swimming in lakes - Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community

seizei · 08-19-2003, 12:16 PM

I LOVE to swim in lakes. I've camped all the time since I was a kid, love to canoe, dive off cliffs.... but here's my problem:

I can only swim in lakes when there are other people with me.

I took the canoe out alone last month and jumped into the water after docking on an island, and got really freaked out and was consumed with the need to get back to the shore immediately.

If I'm with others, I can swim for hours in the same spot.

to me, that is strange.

any thoughts?

SiN · 08-19-2003, 12:25 PM

not strange at all, imo.

i grew up on lakeshore, had great fun swimming and all that, lake is like a big wet playground

been a while since i've swam in a lake, but yeah, i do remember times of getting kinda spooked, and i don't think i'd wanna swim in one alone.

and no, it's not the lil fishies nibbling on my lil toesies that i worry about.

Charlatan · 08-19-2003, 12:38 PM

I just got in from swimming in the lake (my hair is still wet)...

I don't get too freaked at the lake in my cottage. But I have been freaked swimming in the ocean and there have been a few times where I've been out after dark and had a sudden urge to get out of the water...

My read on it is the great uknown beneath... can't see it but you just know it's there...lurking.

bparker805 · 08-19-2003, 12:47 PM

If I can't see the bottom of it, chances are pretty good that you won't see me swimming in it. Has anybody ever seen the movie Pirranah?

TheKak · 08-19-2003, 04:34 PM

No but I saw Pirranah 2, and it was just hilarious. Salt water pirranahs that pretty much fly. One even hid inside of a corpse for a day and jumped out and killed someone, and then flew out the window and back to the ocean! Lakes only freak me out because they are usually dirty as shit, depending on where you are (leeches are fucking gross too~).

GoldenOuroboros · 08-19-2003, 04:53 PM

Fear of the unknown.. big one in us humans...

yoshi · 08-19-2003, 05:25 PM

yeah, not big on swimming alone or in the dark. the fear of the unknown---sends shivers, plus I've seen too many stupid scary movies.

prosequence · 08-19-2003, 05:52 PM

Think of how the fishies feel... swimin' along minding their own business when **SPLASH** a big pair of mashy/kicky things come flailing throught he water.....
Put yourself in their position.... imagine it....
Maybe this point of view will help with the phobia...

mastboy4 · 08-19-2003, 09:43 PM

ok just the thought of being all alone in th emiddle of a lake is a bit disturbin so i get ur point

JohnTallGuy · 08-20-2003, 11:23 AM

Don't be a phool, swimming alone can be seriously dangerous!
Anywhere!

I swim in pools, lakes, and ocean's, but only with other people within hailing distance. In case I need "HELP".

You CAN drown you know.

rev_skarekroe · 08-20-2003, 12:29 PM

Watch out for the killer oil-slick from Creepshow 2.
sk

lemming · 08-20-2003, 04:16 PM

Pirranah is a classic! but hasnt kept me from swimming in the local lake...its the fact that the lake is poluted that keeps me out, that and one of the rivers near cought on fire=\

orange monkeyee · 08-20-2003, 07:42 PM

I am fine swimming around the shores of Lake Michigan ( huge sandy beaches and decent water) . But when it comes to small lakes I cant swim alone either. Something with the nasty things on the bottom and something that I think haunted me in my childhood. Still not sure what or why but If I get pushed off a boat out in a lake I freak out.

Mel · 08-20-2003, 08:31 PM

fair enough... I get paranoid about things like that as well... I think its a fear of what is unseen, like there might be something in the water

, maybe there is something in this, does anyone know?

seizei · 08-20-2003, 10:48 PM

maybe these 2 things added to it....

1) my grandma used to tell me that if you hand your feet off a dock, fish will come and bite your toes off. I was like 5 years old haha

2) when I was 7, a friend told me that the little whirlpools you make in the water with a paddle will suck you to the bottom of the lake if you touch them

yeesh

fuzzix · 08-21-2003, 04:15 AM

I love lakes, but yeah they can be scary. I've swam in a couple of volcanic (crater) lakes that were extremely deep, the depth just seems endless, you look down and all you see is an aqua colour, it was beautiful, but a bit unnerving at the same time. I've also swam in a lake that was so muddy that 30 cm under the water everything was pitch black, that was rather frightening.

telekinetic2 · 08-21-2003, 04:55 AM

I think the enormity of being somewhere you don't belong strikes you when you're there alone...humans were not designed to live in water, like when you're in someone elses back yard...

jumpingbeans · 08-21-2003, 05:22 AM

try swimming drunk.....It will take the edge off.... ( wear floaties )

Jameson · 08-21-2003, 05:29 AM

For me the scary part is that you are floating above this giant hole. For some reason my mind doesn't seem to think that all that water is going to keep holding me up, or something. There is just too big a hole down there below me. The idea of all that space below me...I guess I wouldn't make a good astronaut.

Memalvada · 08-21-2003, 11:21 AM

I hate swimming in lakes.. it gives me the creeps... Pretty much because here in El Salvador, the major lakes are old volcano craters, and a lot of creepy things happen in them... people drown and their bodies never found...

Plus the plants/weeds get tied up around your legs/arms...

Although there are a lot of people who love to swim in them....

... I love the beach though

the ocean is so cool over here

rev_skarekroe · 08-21-2003, 01:13 PM

It could also be the poisonous snakes. And the aligators. Then there's the giant, Volkswagen-sized catfish. And the sunken towns under the man-made lakes. Lakes in Switzerland have sunken Nazi plunder at the bottom. And of course, it's a well known fact that land-locked bodies of water are prefered by both in-bred, cannibalistic, rapist rednecks AND toxic-waste-mutated swamp monsters. sk

Devilinmypants · 08-21-2003, 10:59 PM

my friend jordan has the same problem. she even has a house on a lake and cant swim alone or when not near someone

Pooface · 08-30-2003, 12:25 AM

I lived on a lake for 12 years and I would never swim alone usually. Especially at night.

Mr. Moe · 08-30-2003, 09:33 AM

I don't like lakes where I know there are alot of random rocks around, swimming and then soundly running into a pile of moss and stone always gives me the creeps.

I used to not like the feeling of fish swimming under me. When I was swimming in lake huron years back, I looked under the boat and saw a huge school of them. My friend, being the nice guy he is, shoved me in the water, and all the fish just scattered as fast as possible. Since then I haven't really cared about fish because i assume they don't want to be near me...unless they are man eaters...

Spidey · 08-31-2003, 04:19 AM

Its probably anxiety, you get use to a certain environment and once it changes you enter new territory.

08-19-2003, 12:16 PM	#1 (permalink)
seizei Purple Monkey Dishwasher Location: CFB Gagetown, NB, CANADA	swimming in lakes I LOVE to swim in lakes. I've camped all the time since I was a kid, love to canoe, dive off cliffs.... but here's my problem: I can only swim in lakes when there are other people with me. I took the canoe out alone last month and jumped into the water after docking on an island, and got really freaked out and was consumed with the need to get back to the shore immediately. If I'm with others, I can swim for hours in the same spot. to me, that is strange. any thoughts? __________________ "If you're not weird, you're not interesting". I'm very interesting ... seizei; (adv - Japanese) at the most; at best; to the utmost; as much (far) as possible. (pronounced - say-zay)

08-19-2003, 12:25 PM	#2 (permalink)
SiN strangelove Location: ...more here than there...	not strange at all, imo. i grew up on lakeshore, had great fun swimming and all that, lake is like a big wet playground been a while since i've swam in a lake, but yeah, i do remember times of getting kinda spooked, and i don't think i'd wanna swim in one alone. and no, it's not the lil fishies nibbling on my lil toesies that i worry about. __________________ - + - ° GiRLie GeeK ° - + - ° 01110010011011110110111101110100001000000110110101100101 Therell be days/When Ill stray/I may appear to be/Constantly out of reach/I give in to sin/Because I like to practise what I preach

08-19-2003, 12:38 PM	#3 (permalink)
Charlatan Getting it. Super Moderator Location: Lion City	I just got in from swimming in the lake (my hair is still wet)... I don't get too freaked at the lake in my cottage. But I have been freaked swimming in the ocean and there have been a few times where I've been out after dark and had a sudden urge to get out of the water... My read on it is the great uknown beneath... can't see it but you just know it's there...lurking. __________________ "My hands are on fire. Hands are on fire. Ain't got no more time for all you charlatans and liars." - Old Man Luedecke

08-19-2003, 04:34 PM	#5 (permalink)
TheKak Insane Location: Virginia	No but I saw Pirranah 2, and it was just hilarious. Salt water pirranahs that pretty much fly. One even hid inside of a corpse for a day and jumped out and killed someone, and then flew out the window and back to the ocean! Lakes only freak me out because they are usually dirty as shit, depending on where you are (leeches are fucking gross too~). __________________ Roses are red, violets are blue, I'm a schizophrenic and so am I.

08-19-2003, 04:53 PM	#6 (permalink)
GoldenOuroboros The Cheshire Grin... Location: An Aussie Outback	Fear of the unknown.. big one in us humans... __________________ Can you see me grin grin grrriiiiinnnning?!

08-19-2003, 12:47 PM	#4 (permalink)
bparker805 is KING! Location: On the path to Valhalla.	If I can't see the bottom of it, chances are pretty good that you won't see me swimming in it. Has anybody ever seen the movie Pirranah?

08-19-2003, 05:25 PM	#7 (permalink)
yoshi Crazy Location: Jersey	yeah, not big on swimming alone or in the dark. the fear of the unknown---sends shivers, plus I've seen too many stupid scary movies.

08-19-2003, 05:52 PM	#8 (permalink)
prosequence Psycho Location: YOUR MOM!!	Think of how the fishies feel... swimin' along minding their own business when SPLASH a big pair of mashy/kicky things come flailing throught he water..... Put yourself in their position.... imagine it.... Maybe this point of view will help with the phobia... __________________ And now here I stand because of you, Mister Anderson, because of you I'm no longer an agent of the system, because of you I've changed...

08-19-2003, 09:43 PM	#9 (permalink)
mastboy4 Crazy Location: Mexico	ok just the thought of being all alone in th emiddle of a lake is a bit disturbin so i get ur point __________________ Ignorance Is Bliss

08-20-2003, 11:23 AM	#10 (permalink)
JohnTallGuy Upright	Don't be a phool, swimming alone can be seriously dangerous! Anywhere! I swim in pools, lakes, and ocean's, but only with other people within hailing distance. In case I need "HELP". You CAN drown you know.

08-20-2003, 12:29 PM	#11 (permalink)
rev_skarekroe Insane Location: Parts Unknown	Watch out for the killer oil-slick from Creepshow 2. sk __________________ "If I could have one wish, as in the fairy tales, I would unmake my past, and rise like Lazarus and stand in sunlight and banish all the dark." D. Tibet

08-20-2003, 04:16 PM	#12 (permalink)
lemming Tilted	Pirranah is a classic! but hasnt kept me from swimming in the local lake...its the fact that the lake is poluted that keeps me out, that and one of the rivers near cought on fire=\

08-20-2003, 07:42 PM	#13 (permalink)
orange monkeyee Banned	I am fine swimming around the shores of Lake Michigan ( huge sandy beaches and decent water) . But when it comes to small lakes I cant swim alone either. Something with the nasty things on the bottom and something that I think haunted me in my childhood. Still not sure what or why but If I get pushed off a boat out in a lake I freak out.

08-20-2003, 08:31 PM	#14 (permalink)
Mel Tilted Location: Auckland	fair enough... I get paranoid about things like that as well... I think its a fear of what is unseen, like there might be something in the water , maybe there is something in this, does anyone know? __________________ And in my darkest moment, fetal and weeping. The moon tells me a secret. My confidant. As full and bright as I am, this light is not my own and A million light reflections pass over me It's source is bright and endless. She resuscitates the hopeless Without her we are lifeless satellites drifting Last edited by Mel; 08-20-2003 at 08:44 PM..

08-20-2003, 10:48 PM	#15 (permalink)
seizei Purple Monkey Dishwasher Location: CFB Gagetown, NB, CANADA	maybe these 2 things added to it.... 1) my grandma used to tell me that if you hand your feet off a dock, fish will come and bite your toes off. I was like 5 years old haha 2) when I was 7, a friend told me that the little whirlpools you make in the water with a paddle will suck you to the bottom of the lake if you touch them yeesh __________________ "If you're not weird, you're not interesting". I'm very interesting ... seizei; (adv - Japanese) at the most; at best; to the utmost; as much (far) as possible. (pronounced - say-zay)

08-21-2003, 05:22 AM	#18 (permalink)
jumpingbeans Tilted	try swimming drunk.....It will take the edge off.... ( wear floaties ) __________________ USA, USA,USA, USA,USA, USA,USA, USA,USA, USA,USA, USA,USA, USA,USA, USA,USA, USA,USA, USA,USA, USA,USA, USA,USA, USA,

08-21-2003, 04:15 AM	#16 (permalink)
fuzzix Psycho Location: Australia	I love lakes, but yeah they can be scary. I've swam in a couple of volcanic (crater) lakes that were extremely deep, the depth just seems endless, you look down and all you see is an aqua colour, it was beautiful, but a bit unnerving at the same time. I've also swam in a lake that was so muddy that 30 cm under the water everything was pitch black, that was rather frightening. __________________ I'm most definately not 'lovin' it'.

08-21-2003, 04:55 AM	#17 (permalink)
telekinetic2 Loser	I think the enormity of being somewhere you don't belong strikes you when you're there alone...humans were not designed to live in water, like when you're in someone elses back yard...

08-21-2003, 05:29 AM	#19 (permalink)
Jameson Upright	For me the scary part is that you are floating above this giant hole. For some reason my mind doesn't seem to think that all that water is going to keep holding me up, or something. There is just too big a hole down there below me. The idea of all that space below me...I guess I wouldn't make a good astronaut.

08-21-2003, 11:21 AM	#20 (permalink)
Memalvada Psycho Location: South of the border	I hate swimming in lakes.. it gives me the creeps... Pretty much because here in El Salvador, the major lakes are old volcano craters, and a lot of creepy things happen in them... people drown and their bodies never found... Plus the plants/weeds get tied up around your legs/arms... Although there are a lot of people who love to swim in them.... ... I love the beach though the ocean is so cool over here __________________ "The weak are food for the strong, so die and let me feast!" - Makoto Shishio (RK) Last edited by Memalvada; 08-21-2003 at 11:23 AM..

08-21-2003, 01:13 PM	#21 (permalink)
rev_skarekroe Insane Location: Parts Unknown	It could also be the poisonous snakes. And the aligators. Then there's the giant, Volkswagen-sized catfish. And the sunken towns under the man-made lakes. Lakes in Switzerland have sunken Nazi plunder at the bottom. And of course, it's a well known fact that land-locked bodies of water are prefered by both in-bred, cannibalistic, rapist rednecks AND toxic-waste-mutated swamp monsters. sk __________________ "If I could have one wish, as in the fairy tales, I would unmake my past, and rise like Lazarus and stand in sunlight and banish all the dark." D. Tibet

08-21-2003, 10:59 PM	#22 (permalink)
Devilinmypants Hippie relocationist. Location: Greensboro NC	my friend jordan has the same problem. she even has a house on a lake and cant swim alone or when not near someone

08-30-2003, 12:25 AM	#23 (permalink)
Pooface Tilted Location: Location: Location: Location: Location: Location:	I lived on a lake for 12 years and I would never swim alone usually. Especially at night. __________________ Better read fast, this post is coming down.

08-30-2003, 09:33 AM	#24 (permalink)
Mr. Moe Loser Location: Oakville, Ontario	I don't like lakes where I know there are alot of random rocks around, swimming and then soundly running into a pile of moss and stone always gives me the creeps. I used to not like the feeling of fish swimming under me. When I was swimming in lake huron years back, I looked under the boat and saw a huge school of them. My friend, being the nice guy he is, shoved me in the water, and all the fish just scattered as fast as possible. Since then I haven't really cared about fish because i assume they don't want to be near me...unless they are man eaters...

08-31-2003, 04:19 AM	#25 (permalink)
Spidey Crazy Location: Wellington, New Zealand	Its probably anxiety, you get use to a certain environment and once it changes you enter new territory.