Under Pressure

There I was--clinging to a thin metal cable, 60 feet underwater off the coast of Hawai’i. The deep, clear, soundless blue stretched around me for what seemed like miles in every direction. But I wasn’t admiring the view. I had been slowly working my way down the lifeline for ten minutes when suddenly, a pounding headache hit me. My head felt like it was blowing up like a balloon from the inside; my body was refusing to equalize!

Back in 2018, I was 15 years old. My family had been planning a trip to Hawai’i for five years, and the time had finally come! We set forth on our voyage in mid-October. My Dad and I had heard amazing things about the scuba experiences off the island of Oahu (where my family and I were staying), so in preparation, we had earned our PADI Open Water Diver certificates that summer. He had decided to make this trip a once-in-a-lifetime experience, so he booked a diving session for the two of us with a local charter company. This wasn’t any old diving session though. We were to sail a mile off the coast and dive 107 feet deep to explore the abandoned wreck of a WWII Navy Corsair.

However, the drastic change in climate from chilly Virginia to sunny Honolulu was not kind to my allergies. The charter had a very strict rule--they would not take anybody with a head cold or congestion issues on one of their trips because the client would have difficulty “equalizing.”

Equalizing is a procedure all divers must undergo. At the surface, you experience only the weight of the atmosphere resting upon you (1 atm.) But for every 33 feet deep you dive, you experience the weight of an additional atmosphere pressing down on you. To counter the effects of this massive outside pressure, you must make the inside pressure of your body equal to the outside pressure (equalizing). You do this by holding your nose and blowing into it, or by wiggling your jaw--exactly as you would if you were driving up or down a tall mountain and you began to feel the change in altitude. You must do this frequently the deeper you go, otherwise the pressure buildup inside your skull will burst your eardrums.

Dad and I weren’t going to let a couple sniffles stop us though, so early Wednesday morning we set out on the little charter skiff to the site of the wreck. Our oxygen tanks would empty exponentially faster than they would at the surface due to the enormous pressure at that depth (3 atm.!), so our dive could last no longer than 30 minutes. As Dad and I began to descend the dive line, we could see the Corsair, half buried in the smooth white sand below. It looked as small as a Matchbox airplane. Then, about halfway down the line, my ears wouldn’t equalize!

I held my hand out flat and shook it to signal to my Dad that there was a problem. He waited patiently while I anxiously tried to clear my head of the excess pressure--it was very painful, like a migraine--you feel like there are angry hornets trapped behind your forehead, pushing, struggling to escape. Every second we wasted on that line was a precious second that could’ve been spent exploring the wreck-but my Dad faithfully waited for me to equalize. Finally, after what seemed like hours of gulping and blowing into my face mask, my clogged sinuses cleared and my ears opened with what seemed like an explosive pop--and we were on our way! We still got to enjoy five minutes of exploring the rusted, eel-infested plane, despite having wasted so much time on the lifeline.

Equalizing is a crucial skill for all divers to have--and it should be an essential coping skill for land-lubbers too. What do you do when pressure shows up in your life? How do you equalize to cope with the effects of stress and pressure at home, work, or school? Do you call up a close friend and tell them about your day? Do you go for a walk or run, or take a nap to help your body and mind reset? My exhortation to you today is to think over what you do in times of stress and hardship, and single out that relief. Single out that cure that allows you to take your mind off the bustle of everyday life. Single out that cure that helps you take the time to enjoy the life around you. Remember it, and use it to equalize your life when the pressure surrounding you becomes too great.