Table of Contents
Precursor
The mental health memo of the day: if you were to ask me (a person that loves to exercise but conveniently also has Panic Disorder and Agoraphobia) which exercise is my favorite for anxiety, I would say swimming. Swimming helps anxiety in so many ways, and I just had to share my experience with it. Though I should put a disclaimer that I’m slightly biased as a self-identified half-mermaid 🙂
But in all seriousness, swimming is amazing for relieving anxiety. I’ve been swimming since I was little (not professionally) and have always adored it. There was something so magical about diving to the bottom of the pool and then just staring up at the water dancing at the top. Of course, then my moment of tranquility would be ruined by some kid doing a cannonball into the water and making me ripple along with the water.
As I grew up and started to develop anxiety, I soon realized the water was going to be my happy place. The changes that I experienced were not just moments of peace by looking at the water (though that was certainly some of it), but actual cognitive and physical changes that helped me to better cope with anxiety.
This is based on my own experiences, however, a lot of these opinions are also based in therapies such as CBT, Exposure Therapy, and well, just Psychology in general.
With that in mind, shall we… dive in?! (I’m so sorry I HAD to say it. It was right there.)
**This post contains affiliate links which means I get a very small commission from every sale made. However, this does not compromise my integrity and I genuinely only recommend things I believe in and/or use myself. You do not pay anything extra by using these links and it greatly supports my blog and channel in being able to continue making content for you all .**
The Gear I Use:
Obviously, I’m not an Olympic swimmer so I don’t have all the super cool outfits. However, as I said, I have been swimming for a long time so I do know what does/doesn’t work or feel good.
So, in case you wanted to start swimming but didn’t really know what you need or where to buy it, I decided to include all the equipment I use and enjoy to make it easier for you! These really are the staples, and you can always get more equipment as you continue swimming.
1. Bathing suit:
Now you may think that your bikini from your vacation to Cuba will suffice when it comes to active swimming. But I’m here to tell you that you’ll end up flashing the whole pool (I say this as a person that has seen this happen every week).
Unlike chilling in the ocean, when you’re actively swimming you’re moving a lot of body parts all at once. That’s why you want to make sure that you’re well covered so body parts don’t end up flying out!
Now I ain’t judging if you want your bits popping out but I assure you it will seriously get in the way of your swimming. You need to be comfortable so you can swim with proper technique instead of always using one hand to cover up cleavage, butt cheeks, hoo-has, or anything like that. So, in this case, a comfortable one-piece would be ideal.
This is the one that I have and I think it’s really great for the price. Most bathing suits that are specifically for swimming are really expensive (God knows why). The price of this one is good, especially for the quality I usually swim, do saunas, AND hot tubs so my swimsuit has been through a LOT. However, despite all that, it’s still in great condition!
I chose the green one and I adore it (but sadly that color isn’t there anymore). The other colors are just as pretty though!
I feel secure and comfortable in it, nothing is tight or weird or popping out, so this is a winner in my books!
If you’re from Canada, buy me here 🙂
2. Goggles
If you plan on swimming underwater or even so much as dipping your face in the water, you’re really gonna wanna get yourself some goggles. They help you to not hit people, the wall, or yourself by accident (I’ve done it).
Also, depending on where you’re going to swim (indoors or outdoors) you’re gonna want goggles that are tinted and shield your eyes from the sun so you don’t damage them. It also helps you to see better.
And one final point, it protects your eyes from the chlorine. Please don’t swim underwater with your eyes open and no goggles. You’re asking for red, irritated eyes.
For me, it’s always really enjoyable to be able to see underwater because it’s super calming and pretty (as we discovered in my intro).
These goggles are anti-fog, have UV protection, and mirrored lenses. All the things you’d want in a pair of goggles. I remember using these about a year ago and then losing them. I am still mourning the loss.
If you’re from the U.S, buy me here 🙂
If you’re from Canada, buy me here 🙂
3. Swimming Cap
If you’re bald, you’re not gonna have to worry about this one.
But if you have hair on your head whether it’s short or long, you’re going to want to get a swimming cap. Chlorine is really damaging to your hair, especially if you come into contact with it often.
If your hair is colored, it’ll strip the color from your hair as well as simply dry it out and make it gross.
I used to go without a swimming cap before for many years and it was truly a nightmare to wash out and un-matte my destroyed hair. It also made coloring my hair a big struggle.
The cap that I use now is one I specifically got because it’s made to have lots of room for long hair (which I have), and it covers around the ears.
I’ve used other swimming caps before and I used to be in tears putting them on because they would pull my hair so much. This one doesn’t do that. I have no pain taking this cap on or off with my lengthy locks.
It does keep water out, but the bottom of my head still gets a little wet. Quite frankly there’s no cap out there that’s going to keep all the water out so to me this isn’t a big problem. It keeps most of the water out, protects my hair, and doesn’t hurt to put on. A win for me!
This also comes with a nice bonus of earplugs as well!
If you’re from the U.S, buy me here 🙂
If you’re from Canada, buy me here 🙂
*P.S I know this cap looks ridiculous. However, you have to remember that everyone at the pool is going to look just as ridiculous. So no need to feel ashamed!*
Of course, I also bring towels and toiletries but those are very subjective things.
If you’re interested you could also get other swimming equipment like fins, boards or other things like that but my pool already has them so I have no need to buy any of them. It’s likely your pool will too so just check to see what they have and go from there!
Alright, finally onto how swimming improved my anxiety.
How Swimming Helps Anxiety:
1.Exercise is Essential for Mental Health
I’ve talked about this a million times already but exercise is incredibly important for mental health. Just some of the things exercise does are produce Endorphins (feel-good hormones), help you to feel accomplished, improve your self-esteem, ensure you have a good night’s sleep, and much more.
This response in the mind and body happen when you do ANY form of movement, regardless of what it is.
I wrote an extensive post on how exactly exercise improves mental health, which is why I’m going to refrain from regurgitating all of that here. If you want to understand the specifics, you can check out the post here.
But essentially swimming will give you all of these different benefits of exercise, plus a few extra (keep reading!)
2.It Forces You to Practice Breathing Techniques
Imagine jumping into the pool and coming out for air only when you need it. Oftentimes, you can hold your breath for a long time right when you start but as you continue swimming and tiring your body out, it becomes harder to breathe. So, now you’re constantly taking your head out and panting and you just feel like you cannot breathe properly.
This is not a good way to swim. If you want to swim with proper technique, you’re going to have to pace your breathing.
From the moment you hit the water, you’re going to want to practice a breathing pace you can manage throughout the whole swim. This will prevent you from feeling like you can’t breathe properly which will inevitably tire you and ruin your form.
So for me, I’m underwater for 3 swings of my arms, then I come back out for air and go back underwater for another 3 swings. This forces me to practice a slower and more mindful breathing technique. The reason this is so important is that paced breathing techniques are incredibly effective for calming anxiety.
Put simply: by swimming, I am forced into doing a regulated breathing technique. If I don’t, I lose my form and get tired quicker. Also, considering most people swim around 15-60 minutes, that’s a huge chunk of time you’re practicing regulated breathing. This has immaculate impacts on your brain.
But not only that, if you recall from my Personal Journey With Anxiety blog post, I mentioned breathing was a trigger for my Panic Disorder.
So by swimming, I’m forcing myself to be aware of my trigger and control it for about an hour. This is in itself Exposure Therapy and has greatly helped me to progress in my ability to confront my triggers.
If breathing is hard for you in general, swimming will be a great way for you to practice getting control of it. Even if you don’t struggle with breathing, simply partaking in breathing techniques will be super beneficial to your health!
3.Wearing a Bathing Suit in Public
This may sound a little silly but I think most of us are shy and anxious about being in a bathing suit around a bunch of strangers.
You feel like everyone is staring at you and your body, and judging it. This is really hard for most people, but even harder for those that have self-esteem issues or social anxiety. For me personally, it caused a great deal of anxiety.
But to do my swim, I have to be out there in a bathing suit unless I want to swim in a diver’s outfit (which I don’t). And much like with the breathing, by exposing myself (literally, ha) to that anxious situation, I got more comfortable and confident in it each time.
Now I have no problem hanging out in a bathing suit cause I’m so used to it! I’m even more comfortable showing skin in general because of it.
Obviously, everyone has different comfort levels with showing skin and what they are ready for, particularly if they have a lot of self-esteem troubles. However, if this is a source of big anxiety for you, then swimming will be a great way to challenge your perceptions, all while reaping a bunch of other benefits!
4.The Effects of Water
Water is incredibly calming and it has amazing effects on your body. Of course, it would be better to be in sea salt water instead of chlorine water for full water benefits, but it’s still really nice.
Water helps us to unwind and loosen up physically, but also mentally.
When you’re underwater, you don’t really hear anything. Everything moves so slow and your vision is a bit blurrier. It can often feel like you’re floating. Something about that is very relaxing and can often be much needed in our pace-paced world full of stimuli, noise, chaos, and speed. This is why people love using hot tubs, float spas, and hot springs.
Water is also pretty to look at! One of my favorite types of self-care is simply to sit by the stream near my house and watch the water ripple around the rocks. I am often left there in a trance for hours.
Obviously, not everyone benefits from water in this way, and I totally get that. But I’d definitely recommend giving it a try because there’s nothing really to lose!
5. Unlike Other Exercises, Swimming is Gentle
Swimming is as gentle of a cardio as you can get. There is very little opportunity for you to get injured due to the water protecting your joints, but you can also still manage to gain big results in terms of physical health. This is beneficial for 2 reasons:
1. It helps prevent a panic attack
As I mentioned before, breathing is a trigger for me. But on top of that, having a racing heart is also really anxiety-inducing.
Those 2 things are typical symptoms you feel when exercising very intensely. The problem with that is that’s exactly how you feel when you have a panic attack. Due to this, intense cardio or training is very difficult for me because it’s as if I’m putting myself into a panic attack.
That’s why swimming is so helpful. As already mentioned, I’m controlling my breathing the whole time so I don’t feel as out of breath, and the cardio is gentle enough that I’m challenged but don’t start to feel all that heart-racing stuff.
So this firm but gentle cardio is ideal for someone like me who gets anxious when feeling any sort of physical sensation related to panic.
2. It’s gentle on the body
This is really important because when you’re anxious, depressed, or experiencing some other type of mental phenomenon, it takes a huge toll on your body. We often don’t talk about this enough.
All those tight spots, body pains, sore muscles, and stomachaches are all coming from your poor mental health.
So in this case with such a tired body, you wouldn’t want to be doing incredibly intensive and difficult exercise because it could damage you more. You should instead be doing gentler movement (at least for the time being).
Not only that but because swimming is so gentle it means it’s incredibly accessible. So if you have a physical disability or chronic illness of any sort, you can still go into the water and partake in some form of swimming or aquatic fitness.
This is a beautiful thing because it means you can get all those benefits we’ve talked about so far regardless of your physical condition!
In Summary
Swimming has created an incredibly positive impact on my mental health, especially with my anxiety. I think it has huge potential, and I hope that this article has inspired you to try it out and see what it can do to you.
What do you like to do for your anxiety? Let me know in the comments below!
All my love,
T