I haven't dived all that much, but the initial submersion with empty lungs is super unpleasant every time, the urge to draw air is super strong. After I'm under I'm 100% fine with it and just don't think about the whole thing. I've only dived drysuit, maybe submersion is easier without.

You can get over this with more experience, but better start with shallower depths and only gradually move deeper, so you know and feel that you are not 'stuck' somewhere deep for the rest of the dive. Actually that's how certification dives should go - start in few meters, train things like losing & cleaning of the mask, sharing oxygen etc. No reason to go deeper than 4-5 meters for this.

It is vastly different environment, our bodies and senses are simply not developed for it, but we as species are very adaptable and the experience is literally out-of-this-world (especially on healthy corals, which is sadly becoming harder and harder to find).

That is extremely common, diving is very foreign to the primitive part of our brains.

It takes a high degree of self control and a positive state of mind. It is similar to yoga in its focus on breathing and stress management.

If you are feeling like you are in a healthier place mentally it is a transformative experience.

It is quite common, if not the majority of times, that new divers have a initial feeling of not getting enough air which then turn into stress and a desire to take in air even faster.

For me personally, I swam like that for a min or two, got distracted looking at a fish, and then my breathing returned to normal and I was hooked.