Posted by NightDiver on October 28, 2002 at 11:24:50:
In Reply to: Panic Attack? Narcosis?? posted by Baffled on October 27, 2002 at 07:32:50:
As a previous contributor noted, your ascent from depth eliminated the primary cause for your anxiety, which was the relatively deep 90' depth. Coincidentally, it also would have alleviated any narcosis you may have been experiencing. However, narcosis, in this circumstance, would have probably only been a minor contributing factor to your sense of discomfort.
As others have noted, more frequent experience in diving at these depths will probably do a lot to lessen your sense of anxiety. I sometimes find that it just seems like there is a lot of water between you and the surface. Don't know where you were diving (assuming West Coast), but you may find that 90' in warm, clear tropical waters to be a lot less stressful (and rewarding). May also be a good way to build experience at greater depths with less stress.
One other comment based on some of the content below. A common reaction to stress and anxiety is a tendancy to focus on a particular task, perhaps even to the exclusion of other requisite tasks (e.g. checking and re-checking your gauges), especially if that task provides a sense of comfort (i.e. my gauges say I'm all right, so I must be all right). Again, narcosis may contribute, but this is usually a direct result of stress. In my experience, divers experiencing narcosis tend to become less focused, not more; or, they focus inappropriately (e.g. they wander off after something or another, losing contact with their buddy and any sense of depth, deco limits, etc.).
Just my lousy $.02. Good luck with this and hope you work it out.
DSAO,
NightDiver