‘Determined to get over my fear’: Alaya F attempts underwater diving for the first time

"A lot of people don’t know this but even though I’m a very good swimmer, I’m terrified of open waters," Alaya shared

Alaya F is all for getting over her open water swimming fear (Source: Alaya F/Instagram)

We may fear certain things, but the real challenge lies in overcoming those fears and instead enjoying them! That is exactly what Alaya F did on her recent trip to the Maldives.

“A lot of people don’t know this but even though I’m a very good swimmer, I’m terrified of open waters so obviously when I went to the Maldives, I was determined to get over my fear. I had never seen what life under water looked like and I decided I would only go in once and have a good look. So, please enjoy my terrified first reaction to life underwater,” she captioned an Instagram video.

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Take a look!

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A post shared by ALAYA F (@alayaf)

Eventually, she swam for a while until she saw a shark, she revealed.

“Yes I did eventually get in and got over my fear and I swam around for a while until we saw a shark… at which point I just went ‘nope, nope, nope, I’m getting out now, enough fear tackling for one day’”.

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As per Dr Sugami Ramesh, clinical psychologist, Apollo Hospitals, Bannerghatta Road, Bengaluru, aquaphobia or fear of water is most often since childhood. Patients develop these fears when exposed to audio visual situations of water and water bodies as a child or at any other stage in adult life as well. In some cases, genetics also play a role, Dr Sugami told indianexpress.com in an earlier piece.

As per the expert, an effective way to get rid off the fear is to counter it physically.

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“Overcoming aquaphobia is a gradual process and can be achieved through de-senitisation. This form of therapy involves getting the patient exposed to water more often, so that they get comfortable gradually. Such persons need to help and convince themselves to let go of the fear. This is a gradual process and the physical presence of water is mandatory,” the expert said.

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