the fear of drowning

[James Nsien2]

My husband loves to swim whereas my fear of swimming holds me back from enjoying the fun of joining him in the swimming pool. Though my husband keeps encouraging me, the fear of drowning stops me to get into the swimming pool. How can I conquer this fear?

 

[James Nsien2]

Though it is not easy to conquer the fear of swimming, it is not impossible to overcome it. Try joining adult swimming pool classes that offer learners with a supportive setting. What’s more, you will also come across people who have been suffering from the same phobia as you. You may begin by getting your feet drenched before getting deeper into the pool. Relax your mind and imagine positive thoughts once you find yourself standing in deep water. Instead of rushing to make progress, try holding the sides of the pool, and with a stretched out body practice kicking. Gradually you will find out that your phobia has vanished into thin air. So use these tips and get ready to surprise your hubby!

 

[Beattheblues]

I have never quite understood the fear of drowning when you bear in mind we are surrounded by water when in the womb. Perhaps someone could explain this as I find it fascinating.

 

[KirstyMarks]

I have never quite understood the fear of drowning when you bear in mind we are surrounded by water when in the womb. Perhaps someone could explain this as I find it fascinating.

Brilliant post

First of all, what is a fear....

A fear is a "anticipated" threat to ones life. No doubt this person had a bad experience in a pool, for example.... Maybe when they was a teenager, jumping in, head under water, freaked out because water in mouth... finally became relaxed, but BAM.... there it goes, you have recoded your experience of that thing....

Next time they go to the swimming baths, they see the water, they instantly remember the last time it happens, what then happens?.... They freak, they dont want to get in, they really dont want to be there...

How do we get over it, several ways.....

Recoding that experience, with a new one. Hope that explains for you

 

[Mark]

Ah that makes perfect sense - I used to doubt hypnosis until I was older and then I thought, if the mind is so powerful that it can make you think in a certain way or act in a certain way then surely it can be a useful tool to fight these things if it can be controlled/trained?

I have read quite a bit about fight or flight which apparently goes back to the caveman times and the dawn of the human race - amazing when you delve a little deeper into these things. Just imagine if we could fully harness the power of our brains?

 

[KirstyMarks]

Ah that makes perfect sense - I used to doubt hypnosis until I was older and then I thought, if the mind is so powerful that it can make you think in a certain way or act in a certain way then surely it can be a useful tool to fight these things if it can be controlled/trained?

I have read quite a bit about fight or flight which apparently goes back to the caveman times and the dawn of the human race - amazing when you delve a little deeper into these things. Just imagine if we could fully harness the power of our brains?

There is so many misconceptions about it Mark believe me. I do alot of suggestibility, its fun, and shows people what you are capable of

 

[Mark]

Hi Kirsty,

What is your view on fight or flight?

 

[KirstyMarks]

Fight or flight happens towards the middle of an anxiety episode.

I use whats called the 6 F's

• DeFuse
• Freeze
• Flight
• Fight
• Fear
• Faint

You either run and avoid, or you attempt to fight through it.... Then the full blown fear kicks in and you pass out from the exposure.

 

[Mark]

Ah thats very interesting

 

[Andy]

Fear of water is often connected with the inability to swim, and the inability to swim comes from the fear of water,

"I hate water because I can't swim, but I can't learn to swim because I hate water",

And so the internal dialogue goes round and round in that circle for ever and ever.....

Unless....

You take James' advice.

OK, new experience, going to a swimming lesson, lots of strangers, the feeling of being a bit of a numpty, but that soon passes.
Most council run swimming baths offer adult lessons, more often than not the pool is closed to anyone except learners, plenty of lifeguard trained people.


As for us being surrounded by fluid in the womb, we do have a natural response that stays with us after birth called the "bradycardic response", of the mammalian diving reflex, where they naturally hold their breathe and their pulse slows. It's probably a throwback to before we dragged ourselves out of the sea and is also seem in mammals like seals. It decreases after a few months but still exists to a lesser degree in adults, however our internal dialogue often talks over our instincts and we panic.

 

[Craig]

A nice post Andy.

Fight or Flight:

Firstly, that term is incorrect, kirsty has mentioned 6 steps. This is in fact the sequence that we have happen. However, it is not something we use with clients. Merely the biochemical process which our bodies and mind go through when faced with a perceived threat.

De-Fuse / Freeze / Flight / Fight /Fear and then Faint. - Always in that order.

Many people think it is run or fight, that is incorrect.

Firstly, we try to look to De-Fuse the situation, Reason, distraction bargaining anything that you think may help you avoid the threat.

If the first does not work and you cannot find a way to avoid it or talk your way out, then our stress level increases, you will stay very still, Freeze. Your focus of attention increases as you body prepares to take whatever measure is necessary for what may come next.

Flight then comes next, if you need to act then this becomes an option to try and move directly away from whatever is taking place.

Fight comes next, if the above has not worked, then this takes place. It is worth noting that fight does not mean a full on physical altercation although that can be one option, anything from a shout, an angry outburst, raising your voice, splaying arms and getting angry all falls under this category.

Fear If the fight response does not work then this time you freeze but all of that focus is directed inwards, you can feel helpless, unable to do anything, you freeze. That helplessness can then make you feel unable to deal with what is in front of you.

This is the part where trauma can be created yet that is a whole other topic and not relevant as such for this post.

The last part is faint. If everything keeps escalating then you faint.

Anxiety, Fear, Phobias. They are all something we can control, overcome and having a little more understanding can and does go a very long way. Especially as it does not matter what the phobia is, or what the anxiety or fear is about. The responses are always the same. Though we can feel that the intensity may increase depending on how we think about it and how much imagine it can scare us. Yet if it can be increased it can also be decreased.

Craig

 

[Mark]

One thing I have found with fear in general is that the event you fear never actually lives up to the fear which your mind creates. In other words, the fear of the unknown creates a situation of maximum anxiety when the reality is nowhere near that. A prime example is the dentist - in reality, even for those with a phobia of the dentist, when they finally visit their dentist is it really as frightening as their minds made out?

 

[Craig]

That's it Mark. The physical sensations are real and that feeling can be increased or decreased with the right techniques.
Our mind is a truly powerful tool and the mind and body are intrinsically linked.

Your analogy of the dentist is a good one as when someone goes to the dentist who may be anxious, seeing and feeling what they believed is actually different helps them to start coding a new response. You don't have to like a dentist yet you realise there is no need to be fearful. Especially as fearful as you had once imagined.

Craig.

 

[Admin]

Can fear be used in a positive way? I have heard some people talking about using their fear of something to fight and beat it, adrenalin rush?

 

[Mark]

Surely it can be dangerous to use fear as a tool as you are pumping yourself up to maximum anxiety levels which cannot be healthy?