How to Overcome Your Fear of Swimming

In 2014, the American Red Cross conducted a very interesting survey where it found that 54% of adults in America cannot swim or do not have all the basic swimming skills. From my own experience, I know that many adults who cannot swim also have a very real fear of water which may have stemmed from a traumatic experience. However, I also know that any adult with a fear of swimming can beat that fear.

Three Components to Conquer a Fear of Swimming:

Over the years, I’ve worked with numerous adults who were afraid of the water to overcome their fears of swimming. And while I never taught an adult who did not eventually learn to swim, some were more successful than others. From those experiences, I have identified three components that are critical for an adult to conquer a fear of swimming: Trust, Attitude, and Patience.

Trust:

Conquering a fear is never easy. Luckily, you don’t have to beat this one on your own. For adults with a fear of swimming or deep water, trust is key. First, you need to find an instructor, swim school, or class you can trust. Do some homework, research options in your area, and find a class or swim school where you can feel comfortable, whether that’s in a group setting or in private adult swim lessons. This shouldn’t be too hard because of how many dedicated and skilled professionals there are out there ready to help you beat this fear. More importantly, you need to trust yourself. Trust that if you make the decision to overcome your fear of swimming, you can (and will) succeed.

Attitude:

Once you’ve found that swim instructor or adult swim class to help you win this fight, you’ve got to develop a winning attitude. What does this mean? Come to every lesson prepared with a positive attitude, prepared to learn, and prepared to succeed. In swim lessons, there may be a time when the instructor asks you to do something that makes you feel silly. When things get hard, you might get discouraged. You may be embarrassed to be learning in front of other adults. I’ve seen cases where students let their discouragement or embarrassment cause them to have a bad attitude, to be negative. Those students struggled. Fear feeds on negativity, so keep that positive winning attitude. Just give it your best no matter how silly, discouraged, or embarrassed you might feel.

Patience:

This last component is crucial. You must accept that this will be a process and that you might not be swimming like an Olympian after a few lessons. But with practice, and patience, you will reach whatever swimming goal you set for yourself. Don’t become frustrated with your pace of progress. Take the small victories as you find them. And then one day you will look back at the pool you just swam across and wonder how you did it.

Amira’s story:

One of the best examples of the importance of these three components is the story of a former student named Amira:

Amira, the mother of three young children, had a debilitating fear of water. Two weeks before she found her way into my adult swim class, her son had almost drowned after falling in the pool at his grandmother's house during a family party. Amira saw him fall in and sink to the bottom of the pool, but was unable to save him because of her intense fear of water. Panicked, she had to run to find someone else to help while her son lay at the bottom of a pool. Fortunately, her brother was able to rescue her toddler in time. But at that moment, Amira decided she had to beat her fear and learn how to swim: She never wanted to go through an experience like that again. Even with that motivation, conquering her fear was not easy. But her willingness to trust, have a positive attitude, and be patient paid off.

How Amira Beat Her Fear:

First, Amira trusted that swim lessons would help beat her fear. And she trusted herself to be able to learn to swim. During the first day, I spent the entire lesson further developing that trust in herself and a trust in me. We didn’t get beyond the stairs that day. But that was OK; I could see her trust and confidence were already growing.

Second, Amira’s efforts to maintain a positive attitude were nothing short of heroic. And it made all the difference. During those weeks of lessons, she got discouraged, disheartened, and distressed over and over and over again. But she always showed up the next day ready and willing to give it another try. That’s the definition of a winning positive attitude.

Finally, her patience paid off. After three weeks of lessons, Amira was swimming front crawl all the way across the pool and backstroke all the way back. She could swim down to the bottom of the pool, grab a diving ring, and resurface into a survival float position. By the end of our time together, Amira had all the skills she needed to ensure that if her child ever fell into a pool again, she would be the one to save him.

Amira did it. She beat her crippling fear and learned how to swim. On our last day together, Amira looked at me and said. “I did it. I can swim. If I can do this, anyone can.”

Trust. Attitude. Patience. That’s how Amira conquered her fear of water. I’m convinced that formula will work for any adult wanting to conquer a fear of swimming.