Is it me or do i just know more now.

[Daz217]

I started Diving about 15 years ago and never really had any issues with depth. I recall accidently being at 38M in the Sound of Mull and was quite comfortable there and not unduely worried despite being a relative novice at that time with only a handful of dives under my belt.
I even dived to 44M on the Zenobia on air and a 12L cylinder shortly afterwards(I would not even consider it now)
I had a break of about 10 years and recently returned to the sport. I have done a fair bit and in comparison to my early days i am not as reckless as i once was and am far more knowledgable than i ever was in my youth.
The thing is since my return i have dived to 30M in the Red Sea and been fine and dandy with it. However i recently dived to the Hydrobox in Stoney and did not enjoy the experience in the slightest. I wondered if i was Narced i still don't know all i can describe it as is an overwhelming feeling of "I want the f**k out of here right now." I kept my head although it was screaming at me to bugger off asap. Once i had ascended to about 28M i felt much calmer but the experience of the "I want to bolt" thought scared me a little and left me doubting my abilities.
Next came the Gozo trip and whilst diving in the 20 to 30 M range all was well.
We did the Double Arch at 38M and although i felt uneasy(possibly because of the Stoney incident) i was fine and had no desire or thoughts of bailing out.
I have had similar" i don't like it here" feelings since and it must be said all have been in Stoney. Now i don't know if the Hydro Box incident put the subsequent apprehension in my mind pre dive or wether i suffer narcosis in (relatively) bad viz.
Am i just apprehensive because i am more aware of what can go wrong and my own mortality than i was when i was a young buck in my early 20's?
I was up at Abbs last weekend and no problems at all diving 15m to 20 m range.
I am in honesty a little embarassed by these feelings but wondered what others thought. Apprehension or Narcosis( or maybe Narcosis brought on by apprehension?)
Silly really but bugging me none the less.

[gobfish1]

Originally Posted by Daz217

I started Diving about 15 years ago and never really had any issues with depth. I recall accidently being at 38M in the Sound of Mull and was quite comfortable there and not unduely worried despite being a relative novice at that time with only a handful of dives under my belt.
I even dived to 44M on the Zenobia on air and a 12L cylinder shortly afterwards(I would not even consider it now)
I had a break of about 10 years and recently returned to the sport. I have done a fair bit and in comparison to my early days i am not as reckless as i once was and am far more knowledgable than i ever was in my youth.
The thing is since my return i have dived to 30M in the Red Sea and been fine and dandy with it. However i recently dived to the Hydrobox in Stoney and did not enjoy the experience in the slightest. I wondered if i was Narced i still don't know all i can describe it as is an overwhelming feeling of "I want the f**k out of here right now." I kept my head although it was screaming at me to bugger off asap. Once i had ascended to about 28M i felt much calmer but the experience of the "I want to bolt" thought scared me a little and left me doubting my abilities.
Next came the Gozo trip and whilst diving in the 20 to 30 M range all was well.
We did the Double Arch at 38M and although i felt uneasy(possibly because of the Stoney incident) i was fine and had no desire or thoughts of bailing out.
I have had similar" i don't like it here" feelings since and it must be said all have been in Stoney. Now i don't know if the Hydro Box incident put the subsequent apprehension in my mind pre dive or wether i suffer narcosis in (relatively) bad viz.
Am i just apprehensive because i am more aware of what can go wrong and my own mortality than i was when i was a young buck in my early 20's?
I was up at Abbs last weekend and no problems at all diving 15m to 20 m range.
I am in honesty a little embarassed by these feelings but wondered what others thought. Apprehension or Narcosis( or maybe Narcosis brought on by apprehension?)
Silly really but bugging me none the less.

your fine, you just found your happy zone , stay in it ,

[Waskey]

I think it has more to do with knowledge and experience, rather than age. Granted, I'm 20 and I still think I'm indestructible, but I don't want to die and I don't want to watch a mate die, so I'm a bit more careful. I take 'stupid amounts of gas' on dives that you could get away with less, but at the end of the day I'd rather have too much than not enough. No point doing a dive deeper than 30m unless you have the right amount of gas to actually enjoy it, ie spend a fair whack of time down there, rather than bounce it.
Don't get me wrong, I'm still stupid when it comes to running up the deco, but I always want to know that I have the gas. Tis the reason I now dive with manifolded twin 12s and not a 12 and a pony as I did before.

I think a fair few dives, where a fair bit has gone wrong, and 8 years worth of absorbing knowledge like a sponge, whilst realising I also know nothing has kept me from straying too far over the limits. I've seen the advantages of doing it properly.

[nigelH]

Although it is said that Narcosis effects everybody differently and perhaps the same person differently on each exposure I seem to find that it emphasises what is already there.

I become a procedure freak which, I have to confess, I am always a bit.

If you are happy you become euphoric, if you are nervous you become panicky.
That does seem to match your experience.

[Daz217]

Sounds right. I get apprehensive when i know it's going to be sub 30M don't know why i just do. Happy as Larry up to that depth and even deeper when it isn't pre planned (i.e i don't know about it before hand so therefore don't think about it )

[mala]

i agree with nigel.

everyone has a bad day for no apparent reason every once in a while.

2p

[Mark Chase]

When I was in my 20s I rode a moterbike flat out and on the limit and loved it. Now in my 40s I still love bikes but they scare me at half the limit let alont at it.

Its all part of getting more mature and realising your not imortal and that others rely on you. In diving terms I havent had the big lay off but even after a short period of inactivity over a bad winter I can find my self feeling uncomfortable at depth. It takes a couple of good dives to find my feet again.

You have to listen to your heart and do what you feel confortable doing. Its a sport we do for fun, not a competition, so dont push it, take it easy and if you feel the need to go deeper then build up to it slowley.

ATB

Mark Chase

[chrisch]

Apprehension and narcosis build on one another as everyone has said. Much better to be like this than over-confident. IMHO.
My missus had a similar "block" with deeper stuff possibly due to an incident in her early training. We did a trimix course and that helped very much. She's OK on air to 40 now and deeper on mix, a totaly confident and altogether different diver. Have a look at one of the recreational courses, IANTD Advanced Rec or BSAC Sports Mixed Gas.
Please don't be embarassed - you have nothing to be embarassed about that is for sure.

Chris

[Steve S]

Hi Daz,

some excellent YD advice in the posts above, my limited experience of narcosis is that it magnifies whatever mood you are in at the surface.

Listen to your inner voice and avoid depths/dives that will take you out of your comfort zone, after all there are a plethora of wrecks/dives shallower than 30m that are worth doing.

Good luck.

Safe diving,
Steve

[ray]

Originally Posted by Daz217

i don't like it here" feelings since and it must be said all have been in Stoney.

I no what you mean!.