fuzzysofa

I took a scuba diving class in late October and on my very first dive with the class I had a rather traumatic experience. I was getting ready to do a shore dive (where you hold on to your partners hands and side step into the ocean with full on gear) and the wave being really unpredictable at this one beach, it pulled both of us in. Luckily for my partner, he got up out of the water, but I started to tumble around like in a washing machine. These waters were very clear so I could see the grains of sand swooshing around, I could hear only my breathing into the regulator, and the water washing up above me. I had no control at all. I was still feeling okay, that I could get out and thinking positive. However, my instructor's girlfriend was there and she had started to scream at me to get up. I felt like panicing, just from the screaming and she was so obnoxious about it that I started to feel angry while tumbling around. I couldn't do it, I could not get up. My instructor had jumped in and grabbed me but the waves were just too powerful. The regulator had fallen out of my mouth and the screaming girlfriend put it in my mouth (only smart thing she did) I swallowed a bunch of water and sand though. Then finally someone took off my weight belt and three other divers grabbed my vest and dragged me out, until I could crawl up the beach on my own. An hour later I did my first dive and my second dive at a different beach, thinking hey I gotta get back on that horse. A week later I did my final two dives to get my certification for the class. I thought I had gotten over it. But when I was on my 3rd and 4th dives the week after the incident, a wave came over us and it scared me a little. The beach even has a nickname Mortuary Beach, because it has sucked in and drowned people before. I don't know why our instructor decided to take us to such a dangerous beach for our first dives. Since I've had many dreams of almost drowning or diving and being in danger. I have dreams of waves coming over me and feeling like I'm suffocating. I even had a dream like that last night. It doesn't affect my day, but when I think about the ocean or diving I feel stiff and a mild panic. I really want to get back in the water and try to get over it. But, diving being what it is, it could be death if I go in the water and panic 60feet under water. I just want to know if anyone has had a similar experience and what are some steps I can take to get over it and get back in the water?