Why I Don’t Go Swimming

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I have a fear of water, believe it or not. To put a wire 12 feet over a swimming pool frightens me. I don’t like water. — Philippe Petit, French high-wire artist

I realize swimming is great exercise, beneficial for building endurance, toning muscles, and maintaining a healthy weight.

But I’m totally with Philippe Petit here — I’m afraid of the water, so I don’t enjoy swimming and frankly, can’t ever see that changing.

Unless I’m forced into a pool to do something like physical therapy … maybe.

Like most kids I knew, I had to take Red Cross swimming lessons at our large public pool. But I hated them.

June is far too cold to warm up the water in that behemoth, so while the instructors wrapped up in heavy towels and sat on the banks, we kids were in the water. Splashing, kicking, blowing bubbles.

And freezing.

Technically, I learned to swim; however, I’d hate to put that knowledge to the test.

And fear of the water isn’t my only problem.

Call it excessive modesty (or just plain weirdness), but even from a young age, I was self-conscious over appearing in public in a bathing suit.

Also known as a second skin.

Little Debbie was all legs and thin as a rail; most of the other kids were round.

Did you know “Rounds” float, “Rails” don’t?

Really.

Perhaps worst of all is the cleanliness factor.

Signs told us to shower before and after entering the pool, but five seconds under a cold trickle doesn’t make anybody really clean, does it?

Nor did it help to overhear kids admitting (often gleefully) that it was “too much trouble” to walk back to the locker room and use the bathroom, when the pool was treated with chemicals anyway.

WHAT???

Fear of water runs far back in my family tree. My late grandpa was so terrified of water, you couldn’t have pushed him into a pool. His daughter (my mom) used every excuse in the book not to have to go swimming. I must’ve inherited that gene.

Growing up, I had friends who were lifeguards. Friends whose families spent weekends at the lake. Friends who relished pool parties.

Not me.

When my son Domer and I flew to Dublin, Ireland, many years ago, I was grateful the flight was at night, so I didn’t have to think about dropping into that Big Pond.

But at least I’d have been wearing clothes, not a swimsuit!

38 thoughts on “Why I Don’t Go Swimming”

    • Interesting comment, Frank. I’ve read that 2-3 percent of Americans have fear of water (not a huge percentage, but it comforts me a bit to learn I’m not alone in this).

  2. Debbie, I think we all have fears about certain things, so I understand. I have a fear of high heights if I’m not enclosed in something. I just can’t be out in the open and high up. It totally freaks me out. I’m okay flying in a plane and looking out the window 30, 000 ft in the air because I’m IN something.

    I remember having a fear of deep water when I was a kid, however, my mother suggested I join a swim team at our summer country club, which helped me overcome that fear. I do, however, have a hear of being out in the ocean at night. Dark water scares me.

    And it’s ironic you mentioned feeling self-conscious about being in public in bathing suit because I used to feel apprehensive about the same thing. That is, until my family moved to Florida and I began spending all my time at the beach; enjoying the tropical weather. I got used to being in a bathing suit in public.

    However, one thing I have never done (or will EVER do) is go to a nude beach. That’s where I drawn the line. LOL!

    Hope you’re having a great week, my friend! I am so looking forward to autumn! X

    • Heights? Hmm, they don’t bother me much … unless I’m asked to look over the ledge of a really tall building! It sounds like you were “part fish” during your growing-up years, Ron. Perhaps living so close to the water affected your comfort with it? I know that living in landlocked Central Illinois didn’t make for much ease around bodies of water. And my mom would send us kids to the pool but refused to join us there. Maybe I was just too sensitive, picking up on her fears?

      Nude beach?? Yikes, definitely NOT on my Bucket List, ha!

      I must admit, being in the water would’ve felt pretty good this week, when our “feels Like” temperatures were in the 100s. Yuck! When will Fall get here?! xx

  3. I could swim before I could walk, literally! (I was a late walker). I never took lessons, learning instead from my mom in our backyard pool. Therefore, I mostly swam underwater rather than using real strokes. As much as I loved pools, I hated swimming in lakes, rivers, or (shudder) the ocean. I don’t want to swim WITH things!!

    • Lucky you, Kelly! I like being *near* the water — I love the sound of the tides, and I enjoy the calm of a river or lake. Perhaps it’s the swimming pool aspect that doesn’t sit well with me. I mean, who wants to put their face into water where they know others have been peeing??

  4. I have always loved the water. I, of course, insisted that my kids learn to swim which they did. The only thing about water that gives me the willies is kids peeing in a pool. I don’t do public pools.

  5. My mom grew up on a farm, not near water. My dad grew up on a river. He was always a water boy, their first date was a canoe trip down the river and a picnic on the banks. They spent their entire marriage trying to live on water, which they accomplished when I was 10. Mom made all of us take swimming lessons, through the Red Cross, at the other end of the lake we lived on. I drove the boat every morning from our house, with my 3 siblings, down the lake to the other end for swimming lessons. It was ALWAYS cold in the mornings…we had to go all the way through Lifesaving. Mom was terrified of water but would “swim” with us throughout the rest of her life.

    • Your mom was very brave, overcoming her fear of the water enough to see that you kids learned to swim, boat, and be comfortable there. My dad tried to acclimate us girls to water (he was a natural “fish”!), but I guess Mom was just too afraid. It didn’t help that my sister and I both wound up in water over our heads at the local pool once time — and had to be helped to the bank by a lifeguard. I still think I could’ve dog-paddled my way to safety, but not my sister. Old memories just don’t die!

      • My mom could float with her toes up out of the water. I will always remember that. She didn’t like to get her head wet, or her face in the water, but she’d paddle around a little even up to her last summer.

  7. I remember the Red Cross swimming lessons we got at Girl Scout camp every summer, and the little cards we received designating when we passed beginners, advanced beginners, intermediate and swimmer levels. Diving was hard for me and after I passed that test I never put my head underwater again. Doing the side stroke is the only way I’m at all comfortable swimming. I’m with you about wearing a bathing suit in public — I feel like I’m walking around in my underwear! I do think there is some sort of genetic memory that passes fears along. My grandson seems to have inherited my fear of dogs and horses…

    • Oh, Barbara, I, too, remember those swimming lessons. I was so proud to have passed as many levels as I did, but even back then, it felt more like an obligation than fun. And while I enjoy being near the water (and the clean feeling it imparts!), I suppose I’ll always have that fear lurking in the back of my mind. Not that it cripples me; more that it reinforces my preference for land! I’m sorry about your grandson’s fear, and I hope he’ll grow out of it. I think most kids are afraid of dogs … I was, until I got one of my own!

  8. I’m with you on this one, Debbie – I’ve never been keen on swimming. My dad did his best to teach me and I can just about stay afloat, but I never enjoyed it. He was also a keen sea swimmer, but he never persuaded me to go beyond paddling. I did join an aqua aerobics club at one point and that was quite fun, but only so long as my feet could reach the bottom at all times!

    • Exactly! I like to be in control, and control means my feet touch the bottom. Probably why I don’t see myself swimming in the ocean (not to mention my fear of sharks, ha!) Glad to hear I’m not the only one, FF — thanks for sharing!

  9. I was afraid of the water as a child, but with lessons and a little experience I mostly overcame it: enough to go to the pool with my friends in the summer, and even to do a little diving. I haven’t been to a pool in forever, though; it feels constraining, like bay sailing rather than offshore sailing.

    When I was sailing in the Bahamas and Virgin Islands, I enjoyed snorkeling, but actual diving isn’t for me. I decided it’s as much claustrophobia as fear of the water, but whatever it is, I want to be able to surface and get a breath of air! I was surprised that you’ve been in a hot air balloon, and enjoyed it. There’s no way in the world you could get me up in one of those, unless you killed me first and threw my corpse into the basket!

    • I’m not sure mine is a true “fear” of the water. After all, I do enjoy being beside water, riding in a boat, taking showers, looking at pictures of waterfalls, and so on. No fears there! But maybe it’s just more a fear of being thrown into a public pool with other people (and their bodily functions!), or a fear of not being able to touch the bottom. And I certainly don’t want to go into water head first!!

      Actually, I won that excursion in the hot air balloon in a drawing — I never win stuff like that, and part of me wonders how many people refused the win before they accepted me, ha! But wow, it was so much fun and such a feeling of freedom, floating above the earth and looking at our crop fields below. I’d go again in a heartbeat, too.

    • I’m sorry, TD. Is WordPress doing something weird again? I know I’ve had to sign in of late to lots of blogs that I’ve read forever (and I’m not happy about taking the time to do that extra step). Anyway, I’ve checked my Comments page, and this is your only comment that’s registered. I’m glad you stopped by!

      • Hi Debbie, Yesterday’s just disappeared into no where! I wrote a long comment to your swimming post, twice. Perhaps WP did not like what is had to say. Ha ha ha. I’m tired right now And so I don’t know if I will try again. WP asks me every time to sign in with my password and it’s annoying.

        I do enjoy reading your blog!

        • I’m sorry again! I don’t know what’s up with WP and their constant need to have me sign in … even to blogs I’ve read for years. It’s aggravating! But no, I didn’t see either of the two long comments you made. Grrr!!

        • I had the same problem with WP for a while, and my son finally figured out that it was because I was using Foxfire, which doesn’t allow for cookies. And if you don’t allow cookies, Word Press doesn’t recognize you as the owner of your own blog, and forces you to sign in each time. See if you can change your settings to allow cookies, and that might help.

        • Thanks Anne. I don’t use foxfire. I use Safari on my cellphone. I double checked and my settings do allow cookies. So it’s not that, but it was worth the time to look. The issue is random and doesn’t happen on all the blogs that I read and comment. Sometimes it works and sometimes my comments are just eaten.

          Anne, I haven’t been by your blog in a while, soon!

  11. I was so scared during my first swimming lesson that I actually threw up all down the steps of our local YWCA. Luckily, I had more patient teachers as I progressed so I eventually learned to swim. But yeah, I get the whole worrying about cleanliness and safety thing!

    • Oh, golly, Ann, if I’d actually thrown up, I’d have never been brave enough to continue with lessons! Of course, I don’t throw up much, so yes, that would’ve been traumatic. I’m glad you persisted though. As my dad used to say, you never know when being able to swim might save your life.

  12. I took swimming classes in high school and didn’t feel confident enough in my stamina to tread water. As an adult, my friends convinced me to go paddle boarding (with a life vest) on. I enjoyed it and ended up taking swimming classes as an adult at our local YMCA, to make sure I wouldn’t drown if I ever fell off the board. While I learned the basics, I didn’t trust myself when my husband and I took a dip in the Hawaii ocean. Fear of drowning is my thing and I wish I can get over it! I freaked out when I couldn’t feel the ocean floor lol!

    • Fear of the water (particularly not being able to touch bottom) runs in my family, so I totally get what you’re saying. I’d like to think I could save myself if I fell in, but part of me can’t help worrying that that fear would kick in and all the schooling would vanish!

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