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
Peter,
I have a story, too. Because of a near drowning incident at a young age, I became fearful of deep, dark water with no bottom to view. As long as I was in a pool, it wasn't a problem, but lakes and oceans terrified me. And now I am an ocean swimmer.
When I moved to Roatan, Honduras I could only swim in the ocean so I made sure I was in shallow water (5 to 60 ft.) so I could see the bottom. Once, I went too far across a inlet byte and the bottom fell out to 900 feet I found out. I was frozen so swam fast to go back to before the bottom fell away. My fear was not being able to visually see the bottom. Sweating, chills, the whole enchilada.
And here is the magnificent part: I am going to attempt to swim 19 miles from Roatan to Utila in Aug of 2008. I will be swimming in 6,000 to 23,000 feet of water with no bottom in sight. I decided to try this swim because no one has ever done it and I want to be the first. Swimming in a blue desert so to speak. Now, as I am training for this swim I am realizing that I have much bigger problems than not seeing the bottom such as : currents, tides, fishes, fatigue, nausea from salt water, and the list goes on and on. Sharks are about last on the list now. And I am 59 now, will be 60 when I do the swim and after training for so long and so hard toward this Mt. Everest so to speak, I am now gradually getting over the not seeing the bottm each and every day. It is being replaced with anticipation. I am realizing that the training is the start of the journey and the completion of the swim is the only thing that matters. This type of thinking is gradually replacing the initial fear. So even if I weren't to do the swim (which I will), I am alleviating my lifelong fear of bottomless water along the way.
Pretty productive journey so far from my perspective.
Donna
Peter,
I have a story, too. Because of a near drowning incident at a young age, I became fearful of deep, dark water with no bottom to view. As long as I was in a pool, it wasn't a problem, but lakes and oceans terrified me. And now I am an ocean swimmer.
When I moved to Roatan, Honduras I could only swim in the ocean so I made sure I was in shallow water (5 to 60 ft.) so I could see the bottom. Once, I went too far across a inlet byte and the bottom fell out to 900 feet I found out. I was frozen so swam fast to go back to before the bottom fell away. My fear was not being able to visually see the bottom. Sweating, chills, the whole enchilada.
And here is the magnificent part: I am going to attempt to swim 19 miles from Roatan to Utila in Aug of 2008. I will be swimming in 6,000 to 23,000 feet of water with no bottom in sight. I decided to try this swim because no one has ever done it and I want to be the first. Swimming in a blue desert so to speak. Now, as I am training for this swim I am realizing that I have much bigger problems than not seeing the bottom such as : currents, tides, fishes, fatigue, nausea from salt water, and the list goes on and on. Sharks are about last on the list now. And I am 59 now, will be 60 when I do the swim and after training for so long and so hard toward this Mt. Everest so to speak, I am now gradually getting over the not seeing the bottm each and every day. It is being replaced with anticipation. I am realizing that the training is the start of the journey and the completion of the swim is the only thing that matters. This type of thinking is gradually replacing the initial fear. So even if I weren't to do the swim (which I will), I am alleviating my lifelong fear of bottomless water along the way.
Pretty productive journey so far from my perspective.
Donna
