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Ita....I have never taken *any prescribed med* before.... & I was only prescribed a handful. I will not refill it but that’s why I’m asking for suggestions on ways I might get over it...or any experience or helpful hint somebody else used to work through a fear.
But if it comes down to it... I may have to stick to short trips on the bay.....but I’m kinda hoping if I do that more....it will desensitize me & I’ll be able to take longer trips & out on the ocean....
People with seasickness are often medicated on cruise ships...that happens lots.....but ita with you. I’m a very health conscious girl....& I know the damage it can do as an RN with abuse or long term use......
Jeeez, you are an RN, and you compare benzos with motion sickness pills?
Anyway, I would just stay away from boats - that's what I do. I get seasick (no panic, just sick).
Location: As of 2022….back to SoCal. OC this time!
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Parnassia
You need to learn more about boats. Anything floating on the water that is handled by fools or suffers enough damage can "tip over". An otherwise tippy boat handled by an expert may not.
It’s not any lack of confidence in him.......he has sailed for years........so....I would say he is an expert.....
Back to the original question...how to recognize and diffuse a learned fear, particularly one that is probably unfounded.
Quote:
Originally Posted by TashaPosh
Thank you.............any suggestions?
In general, how you deal with fears created by anxiety is that you confront them, so if you are afraid of public speaking, you join toastmasters and speak a bunch until you no longer have that fear.
I don't know how often you go boating and more specifically how often when you do go boating that you go far enough away from shore that you can no longer see land. If this is a very rare occurrence then some type of sedative may be your easiest solution.
But let us assume that is not the case. When you feel anxiety what is happening is your body is having an adrenaline response. What you are trying to do is extinguish that response.
So lets say you are afraid of talking to women to ask them for dates. One way of dealing with that anxiety is put yourself in situations that are related to your fear where you are starting to feel the anxiety but its not quite yet there. So you might walk up to women and say hi. Once you are more comfortable with that, you walk up and make small talk. Once you are more comfortable with that, then you start asking them out. But the goal is to get to the point where you notice that your anxiety is starting to kick in and you acclimate yourself to it.
Now with boating, the process is analogous. I know you have a fear of being beyond the area where you can't see land, but if there was a point while boating where you were starting to feel anxious, but weren't feeling the full adrenaline response, you want to go there. So if the thought of just getting in boat makes you a little apprehensive, well go there first. If just being out in the boat but inside the San Francisco Bay is where you start to have those feelings well do that a lot, until you extinguish those feelings. If the anxiety starts to kick only when you can't see land, get the boat to that point where you can barely see land and see if you have the skipper take you back and forth across that boundary.
The other thing you can also try is physiological. If you exercise before you get on the boat, because your body is already tired out, its going to have more difficulty having a successful adrenaline response because your body is already tired. Even better if you are on a boat that is big enough where you can do some exercise while you are having this adrenaline response, like say doing a bunch of burpees or jumping jacks do that. When your muscles get tired, they will induce a relaxation response that will counter the adrenaline response. Its just much more difficult to feel anxiety when your body is just tired. But I don't know how big your boat is.
I like being around water but don’t like being in it or on it. I keep having this image about ships and boats on the ocean, being a little speck bobbing around on top of this chasm filled with liquid. It reminds me of planes in the sky or rockets in space.
I like being around water but don’t like being in it or on it. I keep having this image about ships and boats on the ocean, being a little speck bobbing around on top of this chasm filled with liquid. It reminds me of planes in the sky or rockets in space.
When you're in your own head about anything (and constantly having images is certainly indication you are), the best way to combat it is immediately put your focus on something else i.e. being active and busy in your life so as not to have time to daydream as much whether it be through work, friendships, romance, hobbies, whatever.
Unfortunately for the OP, however, it's directly related to an experience in her immediate environment at the time.
But if it comes down to it... I may have to stick to short trips on the bay.....but I’m kinda hoping if I do that more....it will desensitize me & I’ll be able to take longer trips & out on the ocean....
Is it possible you are causing yourself more anxiety - by worrying about it and putting pressure on yourself not to experience it again?
Perhaps the goal shouldn't be to 'take longer trips'; rather, the goal should be the enjoyment of the activity. If you focus on pleasure in the moment (with shorter distances), perhaps your anxiety and fear will subside naturally - or maybe it doesn't; but either way, think in terms of enjoyment (rather than prevention of anxiety). My two cents.
It’s not small....but it’s super small compared to taking a cruise....so....
There are life vests & floatables too....but it’s not drowning IMO.....it’s sharks!! I know that’s kinda irrational in my head but I only start thinking about it when I’m out there.......to reaching anxiety. :/
You're still feeling the see a whole lot more than you are in a cruise ship.
And unlike a surfboard you're not bound for land where you swam out and can swim in.
The other thing you can also try is physiological. If you exercise before you get on the boat, because your body is already tired out, its going to have more difficulty having a successful adrenaline response because your body is already tired. When your muscles get tired, they will induce a relaxation response that will counter the adrenaline response. Its just much more difficult to feel anxiety when your body is just tired.
This is very very interesting and it does make sense, thank you!
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I may have to stick to short trips on the bay.....but I’m kinda hoping if I do that more....it will desensitize me & I’ll be able to take longer trips & out on the ocean....
