I enjoy the look of discovery and the satisfaction of facing and conquering ones inner fears or anxieties. In Yoga or Zen meditation classes the student is taught the OMM sound. In doing so they are forced to exhale almost all their breath. All that bad, CO2 and often smoke filled air, is finally emptied from the lungs allowing fresh, oxygenated air to be inhaled in its stead. This type of breathing is similar to panic breathing which is short and shallow breaths.
Ofcourse panic is the real killer in diving just as it is in any many other sports.
It is important to keep your cool and to think, breath and then act in any tough or fearful situation. Panic breath means that one never is able to take a complete breath because one never fully exhales their prior breath. I use laughter, singing and even primal scream techniques to force my students to exhale in conjunction with a shallow off shore reef dive to bring all the best parts of diving to the first timer. Still by having a thorough over-view each diver has the option of absorbing as much information as they are capable. In a time when most insurance rates are skyrocketing the dive industries rates are incredibly low because the accident statistics today are incredibly low.