Swimming Anxiety
As we head out for our weekly open water swim, we see new members coming in to join us on a weekly basis, especially during the warmer months. One thing that seems to be common across a lot of adult swimmers is the anxiety that a lot feel when swimming in open water. I recently wrote a blog post about my struggle with open water swimming, but had a lot of people wanting to know of ways to try and relieve this fear and anxiety.
This article was originally published through Open Water Magazine, Issue 2.
It seems that this anxiety is more consistent around swimmers who have come into the sport later in life. As for me, I grew up with swimming lessons at primary school, but they were only for five to 8 weeks of the summer months only there to help us survive if we got in trouble. There was no fault, of the instructors, but there was not enough time for use to get the confidence needed to really relieve any fear that we may have had.
What is Your Fear
I guess the first thing you need to do is work out where your fear actually stems from. For me personally, I think it was mostly the deep water and a fear of the unknown. Even in a pool, my stroke seemed to flow along
smoothly without any problems as long as the pool did not exceed about two meters in depth. This is great during the winter months as a lot of the indoor pools in my area, rarely even get to this height. But when I went to a local pool that had a diving board at one end, the depth reached almost four metres and as the bottom of the pool dropped away I suffered almost like vertigo symptoms, resulting in my legs sinking and my stroke turning into a complete mess, turning into a struggle to get to the edge of the pool. This was in my adult life as well, even after numerous hours surfing in the cold winter of Southern Victoria.
So for me, there was definitely an aspect of the deep water, I’m sure some time with a psychologist would be able to extract the actual reasons for the fear, but for each individual, it’s going to be different.
I guess the first thing you need to do is work out where your fear actually stems from. For me personally, I think it was mostly the deep water and a fear of the unknown.
Way to Overcome Your Fear
This isn’t an extensive list but something to start thinking about when trying to overcome swimming anxiety.
Swim With a Group
I never advocate to swim alone, especially in open water. Swimming with a group can give you added confidence to take on situations that you would normally not. Swimming with a group can help you remove yourself or take your mind off some of the points that are giving your anxiety, and it can also help you push yourself out of your comfort zone.
Use Visualization
This is a big topic on its own, but something to think about as visualization can take help you tackle your anxiety without putting you in danger. It’s a definite way to help cope or get yourself use to difficult situations or help you think of ways to deal with stressful situations before you get yourself into them in real life.
Use Pre Swim Strategies
As well of visualizing strategies, there are other steps you can take before you even step into the water. Keeping in a positive mindset or positive self talk can help. Deep breathing before you get into the water can help you calm down.
Swim Regularly
The only way you are going to get better at something is by doing it as much as possible. This is especially true in open water. The more you swim in open water, the different conditions you will be exposed to, including water conditions, clarity of the water, swimming with people around you.
Learn to Breath On Both Sides
Some people wonder what the benefits are, but when you get hit by a small wave when taking a breath you can easily switch to the other side to breath. It is also helpful to try and alternate the number of strokes you take, for example breath every three strokes, five strokes, then seven strokes. This will help you get used to times when you can’t breath when you want to breath and allow you to know that you can stay calm if you get into these situations.
Warm Up to the Conditions
This is especially useful in races. The last thing you want to do is get into the water and realise that the water is colder than what you thought it would be, or the conditions are choppier. You don’t need to spend a huge amount of time, but even five or ten minutes, or swim out to the first turning buoy to get yourself feeling a lot more comfortable with what you are about to take on.
Generate Confidence in the Water
Sometimes you may need to get back to basics to build your confidence in the water again. For me starting with the basic Total Immersion Drills helped me get my head under the water and make myself more confident with what I was doing.
Wear a Wetsuit in Open Water
A wetsuit will keep you warm in colder conditions, and give you some extra buoyancy for safety. If you ever feel anxious, out of breath or confused, a wetsuit will give you the extra buoyancy to allow you to float with little effort and allow you to compose yourself again. Keep in mind that if there are other simmers around you may need to get out of there way first.
