Many adults are very frightened of the water. Why does this happen?
A small percentage of adults just never had the opportunity to learn to swim. The majority of adult non swimmers had something negative happen to them as children or teens. That negative experience did not get resolved and every time a nervous adult gets near water, it reminds him/her how out of control they feel around water, how vulnerable they feel. Naturally, who wants to experience that?
More often than not, they can remember the incident like it happened yesterday. They know where they were, what they were wearing, who was with them and where "it" happened. Often, when a child has had a bad incident, the attending adult/parent is naturally scared as well. In an effort to make everything alright again, the adult might say "you're okay, see, everything's okay now" sending a very confusing, mixed message to the child. The child definitely doesn't feel okay but the adult is saying everything is fine now. The child is learning not to trust his/her feelings around water.
Carrying that memory can be burdensome and often adults feel embarrassed not knowing how to swim.
Can people with fear really learn to swim?
Yes!
The first step is acknowledging and respecting the adult's negative water experience. It's not going to get brushed under the rug, but rather, will become a pathway for a positive new swim experience. Part of my job is demystifying misconceptions about what actually happens to our bodies in the water.
An example: "If I put my head underwater, I will drink tons of water and choke and drown." Many fearful swimmers feel that they don't have control over their bodies; they feel paralyzed once they are in water. The answer to the above quote would be to begin inhaling through the mouth and exhaling through the nose on top of the water. Notice how we do this naturally when we talk. As we get closer to the water, we are conscientious about it and can even see our exhalation through bubbles that are created. As long as we're exhaling, water cannot enter.
Below are some beliefs many non swimmers feel, can you relate to any of these? Knowing that others feel the same way might give a fearful swimmer a bit of comfort. These beliefs are often misinformation and when I teach adults, my objective is to clarify what is real and what is not.
Check the sentences that you believe, even if you think they sound silly:
--If I put my face in the water, I'll get water in my nose and mouth.
--It's dangerous if I get water in my nose or mouth.
--If I get water in my nose or mouth, I'll struggle, sputter, cough and possibly drown.
--If water gets in my mouth, I'll swallow it.
--If I relax in water, I'll drop straight to the bottom like a rock.
--I am not a floater.
--I'm not a swimmer yet.
--It would be unwise for me to relax in the water.
--If I relax in the water, I might lose control.
--I may not have adequate lung capacity to swim.
--Deep water works differently than shallow water.
-- Each breath I take must be maximal in case I don't get another one.
--If a skill works for me in the shallow end, it won't necessarily work for me in the deep end.
--To float correctly, I must be horizontal.
--Being able to float depends on where the bottom is.
--A person can't get air in the deep end if there is no bottom to stand on.
--If I am in deep water, I need to move fast to get to the other side so I don't drown.
--In deep water, I need skills that I don't need in shallow water.
--I am only safe if I can stand up.
--Deep water will not hold me up.
--I need to be physically fit in order to swim.
--Adults don't learn to swim well; especially the older one gets.
--I am nearsighted; that makes swimming really hard for me. I can't see where I'm going.
If everyone in your family swims but you, if your kids are stronger swimmers, if you are tired of being the one who is always on the deck instead of in the water with everyone else, if you’ve been avoiding fun water activities like kayaking or canoeing because of the fear of falling into water, then be assured, that if you have the desire to learn to swim safely and confidently, it can happen for you!
