Has anyone had panic attacks while swimming and are there any ideas I can use to overcome them? I got a wetsuit and that seems to help.
There have been a ton of posts about these types of issues. You can find them by doing a search. Here’s one of the more recent ones:
Yep!!! I tried the start out slow, the start on the side, etc. Could control it most of the time
But, so far this season, the 100% cure has been I swam masters the last 9 months. So, I am much
better shape for swimming, which means I swim in front of the MOP folks who tend to beat the heck
out of each other, I learned to breath correctly for racing, every 2 strokes, and my swimming skills
and confidence is much better.
Dave
This is a very serious topic. I know a guy who panicked and tried to take of his wet suit in the middle of the lake. You can be very irrational when in a panic mode. Fortunately a kayak was nearby to help out.
Always remember that a wetsuit functions somewhat as a floatation device. I’m sure it’s a lot harder to drown in one as they will keep you bouyant. Relax. Side stroke, role on your back, or whatever it takes to keep panic under control.
Been there. Solved it.
Just get out in the water early before the race and give your body the chance to adjust to the cold.
Been there. Solved it.
Just get out in the water early before the race and give your body the chance to adjust to the cold.
http://forum.slowtwitch.com/gforum.cgi?post=1254497#1254497
Damn…two minutes to reply??? You are slipping.
I couldn’t stop laughing for two minutes.
I used to get them quite a bit- especially when I was wearing a wetsuit. I get out and swim to the first buoy and back before the race. Start in teh back and go at my pace. I also learned to breathe on both sides so if I got a mouth full of water on one side, I could get air on the other. When I would start to panic I would tread water and slowly start back in with an easy breast stroke. Things that helped me- I talked to the people in the boats before the race and told them I wasn’t a good swimmer and to keep an eye on me. Some of them would even paddle along with me to make sure I was doing ok. I had no shame in doing the doggy paddle, back stroke, side stroke, breast stroke- whatever it took to help me relax. Then I really worked on getting into a master swim program and swimming 3-4 times per week for about an hour each time.
yes.
what helped me the most was spending more time in the water in general.
familiarity with race conditions comes with time and will help to settle down your physical reaction(s).
before races i’m in the water for my warmup and just getting a sense of the place, water conditions, waves & temp.
mentally take some ownership of the place.
Are you talking about actual panic attacks, as in, anxiety-related, or are you referring to the heart-in-your-throat adrenaline rush of a mass swim and starting out too fast for your conditioning? (Are you actually a decent swimmer otherwise, and comfortable in open water?) If the wetsuit seemed to help, it may be that your floatation improved, thus conserving more energy & not redlining as you were before (along with the associated symptoms like hyperventilation, gasping, etc.). Or, it may be that the wetsuit provides some semblance of comfort that has a psychological component aside from the buoyancy benefits. Could be a little of both.
Have you ever had a panic attack in the past, in any other situation besides the start of an open-water swim? If not, it probably isn’t a panic attack in the clinical sense, but rather a well-founded instinctual fear of a potentially dangerous situation. It’s not exactly a natural environment for humans, swimming like a school of overly-caffeinated sea bass. Of course, not knowing any of the pertinent factors of your situation only leaves room for speculation.
I suspect it’s a matter of insufficient comfort level with the open-water group start situation that’s causing your problem (if not lack of swim conditioning in general). If you have a way to expose yourself to this scenario outside of race conditions, such as a relaxed open-water group swim in shallow water (if possible) with a familiar group of people, you’ll gradually acclimate to those conditions.
Yes I’ve had panic attacks in the past. I’ve been swimming 1 mile at the beach where along the bouys I can touch bottom. The last time it happened I was 3/4 mile into the swim and when I was siteing I thought I had swam to far out. I started to panic and was swimming fast to get into the shallow water and I told myself to calm down and then I started to swim slowwer. A couple of weeks ago we had a course preview at the tri I’m doing next week the same one I did last year. It was about 50 people to start and I was going along o.k. I kept bumping into someone on my right the corner bouy had drifted almost across the lake (it’s a small lake). I lost an ear plug. I think all of these things probably contributed. I am a good swimmer just not a fast swimmer.
Have you determined the primary source of your anxiety? It sounds like water itself isn’t the problem, or open water in either lakes or oceans, or the depth of the water beneath you, so what do you think is the trigger? You say this only happens during races, not in practice, right? How often? Do you get pre-race anxiety in general, that might be setting you up for it?
I’m just throwing stuff out there, you’ve probably thought of all this before. If you’re able to identify the trigger (if a single one exists) it shouldn’t be too difficult to address and overcome it. Hell, if you’re able to swim a mile in the ocean on a regular basis, you’re clearly up to the challenge. I live near the beach & haven’t trained in the ocean since IMFL '05, thanks to my own completely irrational shark phobia. I’m in no hurry to get over it, either. 
I swim a mile at an inland lake I live in Michigan. So far it’s only happened in practice. It’s kind of a long story last year I had an episode at work my heart was racing I was dizzy. I thought I was having a heart attack so my doctor put me though all the test and the heart checked out good. I started thinking it was a panic attack and the doctor did nothing but increase my anxiety. I think the trigger was I was training for my first tri. I could swim but I hadn’t done any distance ever. The doc put me on lorezepam then I got dependent on it. Finally I’m free of all medication and I don’t want to have to take medication to calm me down to race. I have a wetsuit and that really calms me down but if the water is to warm I can’t wear it and still be eligible to win my division. That’s making a long story short.
I’m a firm believer in the less is more philosophy when it comes to medications, good on you for working through it. I can’t imagine taking Ativan on a regular basis, much less before a race.
From what I know about panic disorder, it can largely be controlled with a cognitive-behavioral approach, which focuses on changing the thought process that leads to (and/or exacerbates) the physiological symptoms of the sudden “fight or flight” response, when these episodes occur. Learning how to cope with them in a general sense, regardless of situational factors, is really the most important part of the equation. As your initial question was specific to swimming, the most effective way to minimize the chances of that particular event initiating or contributing to a panic attack is to become as familiar and comfortable with it as possible. It doesn’t mean that they won’t occur if you do so (the nature of panic attacks is, as you know, random onset), only that it won’t be a contributing factor, and in the event of another, you’ll be able to use your comfort level as part of the cognitive defense in countering the attack.
To be clear, I’m not a psychologist or psychiatrist, although I have worked in emergency medicine for several years and have experience in dealing with patients with both panic and anxiety disorders, in addition to formal education in both. If you’re experiencing symptoms that you feel may be beyond your control, particularly at a time when you’re in a compromised position (like while swimming) you should see a trained psychologist, at the very least. Sometimes medication is necessary for a period of time, and with panic disorder, there is a life-long ebb-and-flow to the severity and frequency of occurrences, so it may be time to investigate a little further.
Yes I did see a psycholygist for about 9 months and that helped get me off the attivan. I’m on a need to see basis and I’ve been good since April I’m going to try to get in before the race and get a tune up. I’ve learned to recognize the start up and can calm my self down most of the time now. Like when I started swimming in a panic I told myself to slow down. I also think to myself I’m a good swimmer and I can swim twice the race distance if I have to.
Breathing.
Breathing is one of the first things that is affected with panic attacks. You stop breathing and all your muscles tighten. RELAX. If you can take control of your breathing pattern, you can ultimately control the overall state of your body. Whenever you are in a situation that causes great stress to you, such as a crowded swim start, people swimming over you at a mass start race, etc. Focus on completely and properly exhaling all the air under water. Then when you tilt your head up you can breath in. Without fully exhaling you will either be forced to exhale the air prior to inhaling when your head is “above water” (which isn’t that great and can further contribute to your stress) or you simply inhale and start hyperventilating. Both not very good options, especially since you are in a “panic state” already.
So just get control of your breathing (focus on fully exhaling under water) and you should be fine.
Some things that help me:
in a mass start, swim heads up for the first 100-200 yards. this will help your breathing and help you get into the flow of the race. wait for open water before putting your head down.
as mentioned above, breathing is key. there are so many factors at the start (cold water, poor vision, start of race, crwded conditions) that will make you hyper that getting your breathing relaxed is key
confidence - you touched on this, knowing you are a good swimmer. every time I get a little hyper int he swim, I think about my Alcatraz swim and re-assure myself that if I can do that swim that everything elese is childs play
Think of the swim as child’s play too
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Think of the swim as child’s play too
Child’s play - Right - children don’t swim viciously, over people and kick people, and are never sorry because they were in their way- It’s swimmers who do things like that, that make people anxious about the swim.