Page 188 - Tributaries Catalogue

swell! I literally felt like this little
piece of driftwood spinning around

in the ocean, and I would have this
inward dialogue of: ‘I’m not coping

with this; this is not good; I can’t do
this, I’m going to drown’ … and I

really struggled with anxiety actually
about whether I could cope and

whether I should just give up this
sport. And then somebody that I

know quite well who does this kind
of thing said: ‘Take control of your

mind. You decide what you think
about.’ And now I have a song; I go

into the water, sing my song, focus
on my song, and it helps because

what I learned is that when you are
in the sea you mind is giving your
body an instruction. And if you are

not coping, it starts with the words
‘I’m not coping.’ It’s been quite a

journey, learning how to do this,
and every time I go in, I build a little

bit more confidence. I still don’t

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