Anyone who has ever had a panic attack while diving knows how frightening it can be. The problem is that a panic attack can be deadly. Hyperventilating and holding your breathe can all lead to panic attacks that can leave you with a high blood pressure, suffocating your air supply, and possibly even causing you to lose your ability to breathe. This will cause you to lose your sight and lead you to make bad decisions. You could even drown ten to fifty metres below the water, inhaling compressed air that alters the chemistry and causing you to die.
P panic attack treatment for scuba diving
The first step in treating panic attacks while scuba diving involves understanding the causes. Panic can result in injury as a diver becomes unable to think clearly or control their actions. Their only focus is to get to the surface. Their actions are unpredictable and potentially dangerous. Panic, a physiological response to severe stresses, can impair a person's ability to control their actions or pay attention to the surroundings. This can lead a person to engage in dangerous behavior that can even lead them to their death.
There are several things that can help you avoid panic attacks. Divers need to be aware of the surrounding and learn to communicate.
Signs of panic attack while scubadiving
You can check if your buddy is calm and relaxed when you're scuba diving. Early panic may indicate that your buddy is looking blankly and unable to make eyecontact. Ask your diver to stop panicking if he or she appears to be in a panic attack.
It is important to calm down panicked divers and give them reassurance. Avoid him or her running off to the side of your dive. This may further agitate the situation, and could endanger you. Avoid grabbing onto the diver and triggering an attack. This could cause the diver to lose control of their air supply and become immobile. If you are unable to calm the diver, keep a safe distance, and try to help him or her out of the water as soon as possible.
There are many reasons panic attacks while scuba diving may occur. A diver who is sensitive to alcohol or caffeine may experience panic attacks. It is important to limit caffeine and alcohol intake before diving.
You can use these observations to distract from panic attacks while scuba diving
Observations can be a powerful distraction from the panic attack. The body's reaction to panic is rapid breathing and increased levels of carbon dioxide. Your brain responds quickly to an increase of carbon dioxide by emitting stress hormones. This signaling your heart, lungs and heart to work harder. But this can also deplete your oxygen supply. Therefore, if you feel that a panic attack is coming on, you must do something to reduce the effects of the attack.
Once you are aware that panic attacks may be approaching, it is worth focusing on familiar sensations, such water on the skin or the dive watches. You can swim deeper or ascend at an easier, more safe speed if this is possible. This will allow you to push through panic and continue your dive.