u/FairAttention8608

Please let me know if this is the wrong place for this. Cross Posted from Phobias:

Long story short. I had a near drowning experience around 9/10 years old, since then I’ve really struggled with getting into water. I tend to have panic attacks in any water where I can’t touch the bottom and or don’t have something stable to hold onto. Lakes and Oceans are a complete no go. I can only manage to get knee deep in the ocean before panic sets in. Even taking a shower where the water is in my face and washing my face can have my pulse racing.

What are some exercises I can do in a pool or at home for exposure therapy?

For context if you feel like reading:

I was a great swimmer as a kid, and swam constantly. One summer I was at the pool at my apartment complex, and was swimming in the deep end. I can’t remember exactly what happened but I guess I had done something to piss off a group of older boys (12-13)that were also there who weren’t supervised. Basically one boy instigated and dragged me to the bottom of the pool (about 6ft deep) and they took turns keeping me under the water until my sister noticed and my mom was able to get them off of me. The police eventually convinced my mom not to press charges but I’ve never gotten over it. Since then I have really struggled with any sort of water activity. My family has always been very water oriented. Always going to the pool, vacations to lakes, beaches, etc. My mom was always a “suck it up and get the hell over it” type of parent and forced me into activities and called my panic attacks being over dramatic. I’ve tried to avoid it as much as possible, but because of that my swimming ability is almost non existent now as a 30 yr old. I can manage pool if it’s not too deep and I have a float, but even that can be tough.

My problem? My kids are avid swimmers, have taken swim lessons, and frankly are far superior to me and want to do more and more activities that I can no longer keep up with. Think swimming in lakes, tubing, skiing, going in the ocean, etc. I don’t want to limit them.

We have a vacation to France to visit my partners family next summer, where there will be a lot of water activities. I want to be able to get in the water with my kids without breaking down into a sobbing mess or feeling like I’m going to die.

Long story short. I had a near drowning experience around 9/10 years old, since then I’ve really struggled with getting into water. I tend to have panic attacks in any water where I can’t touch the bottom and or don’t have something stable to hold onto. Lakes and Oceans are a complete no go. I can only manage to get knee deep in the ocean before panic sets in. Even taking a shower where the water is in my face and washing my face can have my pulse racing.

What are some exercises I can do in a pool or at home for exposure therapy?

For context if you feel like reading:

I was a great swimmer as a kid, and swam constantly. One summer I was at the pool at my apartment complex, and was swimming in the deep end. I can’t remember exactly what happened but I guess I had done something to piss off a group of older boys (12-13)that were also there who weren’t supervised. Basically one boy instigated and dragged me to the bottom of the pool (about 6ft deep) and they took turns keeping me under the water until my sister noticed and my mom was able to get them off of me. The police eventually convinced my mom not to press charges but I’ve never gotten over it. Since then I have really struggled with any sort of water activity. My family has always been very water oriented. Always going to the pool, vacations to lakes, beaches, etc. My mom was always a “suck it up and get the hell over it” type of parent and forced me into activities and called my panic attacks being over dramatic. I’ve tried to avoid it as much as possible, but because of that my swimming ability is almost non existent now as a 30 yr old. I can manage pool if it’s not too deep and I have a float, but even that can be tough.

My problem? My kids are avid swimmers, have taken swim lessons, and frankly are far superior to me and want to do more and more activities that I can no longer keep up with. Think swimming in lakes, tubing, skiing, going in the ocean, etc. I don’t want to limit them.

We have a vacation to France to visit my partners family next summer, where there will be a lot of water activities. I want to be able to get in the water with my kids without breaking down into a sobbing mess or feeling like I’m going to die.