All divers experience fear, and probably more often than they’d care to admit. From the sickening moment when you’re gear catches on something in a wreck to a full blown problem with a buddy, any of us who have dived a fair bit will have been through these situations.

Then there’s the fear that you experience when you first start to dive. Will you use your air too fast? Will I remember to do all the things I’m supposed to do? Where’s my buddy gone? On any dive, you have to be able to multi task, and in the early days this just doesn’t come naturally.

An element of fear is actually a good thing. It’s one of the contributory factors to keeping us safe. The moment we become blasé about diving, the moment all the fear disappears, is the moment when we start to make mistakes. The skill is to recognize the fear, to act on it and above all, to control it when it hits us.

Here’s what we should do when fear strikes during a dive:

• Step One is always, always to control breathing. When adrenaline courses through your veins, your heart rate and rate of breathing increase dramatically. So concentrate on deep, slow breaths, and stop moving.
• Step Two is to establish exactly what the problem is. Can you solve it yourself? Or do you need help?
• Step Three is to locate your buddy. Make eye contact, find a way to tell him or her what the problem is and indicate if they need to help or just be on hand.
• Step Four is to deal with the problem itself.
• Step Five is to make the decision – go on with the dive or abort? Whichever it is, convey the message to your buddy and stay with him or her. If you have any doubts about your equipment, abort the dive.

And if you’re the buddy:

• Once you realize there’s a problem, get as close as you can.
• Look your buddy in the eye, and try to keep your own eyes “calm.”
• If your buddy is panicking, touch them – put your hand on their jacket, arms or hands.
• Try to understand their situation and what they are conveying to you.
• If between you, you can resolve the situation, then make sure the fear has gone from their eyes before continuing the dive.
• If in any doubt, signal to surface and hold your buddy all the way up.

Each time you successfully overcome fear, either as a diver or a buddy, you’ll become a better diver.

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1/ Medical Mick’s Scariest diving accident

2/ Funniest scuba story of the year!

3/ A case of nitrogen narcosis