Anxiety· 1 min read
The breathing drill I do before every dive
A two-minute routine on the boat that has cut my pre-dive anxiety more than any gear upgrade ever did.
This is the drill. It is unglamorous. It works.
The drill
Sitting on the boat, kitted up, mask on my forehead:
- Inhale through the nose for 4 seconds.
- Hold for 4 seconds.
- Exhale through the mouth for 6 seconds.
- Pause for 2 seconds.
- Repeat × 6.
That's it. Two minutes. No app. No counting beads.
Why it works (for me)
A long exhale nudges the parasympathetic nervous system into the front seat — the system that is in charge of "everything is fine, you can rest now." You don't need to believe in it. You just need to do it.
By the time I roll backward off the boat, my heart rate is 10–15 bpm lower than it would otherwise be. That difference shows up in my gas consumption, and more importantly, in how I feel for the first five minutes of the dive — which is when most of my anxiety used to spike.