What is the plan for 2024?

Nothing new!

Nothing new is the simple plan for Fit To Dive in 2024. 

If you have read reflections on 2023, you’ll know that there are lots of ideas still to be shared. As well as plenty of options for learning about the psychology of diving. Plus the niche coaching and therapy services available. 

You may also have noticed, there are outstanding projects such as: writing up the “bad dives” pilot study; creating a self-help guide for scuba divers impacted by traumatic incidents; publishing previous essays; and the “Talk Trauma” course (which starts 13th January).

Not listed on there are a few projects I’ve been intending to do for a while. For example, there is an audio product planned, an idea for short courses to fix common blocks (mask, regulator, DSMB ..); and a handful of physical offerings to support physical and psychological fitness to dive.

If I can get most of those running and available in the coming year, that will be enough of a success for 2024.

Word for 2024?

Resilience.

This is a word that has been intriguing me this year. It basically means capacity to withstand/recover from hard experiences, and is often equated with toughness. There are a lot of ideas about how resilience is developed, and not all of them helpful. Particularly because factors supporting development of resilience are likely to differ greatly depending on context. To take an extreme example, if a diver has symptoms of DCI, then pushing through to do another dive is more likely to develop physical damage than enhance resilience! For a more subtle argument why resilience does not always emerge from toughness, read about some ways force can diminish diver competence, and therefore resilience to adverse dives in the long-term.

It is true of course, that hard work, bravery and determination can be part of the development of resilience. But so too can rest! Sleep literally lets the brain clean itself, rest allows the vagus nerve to strengthen and social connection does more for motivation than self-criticism ever will.

These less obvious paths to resilience are integral to many of the services I already offer. Courses like Psychology for Scuba Divers help you clarify your journey as a diver. Therapy is effective in supporting divers to move on from distressing events and learn from what happened. Coaching is useful in knocking down mental blocks to performance.

So, even if I’m not talking about resilience, it’s there. However, if you are interested in these concepts, and would like to learn more about the relationships between trauma, stress, recovery and resilience, there is an opportunity to get involved in Talk Trauma. At the heart of this will be the idea that awareness of our reactions and responses to adversity impacts our diving.