Feeling the fear and doing it anyway!

OK so this isn't strictly PND related, but it is along the same veins...

As most of you know, as well as depression I also have me a few anxiety issues (just a few, I promise! ). I am terribly claustrophobic, scared of situations where I am out of my depth/comfort zone, and basically just a good ole worrywart.

But today I did something which was waaaaay out of my comfort zone, and I didn't even feel anxious, maybe a little nervous, but not anxious. I went SNORKELLING!!!!

I know it sounds silly, but think of all the things to obsess over - I was worried about getting out of my depth, about drowning, about being able to regulate my breathing and not panic when I had the snorkel on, and about what sort of nasty things I might see lurking under the water (yes, I was thinking dead bodies...) I used to swim competitively as a teenager and am a trained pool lifesaver so am reasonably confident in the water, but the other things were nagging me.

But once I got out there, I really, really enjoyed it. We took Maya for a while on my sisters back and she loved it, then my sister and I went out round the point by ourselves. We didn't see much, a few fish and lots of weed, but it was so empowering and confidence building! Tomorrow we are going to a spot recommended by the dive place which will be way out of my depth, so more of a challenge, but I'm actually looking forward to it.

I am so proud of myself. I know it seems like such a small thing, but for someone like me who is always ultra conservative and 'safe' it is a huge achievement!

thats so cool. i hyperventalate snorkelling so can appreciate the control needed. well done you!

Way to go Emma! So admire you for pushing through the fears and enjoying it! Awesome!

Hope you have just as much fun tomorrow!

well done emma!!! i'm proud of you

i'm way to scared to snorkel, or dive or anything that involves being underwater

yay for you!!! What a cool thing to do

Way to go Emma, hope you have a great day today out again, also that you get to see some really special stuff down there!!

Well done Robyn, next time dont worry about trying to close visor, just relax and remember you can wear sunglasses to protect your eyes & a small scaf or hanky to protect you mouth & nose - bugs at speeds are not nice  lol

LOL Gemsmum, that was me too, I didn't go UNDER the water, just had a good look around where I didn't have to get my snorkel filled with water!

I'm so glad we went out again yesterday tho, there were literally thousands of fish, heaps of brim, some fish that looked like Dory from Finding Nemo but according to my sister the fish expert they are a different species, heaps of zebra fish and some cool rainbow fish plus a carpet shark! It was sooooo much fun, I didn't want to come in! Mum and Dad took Maya back there this morning and she loved it too so we're all going back tomorrow for one last go before we go home.

I am SO glad I got up the guts to do it!

Oh and go Robyn on the motorbike! That's one thing I could never do!

well done you hon! I am so scared of water. Waterfalls freak me, you would never get me on a cruse ship or diving I think I would die of a heart attack.
I did tried snorkling a few years back when we were in Egypt at the red sea and I just couldn't do it. It wasn't the dead bodies that got me, but just the 100's and 1000's of f***ing fish! Ewww, they just freaked me out too much.
Anyhow, I got a great tan while everyone else got sunburnt backs.
I did though somehow go whitewater rafting on the Zambezi river and it was truly the worse thing I have ever done but man I was proud. I get scared just watching the video of us in that raft!
Anyway, just wanted to tell you my story cos I know how hard it must have been for you to actaully do it in the first place and then manage to stay calm enough to stay there and even enjoy it! What a