'N' a friend I was speaking to this week said he has completely given up spearfishing because he had a ‘shallow water blackout’.
This is when one holds their breath, dives down and just when they are about to resurface they black out. It has to do with 'partial pressure of oxygen' which I won't go into. It is one of the most frequent causes of death in spearfishing and free diving because it is unexpected. Only a buddy that happens to be watching can save you.
Why did this happen? Because the excitement of chasing a fish overruled the logical alarm bells. This is not surprising because the human response system directs action to what feels right rather than what is logically right.
Therefore, it is very helpful for people spearfishing - in fact for everyone - to practice observation techniques such as mindfulness, to become more aware in real-time of the interplay between thoughts and feelings and make better choices.
Author: JD
Image by FIRST online from Pixabay
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