Can I learn to swim?

[Doingreat]

I really would like some advice with this. I'd dearly like to learn to swim for health benefits and as a life saving skill. The problem is that I'm terrfied of drowning. I'm not scared of being in the water. But I feel and almost believe I will drown. I do go sometimes and just hold onto the railings and flap the legs around. I took swimming lessons and found the instructor useless. And I feel it must be me. Everyone who was a beginner managed few laps by the end of the first lesson. But i hadn't managed that even by the end of 12 lessons.

Any advice, anyone? Or encouraging stories? Or do I accept I will never learn?

What about some 1-1 lessons?

I had one to one lessons with a teachers who used the Shaw method and found that very helpful. I learnt to do a front crawl which I had never been able to do before.
They also do group lessons.

This might sound a bit daft but how about starting off in a wetsuit/shorty? They give you a bit of additional buoyancy which may allay your fears a bit and give you enough confidence to learn the technique. I would also second one to one lessons.

Yes, you can learn to swim.
My mother nearly drowned as a child & was petrified of the water.
She finally found herself a teacher about 50 years later & is now a confident swimmer.
She now wishes she had done it years before.
You just have to find the right tutor for you.
She used a 1 to 1 tutor but met quite a few before she found one she was comfortable with.
Ring around your local area, explain your problem & ask if they either coach for that themselves or know someone who does.

OP, I am 43 and have had very similar experiences to you. I thought I just couldn’t learn and was terrified of the water. I’ve just invested in 6 one to one lessons where the instructor is in the pool with you, and it is helping massively. By the end of two sessions (so, one hour of teaching in total) I can put my head below the water and float. My confidence has soared and she reckons it won’t be long till I’m swimming confidently. I’d never have believed it possible. So, whether or not one to one sessions are things you might do, it is totally possible to learn. Though it does take some courage at first! Good luck with it, whatever you do.