Hi Everybody,
I need your help. I am writing a book that aims to help people overcome their fear of water or deep water and I need some input and interviews with anyone who fits the following categories:
1. You are comfortable in the water/underwater. Yet you can remember a time when you were not and can describe in great detail what changed for you.
2. You consider yourself part fish(!) and are extremely comfortable in any one or all of the following: surf, deep scuba, competitive swimming, open water swimming, or freediving. How do you view fear in your activity? Are there things that are beyond your considerable comfort zone?
3. You may be a confident swimmer, but still have fear or anxiety about being in deep water/open water/ or water over your head. What thoughts, feelings, and ideas are contributing to that unease? How do you feel in a pool, lake, river, sea, or ocean?
4. You or someone you know overcame a fear of the water on their own or with the help of someone else. What made the difference?
Obviously, it would be great to have a discussion here, but I am also looking to interview those of you with have interesting things to say that can help other people see their own relationships to water in a new light. I believe that thread content is copyrighted, so I don't think I can use anything posted for my book. I will ideally like to conduct the interview over the phone, Skype, or by email. If you are in Vancouver, BC, I'd be happy to meet you.
Please send me a Private Email if you can help!
Many thanks,
Peter Scott
Vancouver, BC
Parents
Former Member
I'm very comfortable in the water, always was, until my brother died at age 18.
All 3 of us kids were competitive swimmers,from grade school to High School. I'm the youngest. When my middle brother died in a scuba diving accident, I quit swimming while in HS. As time went on I still water skied, swam in the lake etc... but when it came to swimming in the pool I would just stand around, never put my head under.
When teaching my kids how to swim I only put my head under only a couple times, and man did I feel like I was never going to reach the top and all I had to do was stand up!! I would think man am I messed up or what, I can't even put my head under the water, and I could have gone to State in HS.
27 yr. later I joined the "Y" I was scared, very scared... but thought if I don't face this, how can I help my kids with their own fears. And I really wanted my 14yr old daughter to be a good swimmer, maybe not be competitive but just be more comfortable and able to swim better.
So when I got in the pool, just kept focused on my daughter ability to swim like a dolphin and just went for it. I put my head under the water and stood up and said to my self, there you did it and your still breathing. I just kept doing this, I would then swim the width of the pool, then from swallow to half the pool. Then from just being able to touch to swimming across the deep. Little baby steps, after all it was 27 yr and 2 kids later.
I've even faced my HS coach, whom I quit on, he remember me, everything about me.
He was/is very gracious and lets me come anytime I want to practice starts or what ever.
Now I'm swimming 2000yds, 3 days a week. Entered one swim meet, which I thought I wouldn't be able to do, I did have a small anxiety attack while waiting for the meet to start, but found someone to talk to and it went away.
I truly believe that if you face your fears you become a better person. I fell great!!
I know now that fear do go away.
I'm very comfortable in the water, always was, until my brother died at age 18.
All 3 of us kids were competitive swimmers,from grade school to High School. I'm the youngest. When my middle brother died in a scuba diving accident, I quit swimming while in HS. As time went on I still water skied, swam in the lake etc... but when it came to swimming in the pool I would just stand around, never put my head under.
When teaching my kids how to swim I only put my head under only a couple times, and man did I feel like I was never going to reach the top and all I had to do was stand up!! I would think man am I messed up or what, I can't even put my head under the water, and I could have gone to State in HS.
27 yr. later I joined the "Y" I was scared, very scared... but thought if I don't face this, how can I help my kids with their own fears. And I really wanted my 14yr old daughter to be a good swimmer, maybe not be competitive but just be more comfortable and able to swim better.
So when I got in the pool, just kept focused on my daughter ability to swim like a dolphin and just went for it. I put my head under the water and stood up and said to my self, there you did it and your still breathing. I just kept doing this, I would then swim the width of the pool, then from swallow to half the pool. Then from just being able to touch to swimming across the deep. Little baby steps, after all it was 27 yr and 2 kids later.
I've even faced my HS coach, whom I quit on, he remember me, everything about me.
He was/is very gracious and lets me come anytime I want to practice starts or what ever.
Now I'm swimming 2000yds, 3 days a week. Entered one swim meet, which I thought I wouldn't be able to do, I did have a small anxiety attack while waiting for the meet to start, but found someone to talk to and it went away.
I truly believe that if you face your fears you become a better person. I fell great!!
I know now that fear do go away.
