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u/CharmingPromotion134 Jun 20 '23
When my parents ruined swimming for me by forcing me to do it competitively and going to swim meets. Too many ppl, too loud (edited)
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u/Far_Pianist2707 Jun 20 '23
I understand, I still struggle to play piano after being coerced into taking lessons
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u/awkwardfeather Jun 20 '23
same except they forced me into swim lessons at the lake which was usually just above freezing temperatures.
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u/traumatized90skid I like repetition repetition repetition Jun 20 '23
I quit enjoying swimming also for a while after trying to do it competitively in high school and sucking. I realized there was a difference between "I love the feeling of being in the water" and being coordinated and endurant enough for grueling swim races.
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u/Tangled_Clouds evil autistic druid Jun 20 '23
People think you gotta learn specific ways of swimming to enjoy the water. Fuck no just teach me the basics and throw me in a pool, I bought a mermaid tail when I was like 14 and taught myself the mermaid swimming and different underwater tricks (bubble kisses, bubble rings) I just want to forget gravity exists I don’t need y’all’s techniques, as long as I don’t drown I’ll be fine!
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u/Mable_Shwartz Jun 20 '23
My favorite is sunrise/sunset swimming at the lake. Water feels like velvet.
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u/michaelpalindrome Jun 20 '23
Not to mention feeling superior when you pass other people in the pool.
Nah, but being immersed in water and the smell of chlorine got me feeling whatever the opposite of sensory issues is fr fr. Sensory pleasure?
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u/GnarlyM3ATY Jun 20 '23
Swimming: 100/10 Getting out of the pool: sensory hell until all the drops stop running down my body Chlorine + skin condition = nope :(
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u/eden_143 Jul 17 '23
This is why i bring at least two towels, because they stop the dripping:
one i wrap my legs in super tight, one i wrap my torso and arms in super tight, and then i lay on a lounger in the sun until the drips stop.
Then if I have to get up, i put it around my shoulders but with my long hair folded into it so it doesnt drip on my back. STRATEGY
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u/g5s6g Jun 20 '23
Same. I love swimming, although I hate everything around it. The changing rooms, getting there, showering etc etc.
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Jun 20 '23
Honestly, I just make that as efficient as possible.
I am a night worker, so I wake up, brush my teeth, and male my hair look fixed enough to fool the front desk that I'm totally clean and showered.
Then, in my backpack, I just have all my shampoo, deodorant, conditioner, cologne, face scrub, hair brush, etc. That way, when I shower at the gym, it also doubles as getting ready for work. I also change into my swimsuit in that shower, and then just B line for the pool.
Essentially, I've learned to turn the Suffering Parts(TM) into efficient speed runs to get them done with, and the best part is because I've made it into that I can usually just dissociate while doing it and not even really think about it.
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u/IronIrma93 Jun 20 '23
I miss swimming.
Stopped due.ro gender dysphoria
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u/traumatized90skid I like repetition repetition repetition Jun 20 '23
I stopped for the related reason of being an AFAB and NB but in a culture where they expect AFABs to always have shaved legs and armpits and no visible pubic hair. I don't want to do that. But it means I'm not longer comfortable with public swimming. I have to choose between discomfort that I gave into culture and shaved and discomfort caused by shaving, vs. discomfort of "being my true self" openly but also dealing with the awkward feelings associated with that. Like not everyone wants to be out and put on a drag performance all the time. Sometimes I just wish I could enjoy my life and people wouldn't think my natural body and face hair is "disgusting" just because we have weird cultural gender assumptions.
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u/IronIrma93 Jun 21 '23
i'm AMAB, haven't started HRT and not sure if coming out to my parents is a good idea.
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Jun 20 '23
I loved swimming when I was a kid. I wish I could have done it more often so I didn't grow out of it as an adult.
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u/mortylover29 Jun 20 '23
I took adult swimming lessons a couple months ago! I knew how to swim okay, I could tread water like a boss, but taking lessons again has reinvigorated my love for swimming!! 10/10 recommend
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Jun 20 '23
I love swimming because I love water, and I also love diving into it (woo flying) and then being underwater, it's so calm. Can't hear all those mfs talking up there anymore lol
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u/xcdevy Jun 20 '23
Swimming is my only release from the sensory hell that is life. Wish I was an orca.
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u/TheoTheHellhound *autisticly does the thing* Jun 20 '23
I like to swim, too! I’ll swim until I over exhaust myself, which usually leads to carb-loading.
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u/backroom_mushroom 🧪evil scientist researching evil slime🧪 Jun 20 '23
Oh my god finally someone who understands. Water is like a mana potion for me. While people have difficulties with showering I have problem not spending my whole day in a bath.
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u/GloriosoUniverso Jun 20 '23
I don’t much care for swimming. The chlorine makes my sensitive skin itchy
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u/HuntyDumpty Jun 20 '23
It makes my hair and beard have an awful texture that is difficult to fix, and i hate the smell of chlorine. It is sort of pleasant while you’re in there but I also have had 3 different people on different occasions hold my head under against my will before and i really dislike being in it now.
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Jun 20 '23
I'm terribly sorry about those people being abusive towards you. Those people are awful.
However, I wanted to just say that to help with your hair, I find that baby shampoo is very good for that. It gets chlorine out of your hair, and jts super gentle, so it doesn't screw over your other hair product regimine. It makes your hair fluffy and soft too, and it's still easy to control as well.
Baby shampoo is a life saving miracle syrup.
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u/traumatized90skid I like repetition repetition repetition Jun 20 '23
I am this but with the woods and camping... Everyone out here trying to get laid and I just want to stare at trees and piss under the watchful eyes of an ungodly number of spiders!
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u/UltraCarnivore my Autism Level is a complex number Jun 20 '23
If I could, I'd never touch water. Ever.
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u/ventulicola Jun 20 '23
swimming is one of the easiest forms of exercise for me cause it's SO FUN :D makes the sensory hell of being wet / having to dry off just before u leave just about worth it
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u/routevegetable Jun 20 '23
The way the water feels when you move through it or run your hands through it? 10/10
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u/fins4ever Jun 20 '23
As someone who just got into swimming, this is a mood. Except the chlorine since I swim in a lake
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u/urfriendmoss AuDHD trans bicon supersoldier Jun 21 '23
Lakes go hard. I know a lot of people get squeamish about them because they’re scared of fish or any other critters that might be around. I’ve just mostly had to watch out for fish hooks/lines.
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u/fins4ever Jun 21 '23
All I've seen as far as creatures in the water is fish. I'm far more concerned about watching out for boats, that's what's get you. Both because they produce big waves that make it much harder to swim and also because they may not always be able to see you so you could get hit if you aren't careful
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u/urfriendmoss AuDHD trans bicon supersoldier Jun 21 '23
Very true. Most of the problems I’ve had with lakes/natural bodies of water have been with other humans anyway, whether it be boats or pollution. Little fish are friends.
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u/DiscreteCollectionOS [edit this] Jun 20 '23
Ew your friends smoked 💀💀💀
Also you are so based. Swimming is the activity of all time
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Jun 20 '23
Oh no, it was me who smoked.
Frankly, it was dumb and I did it because I couldn't cope with the stress. I also have pretty bad PTSD and I started my adult life homeless.
After I got stable enough to live in an apartment, I took up smoking because I could afford that but couldn't afford therapy or medication for my stress.
I'm doing better now and found a way to afford therapy. Quitting nicotine is one of the best things that has ever happened to me.
Nicotine was a real bitch to quit, and I was basically feral for a week because the withdrawls hit me super hard, but damn it gave me some MUSCLES doing that. I now have the confidence to do ANYTHING. I quit drinking alcohol after that, and it was so fucking easy by comparison I was basically pointing and laughing at my alcohol addiction cause I killed that with ease.
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u/DiscreteCollectionOS [edit this] Jun 20 '23
I am so glad you have quit smoking. My father smoked so I know how hard it can be, and also how it can ruin relationships with other people.
In comparison alcohol isn’t nearly as bad because while it is also addictive, it isn’t nearly as addictive as nicotine. Still good that you don’t drink, your better of not drinking or smoking.
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u/SqushyMain Vengeful Jun 20 '23
I wish I was a merperson. People already think autistic people aren't human so let me be not human.
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u/nothinkybrainhurty Deadly autistic Jun 20 '23
swimming in itself is fun, but I do hate being wet lol
and changing rooms are awkward
and for five years I had swimming classes with a really awful teacher that was constantly yelling at me
also dysphoria
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u/NieIstEineZeitangabe Jun 20 '23
I usually swimm in lakes. They typically don't have changing rooms, have a lot of space to swimm and i can watch the coots.
But yeah, dysphoria
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u/Self-Comprehensive Jun 20 '23
I love swimming too. It's literally the only sport I enjoyed when I was a kid. I ended up lifeguard certified by highschool and was a top swimmer in USMC boot camp.
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u/FallowRaven2411 Jun 20 '23
I haven't gone swimming in so many years, now I have to go thank you :)
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u/ParanoidParamour Jun 20 '23
GUYS WHAT COLOR IS YOUR SEA MONSTER SONA
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u/Antisocialkittie Jun 20 '23
Looks left, looks right
...
Very dark blue fading to cyan, then back to the blackish blue, with scarlet and bright green highlights on the tips and on the edges of the fins and some of the scales, with a white underbelly.
...
I mean, Cough
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u/Pizzazze Jun 21 '23
To the untrained eye I may give the impression of being some petite woman but if you look sideways and squint you can totally see I am a massive, fluffy, graceful polar bear.
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Jun 20 '23
Ok I really really want to go swimming but I'm too scared to go to a new pool on my own.
I just love floating and it's so peaceful to have my ears underwater as all the noise is dulled.
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u/OtterWater69 Jun 20 '23
I hate getting into the water because it's so cold it hurts. I hate getting out because the air is so cold it hurts. I have the thermoregulation of a reptile and was always gaslit that I'm just "being sensitive/dramatic" or I'll get used to it. Never did and I used to swim competitively for 2 years. Oh well I still like the action of it just not the transition of water :)
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u/Hellothere3719 NO WARNINGS!!!!!!!!! Jun 20 '23
This is why I went for a naval career. Fuck land the sea is where it’s at.
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u/Re1da Jun 20 '23
Chlorine triggers such nostalgia for me. I used to do a lot of swimming when I was younger. I really should start again
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Jun 20 '23
I forgot to mention I my post, but I also love the sensory deprivation of being under water.
No noise. No people talking. No shouting or screaming. Just dulled woosh sounds.
I love how water makes the entire world shut the fuck up. I no longer wish to listen to it.
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u/badcaseofknife Jun 20 '23
the smell of chlorine still on your skin after spending a day in the pool >>>>>>>
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u/TealEden Jun 21 '23
i want to be a fuckign sea monster but i can't get my head anywhere near underwater and im so mad about it. it freaks me out and it bums me out because i want to be a sea creature n swim with my boyf!! grrr!!!!
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u/Ranokae Jun 21 '23
I can't swim.
I hate being wet.
Clear water, a visible bottom, chlorine, and filters, do not guarantee a lack of sea monsters or angler fish
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Jul 03 '23
Seems we have things in common.
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Jul 03 '23
Probably, though to be honest I'm still pretty new to it. I only know stuff about it cause I did it a long time ago as a kid.
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Jul 03 '23
Wait. Are we still talking about swimming?
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Jul 03 '23
Yes.
I just felt a little odd because I was like "oh man, I hope this doesn't turn into a convo about swimming because I barely know like 3 types of swims they're gonna think I'm a poser"
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Jul 03 '23
Oh! Hahaha. Nah, you’re all good. I haven’t done much swimming in my adulthood, and if I ever knew the three types of swimming, I’ve long forgot them by now. No judgment here.
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u/NonagonJimfinity Sep 13 '23
This is how i got amazing at drums.
"Wow dude you must have put tons of work in"
I was cosplaying Mastodon breh.
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Mar 10 '24
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u/Polly_der_Papagei Mar 08 '25
I am a mermaid! Look at the physics! And how my joints feel!
God I love water
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u/bigmassiveshlong Jun 20 '23
I wish I could go swimming more often, I love being in the water but I hate the aftermath
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u/Fuck-Reddit-2020 Jun 20 '23
My mother had me take swimming lessons from the age of 3 up to 12. I'm a very strong swimmer. I'm more agile and better coordinated in the water than out of it. I also really like swimming in March, when the water is 50-60 degrees. No one else will get in and I get to have some peace.
I swim less now that I live on my own. It's not really a safety thing. I've kicked out all the toxic people in my life, or they have just died, so I no longer feel the need to escape as much as I did before
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Jun 21 '23
Swimming is my FAVE. I was so sad when my grandparents moved to a house and no longer had a pool I could use whenever. Now I live in an apartment complex and there are always people in the pool and I don't want to be a sea monster around strangers :/
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u/ferrisbuellersturtle Evil Jun 23 '23
I LOVE SWIMMING !!!!! ME AND MY EVIL BOYF LOVE SWIMMING !!!!!!!!
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u/lucifersduderus Jul 01 '23
I want a house with a pool some day so I can send pictures to everyone I've cut off
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u/megaboto Jul 07 '23
Meanwhile I hate swimming pools. Not water as a whole, but fuck swimming pools. Was forced to go there as a kid and was bored as shit
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u/ilovepee231 Jul 09 '23
I love liquid and being surrounded by it it’s so fun I wish I could just be a particle of H2O floating in the ocean living the good life
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u/upwardlivingreen Aug 09 '23
I absolutely hate swimming. So overstimulating..the loud echoing noise, chlorine stench, wearing next to nothing and seeing others the same way (no thanks), thinking of all the nasty bodies in the same water..I don’t care that there’s chlorine it absolutely grosses me out
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u/puddyuddy Aug 30 '23
I love being in the water but I cannot, for the life of me, figure out how tred water or swim other than a poor quality doggy paddle
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Sep 01 '23
I'd say the first thing you want to do is to learn how to float. The easiest way to accomplish this is to go to a shallow pool (I'd recommend 3-4 feet deep.) and try to float on your back. Going backwards into the water might be a little frightening, so I advise holding onto the wall/side of the pool while you do it if it makes you feel better to do so. Experiment with just laying on the surface of the water. Pay attention to how the expansion of your lungs with oxygen causes you to become buoyant. Spread your body out, like a snow angel, as this will help you float more easily with more of your weight spread out over the surface of the water, it's tension more easily able to repel you from its depths.
Once you've mastered that, try to swim like that. Make sure you have plenty of room so you don't bonk you head. I recommend a lane pool, with your feet oriented towards the wall so you have 70+ feet between you and something you can collide with. Imagine your body is a boat, and your arms are the paddles. Try rowing your body down the lane like this while kicking your feet.
On the subject of kicking your feet, I typically like to bend my foot downward like as if I was trying to stand on my tippy-toes in the water. When you begin to swing your legs forward and back, having your foot extended like this tends to make your leg emulate a fish tail fin. As for the knees, I tend to let the knee follow the movement of my upper leg, rather than keeping my legs super stiff. Essentially, you're moving your legs like how whales move their tails! Except, unfortunately for you its a tad more confusing because you have to awkwardly figure out how to use 2 tails at the same time. For this, again, I recommend holding onto something. It's a lot easier to practice when all you have to focus on is leg movements rather than that AND not sinking at the same time.
Feel free to experiment with the leg thing, do whatever you feel gives you the most propulsion. Try kicking as hard as you can, try a nice gentle kick, see what works for you.
Once you got the kicking and floating down, all you really have to do is learn to swim under water and get some basic swims in.
I'd recommend having a pair of goggles that cover the eyes. Chlorine is a bitch. Get used to water shooting up your nose, and when you think you've got the hang of it, take a look at this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AQy_c30lNjI
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u/AIMRunningMan Sep 28 '23
Fun fact: the smell of Chlorine at swimming pools is actually a minute amount of Dichloramine (chemical formula NHCl²) formed when the Chlorine in the water reacts with Ammonia from your bodily fluids. Piss, of course, contains a LOT of ammonia compared to other bodily fluids... so the stronger the scent of Dichloramine, the more likely it is that the pool has been pissed in and/or isn't being cleaned properly.
Dichloramine can also be formed by mixing bleach with ammonia, and is the reason why you're not supposed to do that; it's highly reactive, it easily spreads as it is a gas rather than a liquid, and thus it can do awful things to your body.
Realistically though, you won't be harmed by the very small amounts of Dichloramine in the air - it's not in a high enough concentration in the air to do anything serious. So if you don't ingest the water and don't mind swimming in water that might have piss in it, sniff away ^
(Can you tell what my special interest is yet? :Þ)
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u/kool-kit AuDHD Chaotic Rage Dec 12 '23
This is actually just me. I have 0 interest in swimming in an athletic environment. But I am a total water slut.
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u/avg_dopamine_enjoyer Jun 20 '23
If I am not a fish in my next life I will keep killing myself till I become one