How to overcome the fear of swimming

Many people must have heard of the disease called swimming phobia. People who suffer from swimming phobia are often afraid of water. Because there are too many unknown things in the water, some people are afraid of things in the water and dare not swim. Most people cannot accept the fact that they are afraid to swim, so they have been thinking of ways to solve this problem. So how can you overcome your fear of swimming?

1. Changes in body posture

As we all know, the normal body position is standing, and active forward movement is always in a state of head up and feet down. However, it is different in swimming. People move forward in the direction of the top of the head in a prone or supine position. This disrupts the normal vestibular sense of most people, making novice swimmers always feel uncomfortable and thus develop a fear.

(2) The feeling of having nowhere to cling to in the water

Due to the effect of the earth's gravity on land, the human body has a fulcrum or something to grasp no matter what the circumstances. However, this is not the case in water. As the specific gravity of the human body is similar to that of water, the human body feels sinking and floating due to the buoyancy of water. At this time, there is no fixed fulcrum, and there is nothing around to grasp with the hands to stabilize the body. In this case, the body's position changes (into supine or prone) and one cannot stand up, and the fear will be further aggravated.

(III) Changes in the position of the human body’s center of gravity

When the human body lies flat on land, the center of gravity is approximately between the hip joint and the navel. At this time, the fulcrum near this center of gravity can keep the body balanced up and down. When entering water, the position of the fulcrum will change and move towards the pit of the stomach. This is the result of unconscious tension in the muscles of various parts of the human body in water, which leads to changes in blood distribution. This change causes the weight of part of the body to change, causing the fulcrum to move upward to keep the body balanced in the water. At this time, the lower body with more muscles will become heavier than the upper body, and will start sinking from the feet. The more panicked and hard you try, the deeper you sink. If you are in waist-deep water at this time, with your feet unable to touch the bottom of the pool and you cannot lift your head, your fear will be further exacerbated.

(IV) Discomfort caused by increased water pressure on the body

In the air environment on land, the pressure of air on the body is almost imperceptible, but in water, the pressure of water on the body will increase significantly, making it difficult to walk; especially the increased pressure of water on the chest cavity causes breathing to no longer be as easy and free as on land, which can also lead to fear.

(V) Changes in breathing patterns cause fear

In an air environment, people breathe unconsciously and casually; but in water, breathing becomes conscious. When people who can't swim get into the water, the first thing they think about is not how to float or swim, but how to avoid choking on water. This requires changing the habit of breathing in through the nose to breathing in through the mouth. In the process of changing the breathing method, people may occasionally choke and cough due to unfamiliarity, which may lead to fear. 1. Changes in body posture

As we all know, the normal body position is standing, and active forward movement is always in a state of head up and feet down. However, it is different in swimming. People move forward in the direction of the top of the head in a prone or supine position. This disrupts the normal vestibular sense of most people, making novice swimmers always feel uncomfortable and thus develop a fear.

(I) Walking in water

This is the first exercise for beginners after entering the water. The purpose is to experience the resistance, pressure and buoyancy of the water, and to initially learn how to maintain body balance in the water.

1. Hold the edge of the pool or your companion's hand and walk in the water.

2. Hold the edge of the pool or your companion's hand with one hand, and use the other hand to paddle outward and backward in front of your body while walking in the water.

3. Without the help of any support, your arms make symmetrical paddling movements outward and backward in front of your chest, and your feet walk forward, sideways, and backward in the water.

4. Two people stand face to face in chest-deep water, and use one or both hands to splash water on each other's face to experience the feeling of water on the face and head.

While becoming familiar with the water, some game-like activities can also be adopted according to the practitioner's mastery of the situation, such as diving, underwater drilling and other exercises.

(ii) Learning to Breathe

Swimming without breathing cannot be called swimming, it can only be called "holding your breath". The correct way to breathe while swimming is to inhale through your mouth and exhale through your mouth or nose. The steps to learning to breathe are as follows:

1. Stand in shoulder-deep water, hold the edge of the pool with both hands; or hold your companion's hand, open your mouth wide and take a deep breath, bury your head in the water, hold your breath for 10-20 seconds, then raise your head out of the water, exhale, open your mouth wide and take a deep breath, then bury your head in the water... Practice repeatedly. (You can also do the breath-holding exercise while washing your face).

2. Carry out on the basis of 1. After burying your head in the water, do not hold your breath. Instead, exhale slowly through your nose until all the waste gas in your body is exhaled, then quickly raise your head and inhale through your mouth. Practice repeatedly, gradually increasing the frequency of your practice.

3. Be proficient in the above techniques, be able to complete multiple exhalation and inhalation techniques continuously, coherently and naturally, and require yourself to independently complete the slow exhalation and fast inhalation techniques.

(III) Floating in water

Learning the floating technique in water is mainly to experience the buoyancy of water on the human body, and to initially master the body's ability to balance in water, eliminating the fear of water

1. Floating exercise with knees hugged: Stand on the bottom of the water with both feet, take a deep breath, squat down, lower your head and hug your knees, bring your knees as close to your chest as possible, push the front of your feet off the bottom of the pool, and curl up in a posture with your head down and knees hugged. Try to relax your body and float naturally in the water. When standing, extend your arms forward, press the water down and raise your head. At the same time, straighten your legs and stand with your feet touching the bottom of the pool, with your arms naturally placed at your sides.

2. Floating exercise with stretched body: Stand with your feet apart and your arms relaxed and stretched forward. After taking a deep breath, lean forward and lower your head. Gently push your feet off the bottom of the water and float on the water in a prone position. Spread your arms and legs naturally. Relax your whole body and fully stretch your body. When standing, tighten your abdomen and legs, press the water down with your arms, then raise your head, straighten your legs, and stand with your feet touching the bottom of the pool.

3. Gliding and floating exercises: (1) Edge-pushing and gliding and floating exercises: With your back to the pool, hold the edge of the pool with one hand and extend one arm forward. At the same time, stand on one foot with the other foot close to the pool edge. After taking a deep breath, lower your head and lean your upper body forward in the water into a prone position. Tighten your legs as much as possible, keep your buttocks close to the edge of the pool, and keep the soles of your feet against the edge of the pool. At the same time, the arms that support the edge of the pool are swung forward and brought together with the forearms, with the head clamped between the arms. Then, the feet are pushed out with force to slide forward in a streamlined shape. Requirements: After pushing off the edge of the pool, your body should be fully stretched and try to be relaxed and natural. (2) Push-off gliding and floating exercise: Stand with your feet apart and your arms raised in front of you. After stretching and inhaling, lean your upper body forward. When your head and shoulders are in the water, push the bottom of the pool with the front of your feet. Then bring your feet together and let your body slide forward in a streamlined shape.

(IV) Introduction to swimming styles

When you first learn to swim, after you become familiar with the water, you should choose a swimming style to learn.

Generally speaking, the first stroke to be learned is the breaststroke, followed by the backstroke, crawl and butterfly stroke. This is because although the technical structure of breaststroke is relatively complex and the internal circulation of the movement is highly rhythmic, its breathing is simple, giving beginners a sense of security. Each movement cycle of breaststroke has a clear rest phase, which allows beginners to get enough rest and be mentally prepared for the next movement. Therefore, once you have a basic grasp of its movement structure, you will be able to swim long distances, which is very helpful for getting familiar with water. Once you learn a swimming style, the fear will naturally disappear.