Dr. William Morgan's study, published in the December 1995 issue of Sports Medicine , suggests that for divers, mental fitness may be at least as important as physical fitness. The Consequences There is little question that panic strikes divers, occasionally with catastrophic effects. Many experts, including Dr. Carl Edmonds, author of Diving and Subaquatic Medicine , believe that panic is the leading cause of diving fatalities. Many divers whose deaths have been attributed to drowning are found with adequate air in their tanks and no obvious problem with their equipment. It is thought that a large number of these fatalities are the result of panic attacks.
AGE results almost exclusively from rapid, often uncontrolled ascents.
While a small number of these cases are the product of inadequate training or equipment malfunction, the vast majority are divers who make panicked beelines for the surface. With panic being of such concern to divers, it seems natural that it would be covered in-depth during certification courses. Morgan, however, says that's not the case. He contends that the major certifying agencies have downplayed the risks associated with diving as part of the growing commercialization of the sport. Both PADI and NAUI refute Morgan's claims that they ignore the issue of panic in their training.