Why do people fear swimming in water?
There are many possible ways for people to develop fears. I describe one cause as “Something Nasty In the Woodshed” (from Stella Gibbons novel “Cold Comfort Farm”) and this usually the result of a nasty experience in the water. Another possible cause is that because the person has not yet learnt how to move and float in the water they fear they may fall down and not be able to right themselves. There are of course some people who have a deep phobia but in my view this is a quite different level of fear and whereas the former levels can often be dissipated by a gradual gentle set of exercises introducing the student to water, phobias will probably need the attention of a psychiatrist or the like.
