Overcome Open Water Anxiety with SwimEQ
This week I am fortunate enough to be in St John USVI teaching at a week long open water swimming camp.
Myself and 3 other Total Immersion Master Coaches, along with Terry Laughlin are leading a group of 17 campers and 7 apprentice coaches through the Total Immersion methodology, and applying it to open water swimming with remarkable results. We swim in the Caribbean Sea in sporty deep water surf conditions, an excellent environment to test the ability to remain focused on efficient swimming technique.
But there is another dimension…..What is the strategy if a swimmer or coach experiences any type of anxiety or fear or stress?
No problem, this is where the Discovery Aquatics SwimEQ program comes into play. I presented the SwimEQ program in two parts within the first 24 hours of camp.
What is SwimEQ? EQ is an abbreviation for Emotional Intelligence. It is the ability to recognize and manage emotional fluctuations in your body. High EQ is a valuable skill to optimize learning and performance. SwimEQ is a purpose designed Emotional Intelligence program for swimming activities – learning in any water environment, swimming in open water and swimming in race situations.
Several Campers have shared their experiences of anxiety during the camp. Here are some examples of triggers that produced emotional fluctuations. SwimEQ gave each person the skills to assess their anxiety and employ techniques to overcome anxiety to then enable them to return focus to their swimming technique.
- The entry from Salt Pond Bay Beach into the water is clear and calm with soft white sand. Once you head out about 25 yards the water deepens and it is not possible to stand. Seeing the white sand become further and further away was an anxiety trigger for some swimmers.
- One of the big differences between pool swimming and open water swimming is not having the pool wall at the end of a length to break and breathe. Swimming continuously in open water and feeling like you are not getting enough air was an anxiety trigger for some swimmers.
- Along similar lines the boundaries of the pool make it easy for your brain to compartmentalize distances. In the open water it is difficult to judge a distance to a target, often times your destination seems so far away. Questioning if you are capable of completing a distance was an anxiety trigger for some swimmers.
- We swim with personal buoys for 3 reasons – it makes us more visible to boaters, we can carry our belongings in the dry bag, and we can use the float for support when resting. The buoy buckles around your waist. Having the buoy unclip and drift off in the middle of a long swim was an anxiety trigger for one swimmer.
- Once we swim out of the calm waters of the bay, the surf gets choppy and challenging. The rise and fall of the large waves can induce sea sickness. The movement of the waves inducing nausea and dizziness was an anxiety trigger for some swimmers.
- The waters of the Caribbean Sea where we have been swimming are salty. Having the salty water in your mouth and nose can cause discomfort. Getting the salty water in your eyes stings. Having goggles snap at the nose bridge and an influx of salty water into the eyes was an anxiety trigger for one swimmer.
And my own personal moment of anxiety:
On the first day of camp we went for a 2 mile swim. We had stopped to regroup and this fish (he looked like a mini shark to me) came into the middle of the pod, exploring each person closely. I had an initial anxiety moment, but after I applied SwimEQ techniques I was calm and enjoyed watching his curiosity, his graceful movements and taking some pictures. Turns out he is a remora fish, the suckerfish that attaches to sharks.
The progress we see towards efficient swimming from every camper in each session is remarkable. This is only possible if each swimmer is control of their emotions and able to learn and retrieve the practiced Total Immersion skills.
Coach Dinah
January 9, 2015 6:21 am | 
