Understanding the connection between awe, wellbeing, and the underwater world
Before reading, take a moment to reflect on a time you have felt awe when diving.
When have you felt truly amazed underwater?
Was it a vast reef, a sudden encounter with marine life, or the silence itself?
How did your body feel? What stayed with you afterward?
Sit with that memory for a moment. Let it come back to you. You don’t need to analyse it just reconnect to the feeling.
Awe is a complex emotional experience that combines elements of wonder, reverence, and a sense of being small in the presence of something vast or powerful. Awe is defined as “an emotion variously combining dread, veneration, and wonder that is inspired by authority or by the sacred or sublime.” (Merriam-Webster). This captures the sense that awe often arises when we encounter something larger than ourselves — whether that’s nature, a moment of beauty, or a powerful experience. Elsewhere awe is similarly defined as “a feeling of reverential respect mixed with fear or wonder,” (Oxford Languages) reflecting the way awe often includes both curiosity and a humbling sense of scale. Awe can be awful or awesome.
"Awe and wonder are essential to the human experience. Wonder fuels our passion for exploration and learning, for curiosity and adventure."
— Brené Brown
We often feel awe in the presence of something vast — a wide seascape, the open ocean, a wall of reef that drops into blue.
These moments remind us of how small we are — but not always in a threatening way. Awe arises when we experience powerlessness alongside connection.
If we lack that sense of connection, vastness might lead to fear or even terror. But when we feel safe enough, awe can emerge.
In diving, we are regularly immersed in an environment that invites this kind of experience:
drifting weightlessly,
witnessing marine life close-up,
moving through light and shadow.
These experiences can evoke awe by combining novelty, beauty, and sensory intensity — all while inviting us to pause, feel, and connect.
Recent research suggests that awe can support both mental and physical health. In a 2022 paper titled Awe as a Pathway to Mental and Physical Health, the authors identified five core effects associated with awe:
Shifts in neurophysiology, including reduced inflammation and regulated nervous system activity
Reduced self-focus, helping us feel more connected to others and less stuck in repetitive thinking
Increased relationality and prosocial behaviour, including kindness, generosity, and cooperation
Greater social integration, giving us a sense of belonging
Heightened sense of meaning, helping us find purpose and depth in our experiences
These changes are associated with improvements in well-being, physical health, and resilience. Experiencing awe may help to soften over-control, expand perspective, or shift us from striving to appreciation.
"The sea, once it casts its spell, holds one in its net of wonder forever."
— Jacques Cousteau
Scuba diving may create conditions that naturally invite awe. It takes us into unfamiliar spaces where our senses adjust and our perspective shifts. For many divers, awe arises in the simple act of being underwater; an environment that feels both expansive and intimate.
Some of the key features of diving that often evoke awe include:
The vastness of the ocean is a powerful reminder of scale that can feel humbling and grounding
Close-up encounters with marine life are surprising and moving experiences that spark curiosity and wonder
Silence and slowness means the absence of noise and urgency creates a rare sense of calm
Floating, hovering, and swimming with ease in three dimensions are unfamiliar
Fewer distractions with no spoken language or devices, attention is more focused and present
In these moments, awe emerges not as something we search for, but as something that arises: a quiet but powerful emotional response to what diving allows us to experience.
Awe can be a deeply meaningful emotion, and yet it exists on a delicate edge. The same elements that evoke awe (such as vastness, silence, and a shift in perspective) can, under different conditions, trigger fear and terrifying powerlessness. This is particularly relevant in diving, where tiny humans play in an inherently powerful ocean.
Awe involves a feeling of vastness and power, and humility as a part of nature.
Trauma or overwhelm involves the same vastness, but without the connection.
When we feel connected (to others, ourselves or the world), we can lean into awe.
Creating conditions that foster safety can arguably allow more people to access the awe-inspiring aspects of diving without tipping into anxiety or disconnection. This safety of connection can help individuals to stay open to the experience of awe.
If you're curious, you might enjoy:
The concept of “blue mind” (Wallace J. Nichols)
The paper “Awe as a Pathway to Health” (Stellar et al., 2022) https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10018061/
Articles and reflections on awe in the TDI blog (Daniel Zeri) https://www.tdisdi.com/sdi-diver-news/the-awe-factor-in-scuba-diving/
