[mcclung]

I had a lady next to me start to drown and grab me in a pool when I was getting my diving certification. Despite having a supply of air, wetsuit, fins and buoyancy control device on, she got that drowning sensation when her respirator came out. Once she had someone to hold onto, sanity was restored but I totally got why drowning people are dangerous from then on.

[SiVal]

I used to teach scuba, and people would occasionally freak out and grab me as if they were trying to drown me. I wasn't too concerned about my own safety in those cases, because years of play in the ocean had taught me not to panic when unexpectedly shoved underwater. You always have some air in your lungs. Stay calm, and it will give you the time you need (unless you're in extreme conditions).

Just swim down when you are grabbed. If you kick and thrash to try to raise yourself to get your head above the water, they will feel you raising them up and try to climb on top of you for safety. So you shovel water with your arms to push yourself farther down, pulling them down just enough that their heads go underwater, too, and they'll release you quickly. They are struggling desperately to keep their heads above water and won't hang on to something that's pulling them under. Your head is already underwater, so it won't hurt you to go a little deeper, but if you panic and try to fight toward the surface, they might hold you under until it's too late for you. Go down.

Once they release, you push back out of reach, get your air at the surface, and figure out how to help them.

[shabble]

The biggest issue I had during initial training was the mask leak/loss/purge drill. From what I recall, it's a side-effect of the Diving Reflex[1] that cold water on the face (and nose especially) makes it quite difficult to keep breathing, even when you have a perfectly functional regulator in the mouth. It gets better with practice, but it's terrifying the first time, when you want to breathe, and your body is trying to stop you.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mammalian_diving_reflex

[chetanahuja]

Wow... whoever this person is, I sincerely hope they were not certified (in that attempt). This person is almost guaranteed to lose it at the first minor hassle (say getting wrapped in kelp) underwater.