What Do You Do When You're a Bit Freaked?

[MedCop]

My earlier reply was to thumb the dive and go home...but I have had those situations where I had to go back through the silt.

I find that closing my eyes helps as I am not trying to "see" when I obviously can't see. If I am diving OC then I always take my reg (one not being used) and purge it. I do this (I guess) as it lets me know that I do have another source of gas should I need it. If I am diving CC then I do the same with my bailout gas. This is done after I stop, breath, find line.

[Meister481]

My only fear is the loss of a buddy. I'm not talking about separation, I'm speaking of you coming out alone after a dive with a buddy. The thought of having to come home and explain why I allowed their loved one to die terrifies me. I know it's wrong but I do feel a sense of responsibility for who I'm diving with, regardless of their training level or the environment we're diving.

I've been stuck, I've blow the vis looking in a lead, I've lost a reg really far back and I've had light failures. Not once has this ever phased me.

I will say those huge carp at JB freak me out a little, and those eels at Vortex scared the piss outta me when one swam in front of my computer when I was checking it. I nearly knocked myself out! I need to stop doing deco at night.

[saxplayer1004]

Jon line goes to buddy, and "Slow, Relaxed, with Good Technique" gets repeated through my head. A couple strokes on my cheek with my hand, and I'm usually pretty relaxed in a minute or so. Stuff works.
the slow relaxed thing is the mantra of our scuba program at school

[amphipod06]

Jon line goes to buddy, and "Slow, Relaxed, with Good Technique" gets repeated through my head. A couple strokes on my cheek with my hand, and I'm usually pretty relaxed in a minute or so. Stuff works.
the slow relaxed thing is the mantra of our scuba program at school

Larry Brown alumnus?

Dive safe,

Celia

[ScubaRob]

I just think about sex, i imagine that the cave is just a big womb and i am in there poking arround...what's a little poor viz when your in a place like that? I have gas and a line, all that's required, redirects me everytime and then i am on my way to a happy ending. I have used this ever since i was told by an indian tribe that diving in a parrticular cave was, to the indians, like entering the womb of their mother spirit. The cave was the centerpiece of their creation myth.

I am going to remember this one. I think it will work for me. I am in a place I enjoy, and I have everything I need to return home.

[BobK]

As others have indicated, what I find more frightening is ascending and doing deco in a night ocean dive. Not long ago I had 5 bull sharks follow me up, circling below me on a day time ascent for about 5 minutes (It felt a lot longer!). I've had sharks trail me when I was spearfishing, but I wasn't on this ocassion. So, if this can happen in daylight, I wonder if they could be there at night--just outside the range or direction of my light beam.

Before I actually started doing them, I was always fearful of night ocean dives. But I've come to realize, as both the diver on board and the boat captain following the diver (on the same trip), that night diving is way safer then day diving. It is sometimes very hard to find a diver on a drift dive in the daytime, but trivial at night with both the diver's light and the backup glowstick.

OTOH, the glowstick would probably look silly in a cave, so I usually don't wear one there

[Luxrok]

I spend a lot of time in zero viz, that isn't the problem. I think the thing that scares me most is that I cannot predict how anyone else is going to react in a cave.

When I get fearful, I work through it. I attempt to analyze the situation and continue on. Fear is a normal response and is a good response. It keeps me alive. However, unreasonable or uncontrolled fear is a another beast all together that needs to be dealt with and slayed or it will slay me. Therefore, I regularly push myself to progress. When I get to the limit of my skill or confidence, then I gracefully turn and look at what I have learned.

I got to experience this exact topic this week in Mexico. http://bit.ly/bNNO9j.

Good to see we are talking about fear and being freaked. It happens to me and I am not afraid to admit it.

Hans

[reato]

Nice topic!!!
I'm part of exploration team in sistema Xunaan Ha (Mexico), and it happen a lot of time to have negative visibility (that is worse than zero vis ), and also stucked trying to force a restriction and sometimes also at the same time...
When I feel I'm close to freak out I stop doing everything, I switch off my light and I rest for a minute or two, relaxing and clearing mind.
Then I switch on again and I try to continue or exit.
8)

p.s. Hey, Hans

[aainslie]

A couple of weeks ago I was doing a "fun" dive with Tom Johnson at Peacock Springs. We went the back way down the well line and followed the P2 line to the end. On the way out Tom was leading and to quote him, "practicing his silt kick." He completely silted the place out.

I'm suspecting that he won't be thanking you for this post...

[LiteHedded]

I'm suspecting that he won't be thanking you for this post...

LOL
i suspect you're right