Divers always tell us about their problems with anxiety when scuba diving. It's not uncommon for students to have difficulty learning to scuba dive during their practices. While mental toughness and resolve are admirable virtues, “toughing it out” has some disadvantages. If the key goal is to actually get through a bad situation from which there is no way out, only using our available energy to keep going and live makes sense. However, it's a bad way to learn to swim! There are four explanations for this:
It's perilous - Divers are killed by panic. There aren't many problems that can't be solved underwater. When a diver panics, however, they lose their desire to overcome problems and lose control of their behavior. If we believe there is a high risk of fear, we do not enter the lake. People get panicked only because there is no other way out of the situation. In certain cases, there are several solutions to a problem; all we need to do is learn them.
How can we cope with our panic triggers? Fear of falling into the waters – get very good at buoyancy control; water in the mask – learn to clear it and practice mask removal until it becomes boring; fear of sinking into the oceans – get very good at buoyancy control.
DFW Scuba Shops’ pool workouts are designed to teach you how to perform skills competently and safely in a healthy atmosphere. The last place a diver can go if they haven't perfected a technique is deep into open water. If we know this is going to cause fear, we must find a way to improve protection and reduce the danger if it does occur. For example, returning to the pool, confined or shallow water, improved weather another day, extending the course, and increasing monitoring are all options. Make the skill easier to learn and so practice it. Being ready for open water with a diver who understands they don't have to be nervous. They will solve the dilemma by putting their talents to use.
Toughing it out in a situation results in learning, but not the kind we want; it teaches your brain to dread the situation or talent. ‘Toughing’ something out, whether it's an ability like mask removal or a condition like being underwater, implies that it would be a negative thing. Forcing ourselves to get past it just confirms our suspicions. Even hearing about it makes you anxious, but that's okay; you'll get through it. Your tension levels increase as the deadline approaches.
To do so, you use coping mechanisms that are specifically aimed at preventing you from feeling bad. After that, you're finished; you've completed the target, there's a huge sigh of relief! So, what happened? First and foremost, it sure did hurt, and it just got better after you finished. So you know that the next moment won't be any different, and the emotional feelings of relaxation have just served to reinforce your decision to quit. This reinforces your behavior of wanting to get out of this position in every direction you can.
You were never completely used to the situation, so you never had the opportunity to understand that the fear is manageable and can disappear as you get more used to it. Toughing it out is a great way to tell the subconscious that this is something you can stop in the future. DFW Scuba Shop provides you the kind of training that rather helps you confront your fear in a more meditative way. So, head to our website, see for yourself how we would train you and your mind better to deal with this and even other similar situations!