Is Scuba Diving Scary
Remember the first time you did anything scary? Could be learning how to swim, living alone, moving to a new city, sky diving, traveling alone, flying, or even scuba diving. We all have a memory of something that scared us on the first attempt but got used to it each time we did it. If you are planning on taking scuba diving lessons you may often wonder if scuba diving is scary.
Scuba diving is scary especially to non-swimmers, people with a fear of being underwater or large water bodies. Different factors make scuba diving scary for different people. These include fear of marine life, fear of equipment failure while diving, fear of drowning, and inability to breathe.
First-time divers also experience some level of fear the first time they go open-water diving. Scuba diving can be scary in different ways and at different levels for different individuals.
I remember my first-time scuba diving, I was filled with all sorts of emotions excitement, fear, and anxiety. My first diving attempt wasn’t very successful and had to relax and try a couple of times. Looking back on that day, I believe my anxiety and fear played a huge role in the failed diving attempt.
Due to the fact that I couldn’t calm down, I was unable to equalize my ears and had to get back on the boat for some time. Calm and composure play a huge role not only in diving but also in the ability to perform other important processes such as equalizing and breathing properly.
With the help of my instructor and friends, I was able to relax and dive a few feet underwater. With time this fear and anxiety reduced, today I’m only excited whenever I go on a diving trip.
In this article, we’ll look into why scuba diving can be scary for many people, how to overcome this fear, and other tips.
Let’s dive into it!
READ MORE: Is It Safe to Scuba Dive with Sharks?
Is It Normal To Be Scarred Of Scuba Diving?
Yes, it’s very normal to be scared of scuba diving. After all, this is your first time being under so much water, and interacting with marine life.
Even experienced scuba divers get scared of diving especially if they are diving in unfamiliar dive spots. Divers diving in new levels can also get scared during their first attempt.
If you’ve only been diving in open water, the first time you dive into a wreck or cave can be scary even with the training. Each level of scuba diving requires practice in order to get comfortable at these depths.
As a first-time scuba diver, don’t be ashamed to admit if you are scared. In fact, letting your instructor or buddy know what scares you could help improve your diving experience.
The instructor knows to keep an eye on you each time and also guides you throughout the div.
On the contrary, if you feel scared and don’t let anyone know you can end up putting your life at risk.
Let’s say you are scared of large marine animals, at first sight of a big fish you may end up panicking which leads to a series of bad judgments. All these activities could lead to drowning or attack by marine life since the nervous pacing looks like a threat to the animals.
The internet has all the information and if you go looking you will find exactly what you want to find. Could be a beginner diving guide, scary tales, myths, shark attacks, and horror stories.
Consuming all this information can make you scared for nothing. Having the right information and proper training is important for all divers. This guides you on how to respond to problems, how to overcome fear, and how to act around marine life.
While it’s not illegal to go scuba diving without certification and proper training, it does increase the chances of injuries and accidents.
Is Scuba Diving Hard For Beginners?
Scuba diving is quite easy to learn even for non-swimmers.
Many diving schools and agencies have short courses introducing anyone to scuba diving. These courses are particularly helpful for people wishing to go scuba diving without certification.
Here you learn basic scuba diving skills, and how to use and operate scuba diving gear and equipment. Most importantly, you go scuba diving with a certified instructor who ensures your safety during this first dive.
Discover Scuba Diving by PADI is a great way to great an introduction to the diving world.
Diving gear and equipment make it quite easy in the sense that, you can float in the water with the help of a BCD (buoyancy compensation device). Breathing is made easy using air tanks and regulators. Divers can see underwater without hurting their eyes and ears using diving masks.
Compared to swimming, scuba diving is quite easier to learn since you have equipment and gear to help you dive and stay in the water. However, those wishing to get scuba diving certifications must learn how to swim as it’s one of the requirements.
How Do I Get Over My Fear of Scuba Diving
Just like any other fear in life, anyone can overcome their fear of scuba diving. It does get easier each time you go diving.
The best way to overcome the fear of scuba diving is to practice. Go scuba diving as many times as you can in a year. Waiting to go scuba diving when on holiday may take you a long time to overcome this fear.
Practicing involves other activities too such as equalizing the ears, breathing, and physical fitness.
There are many ways to practice balancing the ears while on land. These skills will eventually come in handy when diving.
Practicing mindful breathing will help you when diving and help in air consumption. In the case of drift diving, you can comfortably swim back to the dive boat and use available air.
Mindful breathing also helps relax and calm your nerves and body. When you are calm you will enjoy your diving more.
Just like any other sport, physical fitness is important in scuba diving too. This helps maintain healthy blood pressure and improves your general mood and wellbeing.
Read More: DANGERS OF DEEP SEA DIVING
Other ways to get over scuba diving fears are;
- Always go diving with familiar people. It’s easy to express your fears to them compared to strangers
- Only dive with qualified agencies and professionals. Some people tend to relax when diving with a highly rated diving instructor
- Avoid drugs and alcohol the night before the div
- Get enough sleep
- Eat healthy meals before the dive
- Stay hydrated
- Keep warm before the dive
- Familiarize with basic diving signals, equipment, and gear
- Practice underwater breathing and balancing the ears
- Talk to other divers
- Stay close to your instructor/ dive buddies
- Learn how to clear or prevent mask fogging
- Triple check your diving gear and equipment before the div
- Us your own gear/equipment
- Most importantly login many dives, you can only overcome the fear of scuba diving by scuba diving.
Can You Scuba Dive If You’re Claustrophobic
Claustrophobia is normally associated with small spaces such as elevators, dark rooms, and scanning equipment (MRIs) among others.
Those with claustrophobia are often afraid of being trapped in this small space which could trigger unpleasant memories onsetting anxiety or panic attacks.
Interestingly, claustrophobia is quite common even in scuba diving. But scuba diving involves open waters and so much open area around, one may wonder?
Claustrophobia in scuba diving is the fear of being trapped underwater which can feel like a small space. One may feel like you are in a confined space due to the surrounding water pressure, the gear, and equipment.
You can still scuba dive if you are claustrophobic. However, you need to have familiar people with you or let your instructor know about it. It’s also important to have skills to calm yourself down whenever you start feeling the fear kick in.
Claustrophobic divers can also enjoy scuba diving by staying in shallow waters. Here you can easily surface and the fact that you can still see a lot of light may help you stay calm.
Start by getting comfortable in shallow depths and avoid going very deep as the darkness may trigger claustrophobia.
Diving very deep can also put you at risk of DCS because, in an attempt to get out of the water, the diver can do it very fast meaning nitrogen isn’t released from the body.
Another way to enjoy diving is by spending less time underwater. You can dive multiple times in a day for instance twice a day but keep it short.
Can You Dive With Anxiety?
Just like mentioned above, people with anxiety can also enjoy scuba diving.
Start by spending less time underwater, practice mindful breathing to help you calm down, and only dive in shallow depths.
Anxiety could be a result of different occurrences in life such as falling in water as a child. This may trigger anxiety each time you are in the water.
It’s also important to go diving with familiar people as it helps calm down.
For those with extreme cases of anxiety or taking medications for it, it’s advisable to first consult with your doctors. The sessions can help improve confidence and reduce the chances of anxiety when scuba diving.
Final Take
We’ve looked into some ways to overcome the fear of scuba diving. Scuba diving can be scary in different ways to different people.
Understanding what scares you will help in how you overcome or deal with it. Just like any other sport or activity in life you have to participate as many times as you can to master the skills but also overcome the initial fear.
I hope this article was helpful to you and will help you overcome your fear of scuba diving.
Stay safe and happy diving!
