Do you have an irrational fear of water and it ruins all your outings to the beach or swimming pool? You may suffer from aquaphobia but do not panic effective therapies exist.
The return of summer is conducive to outings to the sea and swimming in the pool. If for some basking in the pill by the sea is synonymous with vacation, others live a real nightmare at the idea of putting a toe in the water.
What is aquaphobia?
Aquaphobia is an irrational fear of water that prevents sufferers from approaching a lake, the sea or the ocean. This anxiety disorder can manifest itself at the sight of water, at its contact or at its simple enunciation. This assignment can be more or less disabling on a daily basis depending on the intensity of the disorder. In the most severe cases, this panic fear goes as far as the impossibility of swimming in a swimming pool or entering a bath.
What are the symptoms ?
Apart from overwhelming anxiety, sufferers mostly experience physical effects such as increased heart rate, sweating, tremors and hyperventilation.
What is its origin?
Most of the time, the reasons for this uncontrolled fear go back to childhood. A trauma related to a drowning in the entourage or an accidental fall in water can be at the origin of this phobia. When learning to swim, severe measures put in place by lifeguards or “child’s games” consisting of “putting your friend’s head under water” can trigger aquaphobia.
What solutions exist?
If this phobia ruins your summers and prevents you from following your friends to the beach, there are solutions. Make an appointment with a professional who can assess the degree of phobia and offer appropriate therapy.
In addition, lessons in the pool adapted to different degrees of phobias are offered under the supervision of a lifeguard. Step by step, rehabilitation will include progressive exercises. First, you have to rediscover the pleasure of fully immersing yourself in a shallow place. Learn to float before you even swim. Finally, know how to move in the water by mastering a swimming technique.