After a surfing accident or a bad surfing experience, it often happens that we are suddenly afraid during the next surf session. Even though there was no fear before. Or the fear has increased significantly. In this blog post, I’ll give you 4 Steps to help you prevent that.
As a little preparation for situations in which you might get anxious: Think of a word, a saying, a melody, or the memory of something relaxing or calming. Example: One of my retreat participants got a panicky feeling when she was pushed underwater by a wave in cold water. She then thought – as soon as the panicky feeling arose – how she was comfortably drinking a coffee in front of the fireplace. She associated this inner image with warmth and relaxation. It helped her to keep calm.
What do you do in a scary situation while surfing?
If you get scared in the water and you realize that you are panicking, the very first thing you should do is count from 5 to 1 and then think of your word, saying, melody or inner image. No matter what you choose, it should have a strong emotional meaning for you.
When you are out of the worst fear and can think clearly again, switch your mindset to the most stubborn, persistent, determined you have ever been in your life and get out of the danger zone (paddling out of the impact zone, back to the line-up or back to the beach). Your whole face radiates stubbornness, your whole body vibrates with determination. Feel this feeling as strongly as you can. It gives you strength and helps you stay focused. At the same time, it prevents you from thinking anything negative, as we cannot think two thoughts at the same time. Just stubbornly count from 1 to 100 with every paddle stroke.
What do you do after a surfing accident or bad experience?
It doesn’t matter whether you’ve managed to overcome your fear and feel fine or whether you get back to the beach still totally shocked: Take a moment immediately after surfing on the beach and do the following exercise to create emotional distance from the experience and teach your subconscious a different emotional story. Not when you get home, but immediately after you get out of the water, if possible.
Step 1: create emotional distance from the experience
Tell yourself what has just happened internally, in the THIRD PERSON, as if it has happened to someone else and you are telling the story about someone else’s experience. This creates emotional distance from the experience. You can also say it out loud. Pay attention to your language. Describe everything that had to do with fear or negative emotions in a very neutral way (e.g. “a big wave” instead of “a monster wave that almost killed her/him”, “She/he felt fear” instead of “She/him almost died of fear”).
Even if you tell other people about your experience, please do it as neutrally as possible, even if it is sometimes tempting to tell the story in detail and emotionally. But if you revive the fear with words, you give the fear power and revive it over and over again
Step 2: add control
Repeat going through the situation in your imagination, but in this second version there is no more fear, instead you stay in control, remain calm and courageous. Our brain cannot tell whether we have experienced something in real or not. By going through the situation again in this way, your brain actually feels as if you were able to experience the situation without fear. In this way, you “overwrite” the severity of the experience with something “less bad”. It’s still a scary situation, but you’ve mastered it with a sense of control.
Step 3: make it funny or absurd
Then mentally repeat the situation again. This time, however, make the situation as funny as possible, be creative. This will help your subconscious mind to break the cycle of fear (fear remains, becomes anchored, becomes a problem with every future session and, above all, becomes stronger and stronger) and link the event in a different emotional way. Rainbow-colored water, you fall as if on super soft cotton, there are fish swimming around you telling you jokes, you have wings, etc. There are no limits to your imagination.
Some people who do the exercise say: But I can’t find anything funny about the situation, it was so horrible. Look, this is not about playing down the situation. Yes, it was bad. You may have hurt yourself or felt like you were almost drowning. But this is a thought experiment, because you want to prevent fear from building up in the future. By making your experience completely exaggeratedly funny or extremely absurd, the experience loses its emotional intensity.
Step 4: thank yourself
Thank yourself for mustering the strength and mental fortitude.
Further surfing tips to prevent accidents, fear and gain more self-confidence in the water
Acquire knowledge and improve your skills. Learn how to behave in currents, practice your duck dive, build up your strength and fitness before you go on your surfing vacation. Take enough time at each spot to observe the spot closely. The waves, the other surfers, the currents, channels, bottom characteristics, etc. The more you know and the fitter you are, the lower the risk of a surfing accident.
All clear? Tell me about your experiences, surfing accidents and your surfing problems. I’ll collect everything and then create ongoing videos with coaching input on the various issues.
YOUR ONLINE MENTAL TRAINING OR SURF TRAINING RETREAT:
Are you frustrated every time you go surfing because your fear gets in your way? Are you too hard on yourself, doubt yourself, and are disappointed in yourself again and again? Whether your fear is mild but persistent or already heading towards panic, or your expectations of yourself and the surf session end in frustration: If this prevents you from having fun and surfing better waves, it has to change!
Book your online 1:1 mental training and embark on the journey to become a braver surfer who enjoys surfing again. Click on the button for more info.
Want to practise right by the ocean? Then take a look at our surf coaching and mental training retreats.
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