Swimming

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Has anyone found the absolute isolation of swimming calming as I did as an aspie.

I'll let you know if I ever manage to float. Swear once water goes right up my nose I freak the f**k out. Love water, Love watching swimmers, would looooove to be able to swim. Can't get lessons and freak out when water goes up my nose. -_-

Well my fear of stains this year has become this big that I don't even dare to enter any pool anymore, I used to be a huge (but slow) swimmer back in the early days.

My fear with this is that I'm gonna lose my ability to swim, but I think I already lost it to be honest.

Whatever is extremely hard to learn is actually extremely easy to unlearn at the same time, certainly for those with unlucky genes.

I really like swimming. Especially in an empty pool. I loved water slides as a young child, but now I just can't stand in a queue like that without getting anxious for some reason. I love swimming underwater so I feel really isolated.

Scuba diving is really cool as well - although you have to have someone you know to be your buddy in dives and lessons or you would be paired up with a stranger ( no thanks!!) It is SO wonderfully relaxing while scuba diving though, I never wanted to surface. I wish I had the opportunity again, but never mind.

That's why I never learned. One time they had lessons at a local pool that were cheap or free and I started those. They wouldn't let me use a noseplug so I had to drop out. I can't put my face in water without a noseplug or I get water up my nose.

I love swimming. The water feels nice on my skin (if it's not too cold!), and I concentrate on my breath and forget everything else. When times got tough for me, swimming calmed me down.

Any advice on avoiding water up the nose then? Heh.

I'd try to teach myself but the local pool is always busy as it's the only one within a hour journey of about 4 different towns. And being on the coast of scotland getting in the battle is more daft than a ice bath

i always found the water up the nose thing to be annoying. i think what you need to do is constantly blow a stream of air out to avoid water getting in

I love swimming when the pool isn't so crowded. A nice dry or steam sauna is also a plus

Goggles.

Swimming is great especially as training for other activities. I agree that the simple repetitive movement is quite soothing. I spent about 3 months earlier this year swimming laps every morning to train for a mountain trip out west. Worked really well but I got the mother of all swimmer's ear that grew into a painful double ear infection.

I. Freaking. Love. Swimming.
But it's too cold now.

That's the beauty of indoor pools at health clubs if you're close enough and can afford the monthly fee.

I can't, and being around people pretty much negates the enjoyment, for me.

To prevent getting water up your nose, what you do is exhale through your nose whilst underwater. So eventually, you get in the water, and it's second nature to exhale to not get water in your nose. Jumping in or diving can be a problem for this, as you gotta time your breaths, but if you wanna learn, just put your head under water slowly while exhaling, shouldn't be too hard. Eventually, just go under the water faster and faster so your brain can learn the timing of exhaling. You gotta exhale reasonably hard, you wanna make bubbles. Just exhale as hard as possible when you're first learning, then later you can exhale less once you learn what's required to not get water up your nose.

Anyway, I swam a lot as a kid, don't do it too much as an adult. I was vacationing near a river that was very swimmable last year, and really enjoyed going to the river to swim, but pools I don't find as fun. I don't really like the chlorine and just how small and artificial pools feel. It'd be good exercise for me, though, need a little extra aerobic exercise. One thing I never managed to teach myself to do was flip underwater at the end of a lap. I'm reasonably fast sprinting at swimming, but my endurance is really low.

Also, as a kid I was really weird. Basically as soon as I learned to actually swim, I left the heated pool at my YMCA and swam in the cold pool with the adults, and I'd just swim laps alone for like, hours. I didn't like playing Marco Polo and stuff with the other kids. I was like 11 or 12, too, swimming laps alone. Definite Aspie traits I guess... But my parent's divorced, and my mom cancelled the YMCA membership, so after 5-6th grade, never swam much again.

Yes. I use an exterior nose clip and highly recommend it. Clamps the nostrils closed and prevents water entry.