William Douglas developed a fear of water as a young child after being overwhelmed by waves at the beach. This fear was exacerbated when an bully threw him into the deep end of a swimming pool, where he sank to the bottom and nearly drowned. For years, he had an aversion to water due to this traumatic experience. Eventually, with the help of swimming lessons and an instructor using a safety rope, he was able to learn how to swim. He further challenged his fear by swimming long distances alone until he had fully conquered his phobia of water.

1. By: William Douglas
A PowerPoint presentation by: Mrinal Sir

2. Deep Water
 William Douglas was ten or eleven years old, when he
decided to swim.
 The YMCA pool was safe for swimming.

3. Deep Water
 It was only 2 to 3 ft deep at the shallow end and 9 ft at the
deep end.
 The narrator had an aversion in going in water. It started
when he was three or four years old.
 He stood with his father in the surf when the waves swept
over him.
 He was almost buried in water.
 He developed a fear for the huge waves.
 He went to the YMCA pool to learn swimming.

4. Deep Water

5. Deep Water
 A big bully boy tossed him into the deep end of the
swimming pool.
 He was frightened and found himself at the bottom.
 He grew panicky. He was suffocating. He tried to cry.
 He had lost his breath and went down endlessly.
 His heart was pounding. He was paralyzed.
 He jumped with all his force, but in vain.
 All efforts ended. He lost consciousness.

6. Deep Water

7. Deep Water
 When he came to consciousness, he found him lying on his
stomach, in the edge of the pool.
 For days, a fear of water haunted him. The fear stayed with
him for years.
 Finally he got an instructor and decided to learn to swim.

8. Deep Water

9. Deep Water
 The instructor attached a rope to the narrator’s belt.
 The rope went through a pulley. He held it to the end of the
rope and it went back & forth, up & down in the pool.
 The instructor taught him to put his face under water &
exhale. He also taught him to raise his nose and inhale.
 Finally, he became a complete swimmer.
 But he still feared when he was alone in pool. He was still
not satisfied.

10. Deep Water
 Once he dived off a dock at Triggs Island and swam two
miles across the lake.

11. Deep Water

12. Deep Water
 Finally he was able to conquer his fear of water.

13. Deep Water

14. Deep Water