learning experience..but most importantly have fun!

[finflippers]

Welcome to the wonderful underwater world. With DisneyMom by your side I am sure that you will go on to enjoy many years of scuba.

[Kidder]

Its a very cool world you'll see stuff that you would see any other way. The people are cool to. Welcome to the adventure

[jwdizney]

Ok, so it’s 5 days until my classroom sessions. I’ve done the study and worksheets, feeling pretty confident in the book stuff.. BUT I remember my DS class and something that I didn’t deal very well with… Mask skills! (remember the fear of drowning?).. when I let the water in my mask, I had a major GASP reflex! Anticipating the pool and lake sessions, I figured I’d better work this out in advance, if possible… So, DISNEYMOM and I devised a plan. She put on her gear and got in the pool with me. (all this is in the shallow end, in about 3-4 feet of water). First of all, we kneel together in the water and I would breath off her octo. We stay down for a minute or two, just letting me get used to breathing underwater. Then I’d try letting small amounts of water in my mask, then clearing it. we repeated this several times until I felt comfortable with it. Then I devised a plan…

I stood in water about waist deep and, while breathing with a regulator, stuck my face in the water (no mask!). GASP!!!... it took me several tries before I got comfortable, but I did finally get comfortable. Then I added a twist. I stuck my face in the water without the regulator, recovered the reg, cleared it, then stayed until I was breathing normal, comfortably. After doing this a few times, I added another step. Put my face in the water, recover reg, clear it, breath normal, then put on mask and clear it!..... We’re getting somewhere!.. I then added even more to my exercise.. put face in water, recover reg, clear it, breath normal, put on mask, clear it, remove reg and switch to snorkel, clear it!... WOW, this is really working! Finally, after doing this a while, I was comfortable switching between reg and snorkel, mask or no mask, all while my face is in the water!

This was a good day!......i’ll continue to repeat these exercises every day (if possible) so that I am completely proficient in my mask skills, all the while, overcoming my fears….


Stay tuned………

[jwdizney]

nitro, fin, and kidder......
THANKS! you guys are great!

[finflippers]

Sounds like you are doing great. Keep up the good work. Maybe one day I will get Scuba Widow over her fears and she won't have to be a scuba widow any more.

[jwdizney]

Fin,
thanks! it's certainly a lot more interesting than it appears on the outside...and SAFER.... maybe my journey will help Widow....

[Foo2]

Wow jwdizney! I'm so proud to hear about your accomplishments! That can be a hard skill for anyone to learn, regardless of their phobias in the water! Way to go! Thanks for sharing!

[jwdizney]

Thanks Foo!....
actually, i think the sticky stuff should taste like pizza..... just a thought...