Seal Swim Education

Saturday, 8 June 2013

How to Get over a Fear of Deep Water

Step 1 : Admit to yourself you are afraid.

There is nothing wrong with being afraid of deep water.

Give yourself a moment to accept that, and not be ashamed.

Step 2 : Think of what would be the worst thing that could happen.
Sound strange? It's not. The chances of a deep water beast coming up to devour you is really not realistic. Go through your fears in your head, and then rationalize them. Sharks? Most shark attacks are in shallow water, and you have a better chance of dying from a bee sting than a shark bite. Octopus? They prey on animals the size of your fist, not humans, and generally are very gentle creatures. Once you realize that most of the things you are afraid of are either fictional, or simply animals trying to survive just like you, its much harder to be afraid.

Step 3 : Try going into shallow water, and see how you feel.
When you get deeper, concentrate on how your feelings change, and what tends to change them. Take it slow, and simply experiment with what exactly you are afraid of. Is it swimming ability? Ocean creatures? Or something else? Figure out exactly what triggers your fear, and then you will be able to focus better on it.

Step 4 : Once you have identified your fear, work up to your comfort zone, and push a little more each time.
It's just like stretching a muscle. Eventually you will get much better. There is no promise that you will ever feel at home in deep water, but being able to have fun with friends at the ocean side is a wonderful thing.