Help to convince someone...

[OldYamcha]

Okay, so I thought I'd ask here.

My friend has a complete phobia of staying in deep water.

He goes to swimming with me and avoids going to the real deep water. I have no problem any more, so I go there, and try to convince him to go there as well. No matter how much I try, he won't go. I:

1. tried to convince him by talking.....failed.

2. taught him to stay on the surface by moving his feet in the water, and floating. (He's afraid to stay on his back).... failed

3. taught him to swim with breathing. Meaning to turn one's head and breathe....failed.

4. Went to the deep water, he came as near as he could, I dived down, with no air in my lungs, and walked...literally, on the floor,...I almost convinced him, then he felt pain in his toes, dived accidentaly, swallowed some water, got scared and went back.


Any ideas on how to convince him?

[OldYamcha]

Uhm, I meant as in physical solutions.

He's not going to be convinced that way. X.x;

[OldYamcha]

Originally posted by Cell
Alright, well if you want me to be *serious* I'll give it a try.

Tell him to stay in the shallow end (if this pool indeed has one-- it better, or this plan goes to shit right here) until he feels comfortable enough. Tell him to slowly edge out into deeper water until he doesn't feel comfortable doing so any more. When he gains confidence at a certain depth, tell him to move out a little further. Eventually, he should be in the deepest part of the water and be fairly comfortable. This might take a few days or weeks depending on how long it takes for your buddy to gain water confidence, but that might work. You could also try being out there with him for the first few attempts, and as he gets better at it let him go by himself.

If you're in a lake or ocean, try doing the same thing, only obviously the shore only gets deeper as you go out...

That's all I can think of off the top of my head.

He has to have his feet on ground, or so he says.

@ Bun: If I try that, I might have one friend less. >.>

Meh, I'll check up tomorrow.

[Reijin]

A pool is not a good place to try to do this either. Go to a lake where the waves are fairly calm so that the slope is a little more constant (obviously you'll have to find out where this is in that lake). The problem with a pool is how you get to that point where it starts turning to deep, and then it quickly slides down to the deeper water. If you are walking forward, even slowly, momentum will begin carrying you forward even if you want to stop. Then if you aren't actually swimming over the water, you'll go under panicking b/c you are trying to go the other way.

[Minoshia]

Originally posted by King Vegeta
What does it matter? Just don't take him into deep water.

Amen.

[Jewtastic]

Im with your friend, there are sharks in deep waters....

/sarcasm

[Ruhiel]

Push him in.

Or, if they have a diving board, convince him to go off of it, and therefore, into deep water.

[The Not Cool Not Tapion]

Seriously throw him in. When he goes crazy and almost drowns, bring him to the shallow end or bring him out and be like "See, you didn't die!" Then push him back and he should be just fine.

[Hellfighter 17]

Let him conquer it when he's ready and on his own?

[The Not Cool Not Tapion]

Originally posted by Hellfighter 17
Let him conquer it when he's ready and on his own?

Don't listen to him, he can't swim.

[Hellfighter 17]

I was forced to take swimming lessons in school, and I advanced faster than most. <.>

[The Not Cool Not Tapion]

Originally posted by Hellfighter 17
I was forced to take swimming lessons in school, and I advanced faster than most. <.>

He was forced to take them because he couldn't swim and the school put him in 'advanced' swimming classes like they put the special people in 'advanced' reading and writing. He excelled at the drowning part of class.

[Hellfighter 17]

How'd you know?!

[The Not Cool Not Tapion]

I was the teacher.

[Hellfighter 17]

The touching. ='(

[The Not Cool Not Tapion]

Oh stop whining. You liked it at the time.

[Hellfighter 17]

I just didn't want you hitting me anymore. =(

[OldYamcha]

Originally posted by Reijin
A pool is not a good place to try to do this either. Go to a lake where the waves are fairly calm so that the slope is a little more constant (obviously you'll have to find out where this is in that lake). The problem with a pool is how you get to that point where it starts turning to deep, and then it quickly slides down to the deeper water. If you are walking forward, even slowly, momentum will begin carrying you forward even if you want to stop. Then if you aren't actually swimming over the water, you'll go under panicking b/c you are trying to go the other way.

The slope is constant in the pool. It goes smoothly, believe me.


And I am not going to throw him in! >=o

[OldYamcha]

Originally posted by Tooro
Then i doubt he will learn =|

Me too :-|

[The Not Cool Not Tapion]

He'll learn not to be such a bitch.