Quote:
Originally Posted by pimp4cheddar
That "what if" panic/concern is what really scares me. I'm far from a control freak...but that's just way too heavy on my mind...
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This was the most important point in the whole thread. EVERY student and prospective diver has that same feeling, unless they are too young to understand, but that's a different problem. The fact you realize this is 75% of the battle. You get the other 25% from mastering the skills taught in class.
You've received great advice here. You just need more time in the pool. Once you get over that mental hump and realize your skills can get you out of ANY situation that can happen underwater, you will be fine. Outside of running out of air (I am religious about always knowing how much air I have and am using), I have had just about every bad thing you can imagine happen to me underwater, and I'm still here.
I could talk for hours about this, but I'll leave you with a quick story about one of my best customers and former students. A couple took classes and the woman took to it like a fish and had no problems at all. But the man sounds a lot like you. He was OK skill-wise, but wasn't comfortable. He wasn't comfortable doing the open water portion of class right after the classroom and pool work, so I told him to come back to the pool as often as he needed to get comfortable. I bet he came to 15 pool sessions over the next year and finally said he was ready. Now he goes on trips all the time and takes pictures and says it's the greatest thing he's ever done. He had to work at it, but he got there.
Scuba diving may not be for you, its not for everybody. But you sound like you really want to do it, so I hope you give it another shot.
Best of luck