Water Panic

I'm considered a pretty good swimmer by triathlon standards (I expect to be top 10% or better on the swim), but am not immune to water panic at all.  I got it bad on my first OWS and I worried about it a lot in my first year.

This is what I do:

1) Long warmup to get used to the water.  Especially important for me in colder water.  I want no surprised feeling when my face hits the water to start the race.

2) Make sure I love my wetsuit.  I felt constricted in my first wetsuit and that feeling contributed to a panic attack.  I'm not sure if the suit didn't fit right, or I just didn't put it on right, but I couldn't swim in that wetsuit again for mental expectation of panic.

3) Start out with a slow, long stroke.  Concentrate on setting a steady breathing pattern (I start at every 3 strokes).  Don't worry about racing.  Try to avoid the crowds. I expect not to enjoy the first few hundred meters, but after that I know my stroke and breathing will be in good rythm.  FWIW, many slower swimmers start off way too fast!!

4) At the start of the swim I remind myself over and over that the "off feeling" will get better.  Once I'm in rythm I focus finding feet to draft off of, always sighting every 8 strokes or so, all the while checking out the color of the caps I'm passing.  It keeps my mind off of not seeing the bottom, not seeing the sharks, barely seeing my frozen hands, not feeling my face, and all the other fun stuff that contributes to panic.

In my first year my goal was to finish without panic attacks.  Now I have more confidence and feel like I'm actually racing on the swim.  Never done it for 4000m in the open water though....

Brian

I have similar issues which seem worse beginning of the season but seems strange after 5 years of tri'ing. It concerns me for my upcoming IM. Now I'm doing only ows for my swim workouts and I have a new wetsuit on order.

I warm up and swim even with the shore for few minutes before going out. But almost every swim in the 2-10' range I get the feeling I just want out of the water and I'm really uncomfortable and after some amount of time it goes away.I usually start and stop a few times in that amount of time  Wetsuit plays into the feeling but I'm not really sure what it is that sets me off..it isn't fear that I feel but extreme anxiety and discomfort. My wetsuit was actually too big as I've lost weight.

I'm trying to come up with a plan to push through and deal with it but haven't come upon the solution yet.  

I believe I am a 'poster child' for swim panic attacks. I think I've done a total of 10 tris now and I've only been completely comfortable in the water for one race. That race was my last race. I can now say I am over my swim panic issues as I've learned how to deal with it and I have confidence in my swimming ability.

I had my usual panic attack in the water at IM CdA last year. I told myself the day before the race that all I had to do was survive the first 15 minutes of the swim and I would be fine. Well, 15:57 minutes into the race my panic attack was over and the day began. Here are a couple of tricks that have helped me:

Know the course - as stated above, familiarity of the course will help. For an IM, do the Gatorade swims - they help!

Warm up on race morning - For CdA I got in the water as soon as the swim start was open to acclimate to the temp and the thought of swimming.

Mental Prep is Key - envision yourself swimming calming. Do this - it works!

Practice sighting a lot - a big part of IM swimming is keeping a fairly straight line from buoy to buoy. Some of my panic issues in the past came from taking in water when putting my head straight up to sight. The more I practice sighting the more I've learned to deal with different water conditions.

Keep moving forward no matter what - even if you can't put your head in the water because you need to breath, side stroke or back stroke your way through your panic issues. I know when I panic I just need to breath. Side stroke works for me. There is plenty of time to complete the IM swim as long as you keep moving forward.

Start to the right and back to let the masses go - this one is pretty self explanantory.

Breath out fully when your face is in the water - again pretty standard swim advice.

And finally, don't quit and get yourself calm! - At CdA I panicked so bad that I was ready to grab a boat. The only problem was I had to swim to the nearest kayak. I told myself that if I could swim to the kayak I could swim to the next buoy. Finally when I started making forward progress I was able to calm myself down. Once I was calm, it was on!

I learned a lot at CdA last year. Once I finally survived my panic issues, I was completely comfortable in the water for the rest of the swim. That 2.4 mile swim cured most of my swim panic problems and I can now swim in a tri without panic. I still need proper warm up and visualization, but I no longer fear the swim like I used to.

For anyone with these issues, they CAN be over come. Good luck.

Today, I had my first ows of the season that I felt calm and had no issues. I've been doing ows 2-3x a week with tri friends.

I wore a new 2 piece wet suit that made me feel less constricted and my shoulders and arms have much more mobility. Plus the new DeSoto suit fits me well where my old one was to big.

For me just keeping at helps and each year I seem to get a case of water panic/uncomfortable that goes away in time...this year it seemed to take longer I think in large part to the idea of doing a 2.4 mile swim compared to a sprint or Oly swim.

As part of my swimming self-hypnotherapy... I sing songs in my head when I swim.

This is a good thread.  I wouldn't say I panicked at my last race but things started happening that got in my head.  First off, I didn't take the time to warm up, big mistake.  I'm a very slow starter in every sport I've ever done.  Secondly, I used different goggles than what I normally use (though the same brand and type.

The horn goes off and I'm feeling nervous but confident.  I start near the back and let most people go ahead of me.  I slowly enter the water, put my face in and start stroking.  Everything feels great, I'm so pumped, I'm actually doing it!  Then things start to unravel, I get hit a few times and each time, I stop and lift my head and look around then start again, I get bumped again.  In fact, I'm swimming fast enough that I'm running up on people that are slower than me, that really messes me up because I can't find a way to get around them.  Just as I'm trying to settle down, my goggles start leaking BAD, I stop to clear them, leaking again, clear, leak, now very foggy.  I pull the straps very tight and buggers still leak, now I'm half way through the swim and I'm very tired!  I become very disappointed and all these negative thoughts come out, I'm not a swimmer, what am I doing here?  Are they going to have to fish me out of here?  I try to regain control but I'm so winded I just can't keep my face in the water!  I end up side-stroking the last 80 yards or so.  I finished the .25 mile swim in 10 minutes and change.

Oh well, I made it.  Luckily I recover enough to do OK on the bike and run but the swim was TOUGH!  Next time, I know I'll do better.

Everything said here so far has been spot on. The two things I would add deal with swim workouts leading to your event.

Many triathletes discount the need for solid swim preparation. While there have been many posts on that subject, it plays in very strongly when discussing panic attacks. If you go into the water doubting your swim skills you have set yourself up for a panic attack. It is far better to over train the swim and have total confidence in the water than to find yourself 800 yards from shore and suddenly doubting your ability to finish. If you can comfortably swim twice your event distance straight through in workout, you know your event swim is really just half what you normally swim.

The second thing I would add is a simple post swim workout technique to build your comfort in the water. Interestingly more people that you would guess simply don’t feel at home in the water. When you’re done with your swim workout take a moment to cool down and enjoy the water by simply floating on your stomach. Keep your goggles on and float calmly face down in the water. Breath to the side when needed, and let the water hold you up. While this sounds like a simple step you could skip ( and many advanced swimmers could ), it reinforces your basic comfort in the water. If you are confident that when you calm down and control your breathing the water will always support you, you go into the swim knowing your good to go.

Cheers