The word for this year is: “adaptive”.

I provide a lot of Eye-Movement Desensitisation and Re-Processing (EMDR). It is helpful in recovering from diving-related trauma (diving injury, boat incidents, drowning etc.) and addressing blocks to skill performance.

The theory underneath EMDR is called “Adaptive Information Processing”. The theory is that the human brain creates neural networks for responding to the things that happen to us. Throughout life we develop adaptive networks to help us respond to events in ways that are useful to us and those around us. Like focusing on a lesson learned from making mistakes, choosing to do something useful or connecting with compassion. We also have maladaptive networks, the beliefs and feelings we have accumulated from distressing experiences. That can include negative beliefs we hold about ourselves: “I always get stuff wrong”, “I am not good enough” or “I can’t cope”. (Inside Out II, the animated movie, depicts this process well).

Reacting to traumatic events, challenges in training and diving

When something bad happens, often we can turn quickly to the adaptive networks: “how can I help?”, “what can I learn?”. However, sometimes our system is overwhelmed. This can happen when: a new trauma connects with an old one; there are multiple or prolongued traumas; or we are not in a psychologically safe-enough context to process what happened. Then, the memory of the experience gets put in a holding pattern: shoved somewhere out of sight in the nervous system. Around it grows a wall of maladaptive networks. The person is then stuck with distress, avoidance of that distress, a stressed nervous system and occassional re-living of the unwanted memory. Learning is put on pause.

We can also think of the role of adaptive networks in training and performance of skills. The capacity to switch from an error, or struggle, into an adaptive response pattern is core to learning new skills. For example, I can remember a practice session with sidemount kit where I could not clip the cylinders on to the d-rings (which are placed out of sight on the hip). I was wearing a drysuit and think gloves, and it had been a while since I’d done it. A mounting frustrating with the fiddly task was building and I could have got lost in the maladaptive networks: “i can’t do this”, “it’s impossible”, “maybe there is something wrong with the equipment, stupid gloves” … Instead, I paused. I acknowledged the frustration. Then slowed down, put the cylinders down. I took a really good look at the clips, I felt where the d-ring is on the back of my harness. Starting again, I used both hands to guide the clip on once, I then used the one hand to briefly unclip and reclip – barely taking the clip away. I then increased the distance, unclipping and reclipping over and over until I could do it fluidly. To do that, I was accessing the adaptive networks in my brain, drawing from knowledge of motor learning and backward chaining, as well as the physiology of emotion and attention.

You may also notice this after a dive. Do you ever find yourself getting lost in negative self-talk, rumination or guilt over a mistake? Or perhaps in telling stories to yourself about what an idiot your buddy was today?! This can have a siginificant impact on the person doing it, because these negative thinking patterns and emotion reactions can get ingrained. They don’t tend to change much. Instead, we can move into the adaptive networks by reflecting on what happened, feeling the associated emotions and focusing on what can be learned. De-briefing processes and logbook reflections can support this.

Help to access the adaptive information networks

We can often process distress and move into more useful thinking and actions quite quickly. In fact, effective instruction will include connection to your adaptive networks such as having the space and time to figure out skills and make mistakes. Or the encouragement to use what you know and the testing of aquired knowledge. There are also habits we can build, such as pausing or asking questions like “what did I learn?”

However, sometimes there is an old wound that has not healed and occassionally the events that happen simply overwhelm the system. When that happens, we may need help to reaccess the adaptive networks of the brain again. That can mean therapy after a trauma or support to overcome a skills block.

Plan for 2025

Individual therapy to process distress and support reconnection to adaptive behaviour is something I already offer. Last year, after extra training, I was able to refine that alot and now also provide a package for divers who have had a recent traumatic event, including diving incidents as well as dive boat catastrophes.

I can also help with skills blocks after less dramatic bad experiences in diving. For example, fear of mask clearing or deep water entries. However, individual work on this is a significant expense. People often tend to leave it until it’s become a real problem or is getting in the way of technical dive training. Although working individually is an option, the cost can be a barrier for some.

This year, I’ll be working on some group options as a way to share the cost with other divers who have a similar issue. This will include:

• Small groups focusing on one common, open-water level, skill block (e.g. mask, regulator, DSMB or deep water entry)
• Reflective group sessions to support individual processing of bad dives

You may also look at developing your psychological flexibility with Scubaflex courses or expanding your adaptive information networks in the existing courses. If you would like to be notified of the new services, make sure you are on the newsletter.