Around 1 million Americans go surfing every year. Do you go for surfing? If not, ask yourself what stops you from going into the oceans. Fear, is it? Fear is not a negative emotion but pushes us to the extreme to explore deep inside us. It helps us push our boundaries, spread our wings, and fly.
It also helps us to be brave and gain confidence. Fear helps us to explore ourselves and understand our potential. Surfing can be an excellent exercise that helps you to get out of your mental blocks and enjoy life. There are many Surf camps in Portugal to help you take care of your mental health.
Fear and anxiety are mental blocks that many surf camps deal with. They provide mental and emotional coaching while teaching the knack of catching the tides.
How Can Fear be Harmful to Surfing?
Even though fear can be constructive at times, it leads to amygdala hijack. It makes us lose our cognitive thinking while surfing and makes us extremely and unnecessarily emotional. Having a panic attack in the middle of surfing can prove to be detrimental as you may lose your life.
How Can We Overcome Fear?
You may dream of catching or sliding smoothly through a giant wave. But the next moment you may be washed away by it. The fear of sharks and storms can be detrimental to you giving you a bad ride through the waves. There are some proven ways to overcome fear.
They are:
-
Preparation:
When you brush aside the fear and put yourself in a condition that requires a skill you don’t have might kill you. When your boundaries are hit, do you have the guts to surf? You ought to have a little practice during hold-down sessions. Ask yourself whether you have instruments appropriate for surfing. Preparing to face your fear is the first step for successful surfing. You should know to purge your breath when you are in a trough. If you are prepared to face such situations, you are fine to surf.
-
Change Your Mindset:
When you feel tense while in the middle of the ocean, you will drown, and you may not be able to concentrate. Do breathing exercises immediately. It will help you calm down and prevent you from reacting to the trigger. Accept the fact that fear is a normal feeling and move on. Dream of catching bigger waves and continuing surfing. You will start feeling to achieve big at this point.
-
Take Surfing Lessons:
An instructor can help you gain confidence. Having an instructor next to you is an overwhelming feeling. It will keep you away from anxiety and make you feel confident. You have an excellent option of taking surfing lessons. Surf Camp Portocan help you take baby steps by teaching you the ABC of surfing. They teach you to select waves and peddling techniques and catch them with ease.
-
Turn Fear Into a Powerful Weapon:
Fear is not always a bad thing. You can overcome it by turning it into a weapon. It helps you stay alert and face the waves with courage. You can face fear by turning it into a weapon to catch waves. Don’t allow your fear to be a restraining factor. Let go of your fear and use fear to your advantage. Set realistic goals. Identify your capability and act accordingly. Check whether you have the right skateboard and seek your fellow surfer to watch him when he is in the waters. This way you can boost your confidence and be a successful surfer. More importantly, understand the weather before jumping into the water.
Summing Up:
Surfing fear can be a crippling factor initially. But you can make it a cheerful experience if you follow certain steps. Start surfing in calmer waves before venturing into rough and big waves. Take surfing lessons from a trained instructor who will assist you overcome fear. Many surfing camps in North Portugalassist beginner surfers to escape negative feelings like fear and become excellent surfers. You ought to acknowledge fear is normal and be prepared for the worst situations in the oceans. An excellent surfing instructor can teach you technics to choose the waves wisely, breathing technics, and realize your dream surf like a professional.
