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Overcoming panic while freediving

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HelenaW

New Member
Nov 30, 2017
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Hi all,
I'm new to freediving and have an annoying tendency to panic if I can't find my dive buddy on the surface after he/she has done a dive. I get this overwhelming feeling of being alone out in the ocean, and an impending sense of doom that something awful has happened to them, and something awful will happen to me..... I guess the best way to avoid these situations is to do proper buddying, whereby one person stays on the surface and tracks the person underneath. It just seems a lot of people I dive with don't follow that rule and all disappear together, leaving me fighting off the rising panic. Anyone else feel like this? I guess with experience, this will diminish. Also, my brother drowned at sea, so I think that has a lot to do with my fear.
 
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Time and practice will decrease the severity of your symptoms, but it's right to feel uncomfortable when you can't find your buddy.

If you can't force your dive companions to act like good buddies, try logic. A. If you are spearfishing in clear water, you will put more fish in the boat if you follow a tight buddy system, far fewer cripples when there is a backup watching just above you, not to mention shark safety. If you are not spearfishing, there will often be times when two divers, working together can have a better interaction with marine life. Turtles come especially to mind. I've got 40 years experiance with this and its all, absolutely true. B. Good buddy practice will eventually save somebody's life, it might be yours. They are not likely to listen to this, but I've participated in 3 incidents where no buddy would, for sure, have resulted in a dead diver. It can happen. C. Its more fun to work with a tight buddy, takes a bit of getting used to, but the interpersonal interaction really is more fun. D. You have to be on the surface longer than you are under, so why not use it to monitor your buddy?

Its logical, but sometimes people just won't listen. I'm lucky, its my boat. If someone doesn't dive a tight buddy system, they don't dive.
 
Hi all,
I'm new to freediving and have an annoying tendency to panic if I can't find my dive buddy on the surface after he/she has done a dive. I get this overwhelming feeling of being alone out in the ocean, and an impending sense of doom that something awful has happened to them, and something awful will happen to me..... I guess the best way to avoid these situations is to do proper buddying, whereby one person stays on the surface and tracks the person underneath. It just seems a lot of people I dive with don't follow that rule and all disappear together, leaving me fighting off the rising panic. Anyone else feel like this? I guess with experience, this will diminish. Also, my brother drowned at sea, so I think that has a lot to do with my fear.

With the actual physical safety stuff, practise a good buddying system. Both of you, before entering the water need to check for hazards such as boat traffic, rips/currents, sharks etc.
Once in the water, both of you need to be constantly alert and aware of the surroundings, as conditions can change.
If your buddy abandons you or is not following the safety rules, get out of the water and have a chat. It could be down to ignorance or the excitement of the dive.
Have sit down chats about safety and what is expected of being a freediving buddy. A lot of new freedivers don't understand the buddy system and can't get it in their heads as to why it is so important to watch their buddy. It might be an awful reflection of our times, where people can't even concentrate on a task for longer than 1-2 minutes. I have had terrible dive buddies who did not understand after several explanations, until I used an analogy that they could relate to. The best one I have used is doing the bench press and having a "spotter". During sets, the spotter can't just get up and have a chat or go on their phone. Similarly freediving has its dangers, and a diver needs that support.

With the mental stuff, about thinking something is awful, (and addressing already the issue of a buddy), it is common among all freedivers to have that dreaded though. For me I hate murky water. If you are trying to reach a depth and you can't concentrate out of fear, just follow the line that has been set up, close your eyes and relax. Just let your hands guide you along the rope. I have reached several goals by doing this and I found my breath-holds to be longer.
Hope this helps!
 
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