"The resort has many levels of stone platforms from which you can either jump into the ocean, or climb in via the ladder on the cliff's edge. Dan had been snorkeling just off the cliffs in the morning, and when I stopped to check on him he convinced me to climb down the ladder and get my feet in the water, then to try on his snorkel and mask, then to hold his shoulders while he took me out about 5 feet.
It was amazing to look through the mask and see the bright fish and marine life along the rocky walls, but try as I might, I could not stop the panic attacks. I took deep breaths through the snorkel, trying to talk myself down, then the water would move me and it felt as though someone had punched me full in the stomach. Fear had a hard grip on my gut... my chest would clench and I could not make myself breathe. I'd pop my head out of the water, rip off the mask and snorkel, and gasp for air... as if I'd been suffocating. Logically I knew I should be able to breathe through the snorkel, but the movement of the water, the lack of control of my surroundings, made the panic absolute.
Dan patiently took me back to the ladder, and after handing him back his gear I climbed - still shaking - from the deceptively calm looking water and back onto the safety of dry land. The firm, rugged stone platform was soothing and I sat at the bottom of the stairway, drying in the sun and feeling the heat from the solid stone beneath me."