Overcoming Fear of Water

Video Transcript

"In this clip, we'll talk about hydrophobia. Hydrophobia is a fear of water, and is more common than you think. It can range from being afraid to go in the ocean, to going in a pool, to the more severe level of even staying away from taking a bath. Now hydrophobia a lot of times can be linked to a past trauma. For example, if when you were a child you almost drowned, or you saw someone else almost drown, that could that could be the trigger that might have led to your fear of water. So in that case, if that's your specific trigger, you might need to talk about different ways to stay safe. You know, maybe you're afraid of swimming because you don't know how to swim, and some of the things you could do is as simple as learning how to swim. You know, take some swimming lessons with a certified instructor, with lifeguards on duty, and then once you learn how to swim, you won't be afraid of the water. If it stems from something, you know, a little bit more traumatic, such as seeing someone else drown, then it's harder, because you're talking about a trigger that you can't really just go and learn, and get over. What you have to do is then kind of start to view water as something different than, you know, death, or doom, or danger. And ways of doing that is again, you know, maybe it's taking a class, a water class where you learn how to be comfortable with the water. Maybe it's as simple as, you know, start by, you know, filling the bathtub with a little bit of water, more than, you know, maybe up to your ankle, and being able to sit on the edge, and put your feet in. Again, with hydrophobia, because of the extent of severity that it can cause, and because it's so readily available all around us, this is probably something you want to be talking to a counselor so that they can help you work through this specific phobia."