// depth · breath · attention
Diving with fear,
not against it.
A blog by Ian Gabaraev — technical diver, 500 dives in. Field notes on what fear does at depth, how it stops running the show, and the small skills that quiet it.
// about
Hi, I'm Ian.
I'm a technical diver — twin sets, deco bottles, the full kit. 500 dives in, I do not panic much anymore. I used to. The gap between those two versions of me is what this blog is about.
This is the writing I wish I had had when I was certifying. It is about the parts no instructor really teaches you: panic at depth, breath rate, narcosis, post-dive shakes, and the slow, unglamorous work of becoming a calmer diver.
Start here
All writing →One Night In Dubai
Two sharks circling below, a mall watching through the glass, and me trying not to panic on the way down. My first dive was in the Dubai Aquarium.
Read this one
Recent
A Diver's Only Job
I went from terrified of the water to solo-diving to 60 metres on air. Two instructors — one Danish, one Dutch — pulled me back before the sea did.
4 min read →
When Is It OK to Call a Dive?
The water is glass, the boat is cheerful, and something in your chest is saying no. Five reasons to stay dry — and why the honest answer is: whenever.
4 min read →
Fifteen Divers on What Actually Scares Them Underwater
I asked fifteen divers what scared them most underwater. Sharks barely made the list. Current, gear turning hostile, and the mind — that was the list.
11 min read →
Topics
// surface signals
One email when a new piece goes live.
No funnels. No tracking pixels. Just the writing — and the occasional dive log.