When an open water swimmer finishes a race, completes a crossing, or achieves a long sought-after goal, there nearly always is a transition period.

The Morning After

The morning after a major competition or solo swim*, swimmers relish in a profound sense of pride and accomplishment. They can give interviews, post content on their social media platforms, write down their recollections of the swim, and describe their achievement in detail to friends, family, and fans.

The glow from the swim continues. The accolades pour in. The congratulatory calls, emails, and messages begin. The sense of pride sets in. The appreciation for coaches, family members, teammates, swim buddies, paddlers, escort crew members, and pilots is expressed and shared.

* competitive race, marathon swim, relay, ice swim, stage swim, channel crossing, charity event

The Weeks After

The following days and weeks after a major competition or solo swim, the transition to normal life – or the next season – begin. Swimmers return or travel back home. The glow from the swim dims. The accolades taper off. The congratulatory calls, emails, and messages slow down. Swimmers begin to move forward with their lives.

Many swimmers are finally able to sleep in, return to their previous lifestyle, regain a focus on their family members and friends, focus back on their regular job and usual responsibilities, and exist without experiencing daily fatigue or scheduling a constant cycle of training, nutrition, and sleep.

But there is a sense of loss.

A vacuum of sorts starts to develop.

Swimmers can feel a bit lost and without a specific daily and final goal in place. They occasionally lack or lose a motivation to get back into the pool, lake or ocean. They wake up and go to bed without an overriding, overarching athletic goal in their lives, something deep inside them that motivates them to exceed normal boundaries.

The Months After

The months after, the slump can continue for some swimmers. They can feel depressed – even if their goal was accomplished. They can feel frustrated if the vacuum is not replaced by another lofty goal. They can feel left out or let down, even if – or especially if – their colleagues, friends, and teammates are striving for their own goals.

In the most severe cases, they remain sad and highly disappointed.

Post-traumatic Swimming Depression

PTSD or post-traumatic stress disorder is a condition that develops when a person has experienced or witnessed a scary, shocking, terrifying, or dangerous event that can include anything from a death and abuse.

Similarly, post-traumatic swimming depression among swimmers is a condition that develops due to a post-swim prolonged, acute, or chronic mental letdown.

Post-traumatic Swimming Depression Causes

While counter-intuitive at a certain level, the post-swim depression or frustration can be caused by a number of factors:

• successfully completing a swim that has been a long-time goal
• completing a targeted swim, but not achieving one’s goal in terms of a goal time, the intended distance, placing, or expected public recognition or accolades
• not successfully completing a swim due to involuntary reasons such as weather or conditions or voluntary reasons (i.e., a DNF or Did Not Finish)
• not being able to attempt the swim in the first place due to weather, conditions, or injury
• repeated DNF swims due to a variety of factors that can be involuntarily induced or voluntarily self-induced

Post-traumatic Swimming Depression Solutions

In order to recover or reverse the post-swim depression, feeling of lost, or frustration, swimmers can consider the following alternatives

• understand and appreciate that this PTSD is not unusual and is, in fact, quite normal
• accept the depression and reach out to others who may be experiencing or experienced the same or similar sense of lost and frustration
• register for a local event, especially a race or swim that they have never done before
• volunteer for a local event
• volunteer as an observer, escort crew member, escort kayaker, official, or safety official
• channel physical energies to a new sport or event (e.g., from marathon swimming to ice swimming, from competitive racing to channel swimming)
• start planning for a completely new challenge, either on dryland (including running or cycling) or in the water (including rowing, lifeguard racing, kayaking, stand-up paddling)
• organize an event – either official or unofficial, big or small
• plan to pioneer a new swim in a new location that has never been attempted before
• focus on helping a family member or friend achieve their own goal whether on dryland or the open water; become a mentor or supporter or swim buddy
• join a swim team or masters swimming group or create a new group

© 2023 Daily News of Open Water Swimming

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