Fear of (Deep) Water - Need Your Comments!

[laminarman]

The idea for the book comes from meeting so many people who have varying levels of comfort in the water. But most are not as comfortable as they could be. And those who don't dare go in deep water, even though they can swim quite well, are often frustrated by this.

My own mother loves swimming, but can't bear to put her head in the water and swim properly or go under water. Growing up her parents and their friends told her that if she went under she would surely drown. So she challenged me to fix that for her!

My own background is in competitive and deep recreational freediving. I competed for Team Canada in 2001 at the World Championships. I have lifeguard training and will soon start teaching and coaching swimming. I also swim a lot and surf, windsurf, etc... The only sport I really haven't tried yet is scuba diving, although I know many scuba divers and bump into them all the time at depth.

Anyway, being comfortable underwater has made all the difference to me in pursuing many different watersports. I feel that this is the missing link in water sport instruction. For example, here in Vancouver, I have seen many open water scuba students struggling to relax in the water and panicking because they have no idea how to move or stay relaxed underwater. It doesn't matter if they have compressed air. Everything minute they appear one step away from having an anxiety attack.

Knowing how to relax underwater has made swimming and other water sports so much more enjoyable. While I learned much of it during my competitive freediving years, I realized that I could distill some key approaches and help people achieve a similar degree of confidence in the water. In my view, knowing your options in whatever water you are in helps enormously.

I used to be afraid of the ocean when I was growing up. I was used to swimming in lakes and gradually learned by trial and error to be more and more comfortable. However, I think there's an opportunity to shorten and reduce the learning curve.

In my own experiences, I have had deep freedives to over 200 feet where I've felt amazing and in full control. However, my heart often pounds when I freedive in an unfamiliar place, especially in the open ocean.

In my mind, we all have fear. It's just the skills, mental approach, and resources that helps us to manage it in a positive way.

Pete

 

[Scram Bulleggs]

In the ocean I get very nervous over things I can't see. That was really the only fear I had. Since reading this board alot I have a very big fear of doing something wrong or equipment failure. Ignorance is bliss

 

[Kim]

Ignorance is bliss

But it's a very false, potentially dangerous, kind of bliss!

Maybe it's more worrying to become aware of things that CAN go wrong, but at the same time the chance also becomes greater that IF something does go wrong, you have more of a chance to be able to deal with it.

Diving isn't for ostriches!

 

[Diver0001]

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, open water swimming, deep recreational or competitive freediving. How do you view fear in your activity? Are there things that are beyond your considerable comfort zone? Do any of the activities listed make you uneasy?

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

Peter,

I'll be happy to contribute to your efforts.

PM your skype name to me and I'll drop you a line in the next couple of weeks.

Rob

 

[EvaL]

Not sure if this is relevant: I didn't seem to have any phobias about water and diving underwater until my recent 170th dive in Cozumel. I was diving last, in a group of 4 (DM + a husband-and-wife team and me), was using a new camera and strobe, in relatively deep water (80ft) and fighting the current to photograph a fish, when I got separated from the rest of the group. I stared hyper-ventilating and fearful thoughts (OMG, I can't get enough air, I need to get to the surface) came to my mind, fotunately logic crept back into my mind and I managed to slow my breathing, found the group and completed the dive.
I don't know if the phobia is still present. In my post-dive analysis, I attributed this incident to mental overloading (new camera, lots of adjustments), overworking my physical abilities (fighting the current) and not having a buddy or not having one close enough. I have continued diving, I stay closer to my buddy, I'm not as eager to snap photos UW and I'm more careful to dive within my limits - I now have a greater respect for the ocean.

 

[Scram Bulleggs]

Sarcasm is so lost on the internet

 

[Carribeandiver]

my way of thinking is if I am in 15-30 feet of water and something happens to my breathing apparatus, I can get to the surface before I drown. But if I am deeper, then I am putting my life in the hands of a whole bunch of people I dont know who made my life support gear and that is scary, if you think about it.

 

[Diver0001]

I think I might have been a fish in a previous life. When I'm under water I feel totally at ease. So much so that I think it might be a risk factor for my diving. It takes a awful lot for me to feel uneasy. Too much....

However, I can get startled by marine life.... If a seal suddenly pops up out of nowhere and swims between my legs I'll admit to just about jumping out of my flippers until I realise what it is.

In Egypt I found myself floating around in the blue with a buddy how had trouble with her mask and when a big-a s s whitetip reefshark came to see if that nervousness was attached to something edible I got pretty depressed.

The first baracuda I saw that was as big as I was made a larger-than-life impression..... it followed us on a mid water safety stop in Mexico and seemed to be waiting for me to look the other way.... that kind of thing.

I think it's related to my childhood (duh....everything you don't like about yourself is related to your childhood). When I was a kid I hated swimming in the local lake because I was afraid that the mud-suckers (carp) would bite my feet. Of course they never did, but that puddle was full of fish and it affected my feeling about it.

In the lake a little further up, however, there were no carp and I would swim across it without even the most remote feeling of unease. It really seemed to depend on teh carp. Unfortunately for me, nobody ever bothered telling me that carp don't bite and I was too shy to tell anyone that I was scared of them....

Silly boy, eh?

R..

 

[bremen66]

I do. Monsters live in deep water!

lol in a lil way id say the same thing

 

[Tigerman]

I have never had a fear for water, as such but for brief moments ive been in most of the mentioned categories. I have also overcome other phobias. I also know people who work with amongst other things "curing" phobias (it was a friend of mine who work with this that helped me, actually). Im also actively using techniques related to this topic.
If Im an interesting "subject", just let me know..