Open Water Scuba Diver

When a large fish swims by, surprising a diver, a natural reaction is to be startled and imagine being threatened by that fish. Remember, the perception may or not be real. The reaction of the diver may not be appropriate.

A diver who is not comfortable with the thermal conditions finds it difficult to concentrate on the tasks at hand. Actually, this diver may focus entirely on the discomfort and forget all normal skills like clearing the ears and adjusting buoyancy. Again, this stressor causes perceptual narrowing.

As a diver enters the water in a full wetsuit, there are many tasks that must be accomplished in a short time. Among these are, walking on the deck in fins which can be awkward, the entry itself, proper holding of equipment, keeping track of the buddy, clearing the ears, adjusting to buoyancy changes, and

Worry about running out of air can be a major stressor. There seems to be that thing about going underwater and breathing that increases a diver’s stress. If you swim laps in a pool, you know you must turn your head to get a breath, but that is not a significant stressor. If you have

“Deep, dark, and mysterious,” often describes the impression that new divers have about the underwater environment. This fear of the unknown certainly raises the stress levels of divers about to enter the water – especially for the first time – even when accompanied by the Instructor.

As a diver enters the water wearing a full wetsuit, the normal five senses are diminished and in some cases eliminated altogether. Underwater we cannot hear well, our field of vision is reduced by the mask, we cannot smell or taste, and if we are wearing gloves, our sense of feel is very much reduced.

Stress is stimulus that may or may not be real, but affects either our physical or mental being or both. Remember, it may or may not be real, but the diver thinks it is real and reacts accordingly, not always in the best way. We all encounter some level of elevated stress in our daily

For land-walking air-breathing people, the transition to the underwater environment is not natural. Therefore some level of anxiety occurs at the thought of breathing underwater. In this section, you will be introduced to those factors that cause elevated stress in most divers, how to recognize those stressors, and how to increase your comfort diving to

Alcohol, recreational drugs, tobacco, and other substances used by some divers can be harmful especially when making more challenging dives. The best policy is to avoid these prior to diving. In the case of alcohol, it is recommended that divers abstain the day before planned dives. Any drugs, including those prescribed by your physician, can

Divers who routinely have motion sickness should learn to solve this problem before traveling to a dive site on a boat. Medication helps, but check with your doctor if this is an issue. Here is some advice found to reduce the risk of becoming sick: If you become nauseous during the dive and believe you