strange feeling of anxiety

[Jiminca]

I started freediving before there was a name for it, or at least before I knew the name for it. I was that kid with old second hand gear that would bug everyone in the neighborhood to get in the water even on the coldest nastiest days it's all I could think about. I slowed down a little while raising a family. 12 years ago I went on a abalone trip in northern California where the water is cold and dark, without hesitation I jumped in and made a few dives, My friend wouldn't get in, he was spooked by news of GW shark sightings, cold water and bad visibility didn't thrill him ether. after an hour I had a strange uneasy feeling I thought it was just the conditions. a few months later I was in Thailand, crystal clear warm water it was perfect but right after I got in I had that feeling again, the moment my face goes under the water I can't wait to get it out, if I breath slow and work through it it gets a little better but its always there like some sort of mild panic attack. I've never had a bad experience in 45 years of freediving or scuba diving. it's taken almost all the joy out of what I used to love more than anything. has anyone else experienced this? or have any suggestions on overcoming it?

 

[SubSub]

Sounds messes up! Have no input of value on the topic, but I hope you manage to get through it! Best wishes!

 

[japppo]

For me it has been the opposite, always been enthusiastic about the underwater, but shit scared since I was a kid, but slowly working more challenging conditions to win my anxiety.

After a terrible, cold, dark night dive the warm swimming pool feels like a paradise on the next day. Tried that?

 

[Jiminca]

It's worth a try. I used to have a mild case of claustrophobia as a kid but only super tight places like if I had to climb under a house but I had no problem diving with 0 viz at night with 3/8" wet suit. these days that sounds like hell and it kills me because lobster season just opened.

 

[Jan Kaspar]

This is an interesting TED on camo and it’s efficacy. You can fast forward to 9 min, but the whole thing is interesting.


Also, if you look at the statistics, the chances are really quite low. You have a better chance of dyeing on the way to the water from a car accident.
https://www.thewildlifemuseum.org/exhibits/sharks/odds-of-a-shark-attack/

https://www.wildlife.ca.gov/Conservation/Marine/White-Shark

With all that said, its natural for the thought to occur, and things like that can consume you. You’ve been diving far longer than I have, but I know about that sort of thing from mountain biking. The head is a powerful thing. It can be a total blocker on your abilities in a sport, and negative thoughts can take over.

Try meditation of sorts. Lie down on the couch and take yourself on an imaginary dive. Shoot some fish and weave through some kelp. Then get out of the water. This may sound hippy dippy, but if you’re like me, you find yourself lying on the couch anyways from time to time


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro

 

[Aerwyna]

Just remember Your odds of getting attacked by a shark are very slim. Also Remember that even if a shark Wanted to attack and eat you up, You would have no control over it anyways So just have fun Diving.

 

[Jiminca]

I don't think it's sharks that make me anxious, I get the same sensation when i,m in the pool, I think it has something to do with fear of suffocating as strange as it sounds, I can be breathing through a snorkel at the time. I haven't tried scuba since i started feeling this way but maybe I should in a pool and see what happens.

 

[cdavis]

Psycological stuff can sneak up on you. I've gotten addicted to diving with a buddy, after decades of fearless solo diving, and not having one kicks off anxiety sort of like what you describe. Sounds like something in your (fairly recent) background is kicking off that reaction. Can you figure out what? Seems pretty wierd, but a good mental councelor might be able to help. Once you figure out what, a councelor can help you work through it and beat it.

 

[SubSub]

Lol. Yeah. I have some sort of uncomfortable feeling when diving around larger sunken man made objects, like wrecks. Apparently there is a name for that; Submechanophia. But I try to challenge myself and dive there anyways. After a few dives the feeling of being very uncomfortable diminish.

 

[cdavis]

Yep, LOL. That approach works most of the time. Doesn't work worth a damn on my buddyless anxiety, it just seems to get worse.

 

[SubSub]

Yep, LOL. That approach works most of the time. Doesn't work worth a damn on my buddyless anxiety, it just seems to get worse.

Well, you’re diving in entirely different waters than me. Perhaps I’d be more sketched out if I knew there were big sharks roaming the waters (actually there are, but they don’t cause much trouble).

 

[cdavis]

Buddy diving is funny. Until PFI convinced me that I needed to buddy dive(and my buddy BOed the very next time diving), I never even considered the possibility. NOTHING bothered me. I can tell more personal aggressive shark stories than any reasonable person would want to listen too. But, I got used to diving a tight buddy system. So used to it that I actively dislike diving alone, to the point I just can't do it. Its like a drug and I'm hooked.

 

[PrimeMerian]

I don't think it's sharks that make me anxious, I get the same sensation when i,m in the pool, I think it has something to do with fear of suffocating as strange as it sounds, I can be breathing through a snorkel at the time. I haven't tried scuba since i started feeling this way but maybe I should in a pool and see what happens.

I started freediving before there was a name for it, or at least before I knew the name for it. I was that kid with old second hand gear that would bug everyone in the neighborhood to get in the water even on the coldest nastiest days it's all I could think about. I slowed down a little while raising a family. 12 years ago I went on a abalone trip in northern California where the water is cold and dark, without hesitation I jumped in and made a few dives, My friend wouldn't get in, he was spooked by news of GW shark sightings, cold water and bad visibility didn't thrill him ether. after an hour I had a strange uneasy feeling I thought it was just the conditions. a few months later I was in Thailand, crystal clear warm water it was perfect but right after I got in I had that feeling again, the moment my face goes under the water I can't wait to get it out, if I breath slow and work through it it gets a little better but its always there like some sort of mild panic attack. I've never had a bad experience in 45 years of freediving or scuba diving. it's taken almost all the joy out of what I used to love more than anything. has anyone else experienced this? or have any suggestions on overcoming it?

Aloha Jiminca,

It is called Senior Anxiety. You can look it up and it is often listed as a disorder, but really, it is normal for older people. I have it to and as some of the commenters noted, it is easy to overcome with the joys of diving. Like you I have 50 years or more of diving, or at least since I started free diving, and it can be debilitating. But, once I get in the water and get into a rhythm, it works itself out. Mostly, it is knowing that it is a natural part of aging that can get us through it. We lived this long - we want to live longer - especially when we enjoy what we are doing like diving! Fear of loosing it all makes us anxious. Grandparents get it over grandchildren. Fear of driving, fear of the shower, fear of anything dangerous.

It is not - "Get over it!" It is understanding what is happening to you as you get older.

Aloha

 

[Jiminca]

Thank you, That makes a lot of sense, at this point, I cherish my life more than more than words could describe and I have a son that needs me. I'v been spending lots of time in the pool and it's getting much better, I think there is also an element of claustrophobia as well when I use my black silicone mask I feel it. I'm going to dig out my clear mask and try that. I will also look up what you suggested.
Thanks again

 

[PrimeMerian]

Aloha Jiminca,

Yes, try the clear mask. There are very many ways we feel the love for life but senior anxiety should not stop us from living it!

Aloha

 

[cdavis]

Thanks PrimeMerian, you added to my knowledge. I'd never heard of of Senior Anxiety and I'm old enough for it. Makes sense and matches some of what I've been feeling in the last few years. I just charged it off to increasing caution with age and mostly ignored it. Nice to have something to hang it on.

 

[PrimeMerian]

Aloha CD,

Really, we need all we can get! The youngun's have all the advantages. They know how all this stuff works - technology-wise anyway.

Aloha

 

[cdavis]

Technology?? whats that? I got a real nice 8 track tape set.

"all the advantages", Not quite, experiance and skill go a long way. A few years ago, I took a trip back to the southern Bahamas , where I had not been for 25 years. It was very fun to discover that I was a whole lot better, deeper, longer diver than back in the day, just not as much endurance. Occasionally I get to watch newer divers; many of them have a long way to go, (and , of course, a few are better than I'll ever be.)

Aloha

 

[PrimeMerian]

Aloha CD,

Yes, in my surfing days, I used to sleep to the sounds from my 8 track in my panel truck, then wake up before dawn to hit the waves. Freediving and surfing big waves have a common need - the three minute breath-hold. It was a good life back then. I even surfed at night. I was legally blind then so not much difference, I still used to hit my head against my board before I saw it, LOL. Now with lasered eyes, I can see above and below the water, much better.

Aloha

 

[PrimeMerian]

Aloha fabrizcaidyn, It is called "Senior Anxiety". It happens in a number of situations besides diving. Sometimes it is called dread but it is the same thing. We are old and want to live even longer and enjoy the grandchildren we may not even have. We no longer have the denial of mortality we had as kids. Get used to it. But it does make us think first! Then do. The wisdom of age. Aloha