eli westfall, lmft LLC

My strongest swim stroke is the doggie paddle. Go ahead and make fun of me all you want. I deserve it. I’m not a very strong swimmer, I know. It also doesn’t help I am kind of afraid of the water (that’s a story for another time, but it probably has to do with Jaws). I grew in Georgia and while there are lakes in Georgia, I didn’t grow up swimming in them. My idea of swimming growing up was wading across a river or some other ridiculous activity in the water which wasn’t really swimming. I can swim, I’m just not very go at it.

So, as you can imagine, the idea of drowning is a little scary. When I am in water deeper than I can touch the bottom or I can’t see the bottom, I panic easily. I mean like quick. I have work very hard to not panic. I go out of my way to avoid situations like these, because they make me very uncomfortable. Not just uncomfortable, panicky. I have ran a bunch of half marathons, one marathon (with more on the horizon), and many 5Ks. I think I would like to do a triathlon, you know a swim, bike, run. But that swim part at the beginning has me. I just can’t get past it. If it was in water that was clear and I could touch the bottom the whole time… maybe. But then where is the challenge. Maybe, one day I will overcome this fear.

For many of us, not just us rednecks who grew up in Georgia with doggie paddle as the strongest swim stroke, the idea of drowning is terrifying. Being sucked under, not able to breathe. Unable to get above the surface, to get air. Overwhelmed and overcome.

This happens in our lives, not just in the water. Sometimes we get in over our heads. Sometimes we feel like we are drowning. Like we keep getting pulled deeper and deeper and there is no escape. And it is scary.

How do we keep from drowning?

Don’t panic. It’s not easy, but it is necessary. When we panic we over-exert ourselves and use up all of our energy prematurely. We run out of energy before we should. We tire early. Same thing happens to us mentally and emotionally. When we panic, we use up our mental and emotional capacity and we tire out. Don’t panic. Remain calm.

Reach for help. Reach for the ring being tossed to help you keep from going under. Be careful to not grab onto loved ones and drag them down with us. Rather grab onto the support they offer to us and use it to lift ourselves up and out of the water. Use the assistance to recover.

Keep going. Seems counterintuitive but it isn’t. Keep going, don’t stop. When we get overwhelmed it isn’t the time to stop, it is the time to get more skills to manage the stressors and anxieties we face each day so we don’t get overwhelmed by them. Keep going.

Feeling like we are drowning is not fun. I have been there more times than I want to remember. I’m sure you have to. We don’t have to stay there. We can move forward. We can rely on each other and help each move forward. We you feel like you’re drowning, remember: don’t panic, reach help, and keep going.