Fear of empty swimming pools.

I've always thought this was an exceptionally strange phobia to have, especially considering that I'm a rather normal (boring) person otherwise. I have absolutely no idea where this came from, but I've had this fear for as long as I can remember.. probably since I was a toddler. I'm not sure if I've had a bad experience with an empty swimming pool or if I just have an overactive imagination. I'm sure those anti-drug commercials of a drugged up woman leaping into an empty swimming pool didn't help, but I'm sure my fear started even before then.

It hasn't really affected my life in any way, except in one odd way that I've recently discovered. There's a video game I'm rather fond of, but I can't complete it entirely until I deal with an empty swimming pool in it. Even when I had my "character" walk on boards that ran atop the swimming pool, I freaked out and had to shut the game down. A silly result from a phobia that isn't necessarily life-altering, but it's annoying nonetheless.

Has anyone ever encountered this before? What could I do to help myself "get over" it?

Thanks so much for reading this.

At four years old, I fell in an almost empty pool (8ft of water) that was about 30ft deep and almost drowned. For a long time I was scared of ester, not really pools, but almost.

to fix the fear perhaps you should try facing it in a slow fashion. Perhaps you could watch someone else play that video game that you like so much but cant bear to play. This way you can look away any time you feel anxious. If it is a really short scene, perhaps you could tell someone you trust about the fear and how you want to face it and they can keep playing that one part until you relax.

I never had a fear of pools because I worked as a lifeguard at one point in my life. But empty swimming pools creep me out a bit because I always think something could happen there, even though there's no water in it, and I'm constantly looking around like it's a dead pool or something, kind of like a being in a ghost town or something.

This is strange, but are afraid of that swimming pool also which is full of water in it.

I am so happy that I read your post! I have been scared of empty pools my whole life, and don't know why. I'm glad that there are other people out there like me.

I also suffer from this phobia - I thought it was just me! It's my only real phobia apart from rodents. I don't know why I'm afraid of empty swimming pools. It seems to have built up gradually throughout my life. I remember a music video when I was a teenager where the singer was in an empty swimming pool, which I could watch at the time. I couldn't now. It's amazing how many empty swimming pools appear on tv - usually at least once a week. In the last half an hour, I've seen the same advert twice with empty swimming pools in it.

It doesn't really affect my life, apart from looking away from the tv, but it is an odd phobia, especially as I'm fine with pools with water in them. Good to know it's not just me!

Spend some time in an empty swimming pool. At least you know you can't drown. Start by getting closer and closer to one until eventually you're in it.

I'm new here and also have a fear of empty swimming pools, glad I'm not the only one!

Hi,
I too, am afraid. I figure it was the movies Jaws.


peace to you.
red