Do you want to be like my clients who are now free of their fear as follows?
” For the first time ever, I was able to play with my granddaughters and not sit on the top step clinging to the side – they couldn’t believe it! I can’t tell you how grateful I am that you helped me overcome my fear of the water.”
“We came to see Lauren as our son was getting increasingly anxious about going on holiday and in particular going in the sea. Thanks to Lauren he was so much more relaxed and even went in the sea! We still use the technique she showed us if he gets anxious in a new situation but he is so much more confident and happier now that we hardly have to worry about him, which is great for him and for us.”
“My son was scared of water and he is now able to learn how to swim.”
Act Now to enjoy your summer holidays
Summer is upon us and a great deal of summer holidays have been booked – many of these will include going to the seaside both in England and abroad. All very exciting but do you or someone in your family suffer from a fear of water (aquaphobia)!!! This can spoil everything.
Are they afraid to go:
on the beach
paddling
swimming
on a boat trip
on a pedalo?
So much of a holiday at the seaside is affected by water and everyone in the family is stopped from enjoying themselves if someone has this fear.
Many people have an extreme fear of water. They are afraid of drowning, gasping for breath, meeting unseen things in the water and quite often they are non-swimmers because they have been too afraid to learn to swim. Some people, not only fear the sea, lakes, ponds or rivers but many even fear running water or water being poured onto their heads. Taking even a shower can also be a problem
The roots of this phobia can usually be traced back to traumatic incidents with water such as:
- being pushed in the water as a prank
• falling off a boat or deck
• being caught in a current in the sea
or learnt from
- their parents who might be afraid of the water.
• stories, films, incidents or news reports about drowning can also instill a sense of fear of water.
So, if someone you know:
- tries to avoid water at all costs
• experiences anxiety or panic attacks at the thought of facing water such as hyperventilating, have a fast heartbeat or very shallow breathing, sweating, crying, trembling.
• might even faint or pass out at the sight of water
Please tell them they don’t have to suffer for the rest of their life as
I have set up a program to help them get rid of their fear.
If you have a Fear of Water or any other fear or phobia, please get in touch with me for a free consultation on telephone number 07966 268148 or email me at lauren@fear-busters.com. My website address is www.fear-busters.com. I look forward to hearing from you and take a look at my testimonials below.
In addition to my help, there are also basic exercises you can do to help you get used to the water.
All the exercises can and should be done in shallow water and with a friend helping you. There is no need for the water to go higher than your chest, so you can always feel safe.
Doing the exercises in a swimming pool with clean water is best because you can see what is (or more exactly isn’t) in the water and so you will be more relaxed than if you did the exercises in opaque water.
For the same reason it’s advisable to wear swimming goggles while doing the exercises. This way water won’t get into your eyes and you will be able to keep them open all the time, which will help you to relax.
It is best to have a supportive person by your side and especially so if they are an experienced swimmer who is comfortable in the water.
Ideally you should do the exercises when the swimming pool isn’t crowded to avoid getting splashed and bumped into.
There is no need to rush through the exercises. The main goal is to always stay comfortable. Even if you only manage to do one exercise per session at the pool, it doesn’t matter as long as you are comfortable. If you start to get stressed, slow down. Even if it takes several weeks or months for you to get through all exercises and overcome your fear of water, so be it. Think baby steps.
Getting used to the water
To begin with, you could do a few exercises for you to get comfortable being in contact with water and then entering into the water:
1. At the shallow end of the pool, sit across the pool edge and let your legs dangle in the water, sweeping back and forth. Take your time to enjoy the sensation of the water flowing around your legs.
2. Scoop up water with your hands and apply it to your face, as if to wash it. This is to get used to having your face being in contact with water.
3. Scoop up water with your hands again, hold your breath and then splash the water into your face. As you are wearing swim goggles, your eyes are protected and you can try to keep them open. As you are holding your breath and sitting upright, you should notice that the water can’t get into your nose and mouth. Enjoy the refreshing sensation of the water on your face.
4. Slowly get into the water via the steps or ladder in the shallow area of the pool. Make sure that the water doesn’t get above your chest. Walk around for some time, staying in the shallow area of the pool. Enjoy the sensation of the water flowing around your body.
When you start to feel confident you can progress on to:
Submerging Your Head
The next few exercises will let you progressively lower your head into the water until you are comfortable having your head under water.
Hold your breath. Slowly crouch down until your lips are just above the water surface. How does it feel? See if you can get comfortable with having the water so close to your lips. Then stand up.
1. Hold your breath. Slowly crouch down (with mouth closed) and see if you can get your mouth under water, with the water surface between your mouth and your nose. Notice that water can’t get into your mouth.
2. After a while, notice that your nose is still above the water surface. If the water is calm and there are no waves, try to breathe through your nose while still having your mouth under water. Then stand up. Repeat this often to get comfortable breathing with your nose being so close to the water surface.
3. Hold your breath. Slowly crouch down until your mouth touches the water surface, then goes under water. Crouch some more until your nostrils touch the water surface. If possible, hold this position for a few seconds, then stand up to breathe.
4. What you need to know at this point is that it is completely ok to have water touching your nostrils or even having some water getting into your nostrils, as long as you are holding your breath and your head is upright. Because of the way the nose connects with the head, water can’t rise high enough in your nose to get into sinuses in that position. It’s only when the water gets into the sinuses that it becomes unpleasant. In fact, once you’ll have become an experienced swimmer, you will have water flowing into and out of your nostrils each stroke cycle, without ever having water getting into your sinuses and with you barely noticing.
You will find that having water in your nostrils is okay.
5. Let’s get back to our exercises. Again, hold your breath, then crouch down until your nose is under water, the water surface being between your nose and your eyes. Your ears should not be under water, so slightly tilt your head forward. Again, notice how some water gets into your nostrils, but at the same time notice that it doesn’t rise very high in your nose and that because of this it doesn’t hurt. Try to hold this position a few seconds, then stand up to breathe.
- Hold your breath. Slowly crouch down as before. Now tilt your head slightly backwards. Slowly move down until your nose and your ears are below the water surface but your eyes are still above the water surface. Because you are holding your breath no water can get into your mouth and only a little bit of water gets into your nose. Notice how water gets into your ears and your hearing becomes muffled. Again, try to hold this position a few seconds before standing up.
- Now what you need to know at this point is that some water will get into your ears. But this is also ok because the water will be prevented from going further by the eardrum and will flow out of the ear as soon as you leave the water. So, you can’t get hurt.
- Hold your breath. Now slowly crouch down and let the water cover your mouth, nose, ears and move further down up to the point where your eyes move below the water surface. As you are wearing swim goggles (hopefully good ones), water can’t get into your eyes. Try to hold this position a few seconds, then stand up again and breathe. Once you are comfortable with your eyes below the water surface and can keep your eyes open, take the time to observe this strange world below the water surface that opens up to you.
- Once you are comfortable doing the previous exercise, you can add up the ante a little bit and do a bobbing motion, where you rhythmically submerge and emerge your head. This will get you used to having your head being submerged regularly, which will be useful later on when learning how to swim and the popular swimming strokes.
Blowing Bubbles
1. Once you are comfortable having your head under water, the next step to overcome your fear of water is to learn that it is possible to exhale in the water without getting water into your nose and mouth. The best exercise for this is to learn how to blow bubbles.
2. Breathe in while standing in the shallow area of the pool and hold your breath. Then crouch down so that your mouth is below the water surface but your nose is still above the water surface. Slowly exhale through your mouth, blowing bubbles in the water. You will realize that as long as you do exhale, water can’t get into your mouth. The same is true if you do hold your breath. Stand up again to breathe in. - Repeat the previous exercise but now crouch down so far that only your eyes are above the water surface while your nose and mouth are below the water surface. Keep your mouth shut and now slowly blow bubbles through your nose. Again, you will notice that water can’t get into your nose as long as you hold your breath or exhale. Stand up to breathe.
- Repeat the previous exercise but now blow bubbles in the water through both your nose and mouth.
Finally repeat the previous exercise but with your head completely under water.
So you or your child should now be comfortable getting your head under water and exhaling in the water. Congratulations! These are two big steps towards losing your fear of water and learning to swim
Testimonials
“For the first time ever, I was able to play with my granddaughters and not sit on the top step clinging to the side – they couldn’t believe it! I can’t tell you how grateful I am that you helped me overcome my fear of the water.”
“We came to see Lauren as our son was getting increasingly anxious about going on holiday and in particular going in the sea. Thanks to Lauren he was so much more relaxed and even went in the sea! We still use the technique she showed us if he gets anxious in a new situation but he is so much more confident and happier now that we hardly have to worry about him, which is great for him and for us.”
“Water phobic for most of my life Lauren have been the person to make me water friendly…. It’s rare for anyone to understand truly what fear of water entails. This note is not only to renovate my gratitude but to say that more people like me should know that you actually get rid of your fear and it will change your life!”
“My son was scared of water and he is now able to learn how to swim.”
” Swimming has become part of my life in a way that I never imagined, a real pleasure. I really look forward to getting to the pool – a complete conversion.”